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Masked cham dancers in brocade costumes at a Bhutanese tshechu

Festival Tours

Paro Tshechu Festival Tour

  • 8 Days / 7 Nights
  • Paro · Thimphu · Punakha · Phobjikha

Sacred masked dances in the courtyard of Paro Rinpung Dzong, ending with the unfurling of the giant thongdrol at dawn.

About this journey

Bhutan Tour and Travel with Paro Tshechu Festival

Paro Tshechu is one of Bhutan's most important and spectacular Bhutan Buddhist festivals during your Bhutan Travel and Tour. It is held annually at Rinpung Dzong in Paro, where monks and local communities gather to perform sacred masked dances, receive blessings, and celebrate Bhutan’s Buddhist traditions. The festival normally takes place in spring, during the 2nd month of the Bhutanese lunar calendar, usually around March or April so accordingly plan Bhutan Travel and Tour packages. To commemorate Buddhist teachings and invoke blessings and protection traditional Bhutanese dress, music, dance and local customs. The Monks perform elaborate religious rituals accompanied by drums, horns and chanting with the display of Thongdrol to concludes the unfurling of a giant sacred religious painting, believed to confer blessings on those who see it.

Bhutan Paro Tshechu is more than a tourist attraction and for Bhutanese people, it is an important occasion for religious devotion, community gathering and cultural preservation. Bhutanese Families often travel from different parts of the country to attend, dress in their finest kira and gho, receive blessings and socialize.

Witness Major dances and performances during Bhutan Festival Tour:

  • Shana — Black Hat dance
  • Durdag — Dance of the Lords of the Cremation Grounds
  • Dranyen Cham — Dance accompanied by traditional string instruments
  • Ging and Tsholing — Colourful masked dances
  • Raksha Mangcham — Dance of the Judgment of the Dead

Tour Cost Paro Festival:

Single Traveler: USD $1790
2 Travelers: USD $1690 per person 
3 Travelers and Above: USD $1490 per person

Day-by-day itinerary

Every journey is private and can be adjusted to your pace, interests and travel dates.

Day1Arrival at Paro International Airport

Our representative from Exclusive Bhutan Journey will welcome you at Paro airport and drive to Thimphu.

  • Tachong Lhakhang (monastery) located on the bank of Paa Chhu River, built in late 1300s by great Tibetan saint Drupthob Thangthong Gyalpo.
  • Chuzom Bridge, where one can get to see three type of stupas in one place and beautiful location to take pictures.

On reaching Thimphu, check in the Hotel.

Overnight in Thimphu

Day2Explore tour around Thimphu

After breakfast ride around Thimphu visiting site:

  • Buddha Statue, facing Thimphu valley down below is the worlds’ largest and tallest Buddha statue standing at the height of 169 feet (52m). From here one can have a 360-degree view of Thimphu city.
  • View Tashichho Dzong, just near bank of the Wangchu River, Tashicho Dzong was built in 1641 by Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyal and enlarged in 1694 by Gyalse Tenzin Rabgay. Today, the dzong is the seat of the central government, His Majesty the King’s office, and the summer residence of the Central Monastic Body.
  • Textile Museum visit, Bhutan culture and traditional weaving can be seen.
  • Simply Bhutan, Get to see Culture and Traditional of Bhutan.
  • Bhutan Postal Museum visit
  • Memorial Chorten, it was built in 1974 by Her Majesty the Queen Mother Ashi Phuntsho Choden in memory of her son, Third King Jigme Dorji Wangchuck.
  • Royal Takin Reserve (Endanger Animal)
  • Craft Bazaar

Afternoon day hiking with beautiful view of Thimphu CITY

  • Leisure time at Town

Overnight at Thimphu

Day3Drive from Thimphu to Punakha

After breakfast drive towards Punakha via Dochula pass.

  • Dochula Pass, an hour's drive from Thimphu will take you to this pass (3140 m) where one can have a superb view of the Eastern Himalayas on a clear day with a powerful binocular telescope. Visit the beautiful 108 chortens.
  • Chimi Lhakhang (Temple of Fertility), famously known for its fertility shrine, where couples unable to concieve come here for blessing.
  • Punakha Dzong, the dzong is situated on a stretch of a land where two rivers – Phochu and Mochu – meet. The dzong was built by Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyal in and the first monarch, King Ugyen Wangchuck, was crowned there and it served as the capital of the country until 1955.
  • Hike To Khamsum Yulluen Lhakhang (optional)
  • Suspension Bridge

Overnight at Punakha

Day4Drive from Punakha to Phojikha Valley
  • After breakfast drive towards Phojikha valley which is located east of Punakha is a beautiful and most scenic glacial valley of Bhutan. This valley serves as roosting spot for Black necked crane, one of the rarest and endangered species of bird which migrates during winter months (November, December, January, February) from Tibetan plateaus and northern region of India.
  • Trail Walk to Phobjikha Valley.
  • Visit Black Neck crane center

Once reach Phojikha valleys go around for short trail walk around Gangtey monastery.

Overnight at Phobjikha Valley

Day5Drive from Phobjikha Valley Punakha to Paro

After breakfast drive towards back to Paro.

  • Visit Botanical Garden and Dochula pass, view the Himalayan Ranges in clear day and fresh air.
  • Ta Dzong (national museum), the dzong was built in the mid-17th century as a watchtower overlooking Paro Dzong and the circular dzong houses the National Museum of Bhutan.
  • Paro Rinpung Dzong, at the bank of Pachu River, Paro Dzong, formally known as Rinchen Pung Dzong was built in 1644 under the command of Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyal. It is one of the most beautiful and historically important dzongs in the country.
  • River side stop and visit
  • Paro Airport Viewpoint

Overnight at Paro.

Day6Witnessing Bhutan Paro Festival Tshechu

After breakfast we will visit to Paro Rinpung Dzong, the venue of Paro Tshechu. Like any other festival in Bhutan, mask dances known as Cham in local languages are the main event of Paro Tshechu. Native folk dances are also performed during the festival.

During this festival, one will enjoy a spectacular view of Bhutanese culture being displayed by the Tshechu viewers. The way they dress with those hand women Bhutanese national dress (Gho for men and Kira for women), the jewelries and necklaces put on by ladies, the delicacies that people pack for their lunch, friends and families getting together will be a thing of beauty to witness.

Overnight at Paro

Day7Paro Taktsang monastery hike

After breakfast drive towards Taktsang base from where the hike begins. Horse riding facilities are available till view point.

  • Taktsang monastery, the monastery is located 900 m above Paro valley on the face of a rocky cliff. Taktshang is perhaps the most famous monastery in the country. The monastery was named Taktshang after Guru Rinpoche flew there from Kurtoe Singay Dzong (Eastern Bhutan) riding on a tigress to subdue a demon.
  • Kichu Lhakhang, the temple is one of the two among 108 temples built by Tibetan King Songtsen Gampo in the 7th century to subdue a demon that lay supine across Tibet and Bhutan. (optional).

Overnight at Paro

Day8Final Departure from Paro International Airport

After breakfast, your guide and driver will see you off at Paro International airport for your onward destinations.

Good to know

  • Private tours: your own guide, driver and vehicle throughout.
  • The Bhutan visa fee of USD $40 and the Sustainable Development Fee (SDF) apply to international visitors; the details are included in your written quote.
  • Payment terms and the cancellation policy are set out on our payment terms page.

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