Paro
Trainee five-star chefs and timid waitstaff test their skills on lucky tourists at this restaurant run by the Bongde Institute of Hospitality and Tourism. The dishes fuse Western tastes with local seasonal organic produce. Ring the day before to tailor a three-course Bhutanese menu (ask if the shiitake mushrooms are available), otherwise you'll get the less-inspired Western set meal.
The Institute also runs the 13-room Bongde Goma Resort here. It's 1km southwest of Bondey (Bongde) village.
29.83 MILES
Punakha Dzong is arguably the most beautiful dzong in the country, especially in spring when the lilac-coloured jacaranda trees bring a lush sensuality to…
14.48 MILES
This splendid dzong, north of the city on the west bank of the Wang Chhu, dominates the valley, looking out over a cascade of terraced fields. It's…
8.61 MILES
The 'Tiger's Nest Monastery' is one of the Himalaya's most incredible sights, miraculously perched on the side of a sheer cliff 900m above the floor of…
5.3 MILES
Kyichu Lhakhang is one of Bhutan's oldest and most beautiful temples. The main chapel has roots as far back as the 7th century, with additional buildings…
13.57 MILES
This traditional Bhutanese temple perched like a fortress on a ridge above central Thimphu hums with pilgrim activity. It was established in the 12th…
14.17 MILES
Thimphu's best museum is part of the Royal Textile Academy. It features a stunning display of ancient and modern textiles, and explores the rich…
3.05 MILES
Paro Dzong ranks as a high point of Bhutanese architecture. The massive buttressed walls that tower over the town are visible throughout the valley,…
15.09 MILES
About 5km south of Thimphu on the old road to Paro and Phuentsholing, the handsomely proportioned Simtokha Dzong was built in 1629 by Zhabdrung Ngawang…
0.34 MILES
Just past the turn-off to the Cheli La, on the west bank of the river in Bondey village, is this little-visited 400-year-old temple.
0.47 MILES
In the centre of tiny Bondey village, on the east side of the Paro Chhu, beside the main road near the Bondey bridge, is this charming and unusually…
0.53 MILES
A 15-minute uphill hike (or short drive) above Tago village, just southeast of Paro, is the small Pelri Goemba, a rare Nyingmapa-school chapel that was…
0.57 MILES
Just 1km from Bondey is this family-run incense factory, undergoing a multistorey expansion at the time of research. Get your guide to check in advance if…
1.7 MILES
The visually splendid but little-visited cliffside retreat of Dzongdrakha Goemba is one of several local sites where Guru Rinpoche did battle with local…
2.19 MILES
This small village temple is not high on most travellers' lists, but it's a pleasant enough place, on the west bank of the Paro Chhu near several tourist…
2.73 MILES
Zuri Dzong was built in 1352 as a fort and the five-storey main building is still well protected by double walls and a bridge. There are some particularly…
2.92 MILES
This charming temple on the hillside above Paro actually predates Paro Dzong. Don't miss the meditation cave of Pha Drun Drung, the founder of the dzong…