Festival
Jambay Lhakhang Drup Festival Tour
Ten days to Bumthang for the festival of fire at one of Bhutan's oldest temples, with cranes in Phobjikha on the way.
Price on request
Central Bhutan
Bumthang
Four high valleys at the heart of the country, holding some of Bhutan's oldest temples and more festivals than any other district.
- Altitude
- About 2,600 m at Jakar
- How long to stay
- Two to three nights
- Region
- Central Bhutan
Bumthang is the name for four valleys, Chokhor, Tang, Ura and Chhume, lying at about 2,600 m in central Bhutan. They are broad and open, with pine-covered hills, apple orchards and fields of buckwheat, and they are where much of the country's religious history took place.
Guru Rinpoche is said to have meditated here, and the temple of Kurjey stands over the rock that bears the print of his body. Jambay Lhakhang is counted among the oldest temples in Bhutan. The treasure-finder Pema Lingpa was born in the Tang valley, and the lake where he is said to have dived for hidden scriptures with a burning lamp in his hand is a short walk from the road.
The main sights of the Chokhor valley can be linked on foot in a day. Tang and Ura each make a day's excursion, and the festival calendar here is the fullest in Bhutan.
What to see and do in Bumthang
- Jambay Lhakhang
- A seventh-century temple, by tradition one of 108 built in a single day by the Tibetan king Songtsen Gampo. Its autumn festival includes a fire blessing.
- Kurjey Lhakhang
- Three temples in a row beneath a great cypress, the oldest built around the rock where Guru Rinpoche is said to have left the imprint of his body.
- Tamshing Lhakhang
- Founded by Pema Lingpa, across the river from Kurjey, and known for its old wall paintings.
- Jakar Dzong
- The fortress on the ridge above the town of Jakar, with a view down the whole of the Chokhor valley.
- Mebar Tsho, the Burning Lake
- A pool in a narrow gorge on the way to Tang, hung with prayer flags, where Pema Lingpa is said to have found his treasures.
- Tang valley and Ogyen Choling
- A manor house turned museum at the head of the Tang valley, 40 km and about an hour and a half from Jakar.
- Ura
- A close-built village of stone houses in the highest of the four valleys, on the road east towards Thrumshing La.
Planning your visit
- Best time to visit
April and May, and September to November. Jambay Lhakhang Drup and Jakar Tshechu fall in autumn (14 to 17 and 6 to 9 November 2027 on the official tentative list) and Ura Yakchoe in spring (18 to 22 April 2027). Winter is cold and clear.
- Getting there
About five hours by road from Phobjikha over Pele La and through Trongsa. A domestic flight links Bumthang with Paro in about 25 minutes, weather permitting.
Tours and treks
Trips that visit Bumthang
Cultural
To Bumthang and Back in 10 Days
West to the centre by road through Trongsa, three nights among Bumthang's temples, and a flight back over the mountains to Paro.
Price on request
Cultural
Bumthang and the Haa Valley in 11 Days
By road to the temples of Bumthang and back, then over Chele La for a night in quiet Haa before the Tiger's Nest.
Price on request
Cultural
Across Bhutan, West to East
The whole width of the country in two weeks, from the Tiger's Nest to the weaving villages of the far east, leaving by road into India.
Price on request
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