Day 1. ARRIVE CALCUTTA

Traditional welcome on arrival and meeting assistance at the airport. Transfer to hotel.

Day 2. CALCUTTA

City tour of Calcutta-one of the biggest cities in the world. Visit Victoria Memorial, Chowringhee Museum, and the Race Course.

Day 3. CALCUTTA / BAGDOGRA / DARJEELING

Take a flight to Bagdogra. Drive Bagdogra to Darjeeling through verdant tea gardens. It is also called the “Queen of the Himalayas.”

Day 4. DARJEELING

Early morning visit for a spectacular sight of Mount Kanchenjunga. Visit Ghoom Monastery enshrining an image of Maitreya Buddha. Witness special Buddhist prayer ceremony. Visit to a tea factory for world-famous Darjeeling tea.

Day 5. DARJEELING / GANGTOK

Drive through the pretty Tista Valley to Gangtok-the mountainside capital of the erstwhile kingdom of Sikkim.

Day 6. GANGTOK

Sikkim’s 194 monasteries or gompas belong to the ancient Nyingma and Kagyu orders. Visit to famous Rumtek Monastery, the Research Institute of Tibetology with nearly 30,000 volumes of diverse subjects like astrology, magic, and philosophy.

Day 7. GANGTOK / PEMAYANGTSE

Morning drive to Pemayangtse-second-oldest and perhaps most important monastery in Sikkim. Meet the head lama of the monastery.

Day 8. PEMAYANGTSE / KALIMPONG

Drive to colorful Kalimpong-famous for its profusion of flowers. Later tour Kalimpong, visit the Thapa Choling Monastery, which belongs to the Yellow Hat sect of Tibetan Buddhism.

Day 10. PHUNSTOLING / THIMPU

Drive to Thimphu-capital of Bhutan. Stop on the way at the beautiful Kharbandi Gomkpa, a monastery situated in tropical gardens.

Day 11. THIMPU

Visits in Thimphu include the Simtokha Dzong, the oldest 17th Century fortress of its kind, built by the first leader of unified Bhutan, which now houses the Dzongkha Language and Religion University center.

Day 12. THIMPHU / PUNAKHA

Early morning drive, over 10,000 feet Dochula pass to Punakha, which is the winter capital because of its more temperate climate. Visit Punakha Dzong built in 1637.

Day 13. PUNAKHA-WANDIPHODRANG / PARO

Sightseeing of Wangdiphodrang and Wangdi Dzong and get a glimpse of the lifestyle of Bhutanese people with a visit to a local house. Drive on to Paro. The medieval town of Paro is home to many of Bhutan’s oldest temples and Dzongs (monastic enclaves).

Day 14. PARO

Tour of Paro includes visits to Ta Dzong, now the national museum, and fascinating Rimpung Dzong. Afternoon, country drive through pristine alpine meadows. The only sign of man here is the yak herders and their black yak-hair tents.

Day 15. PARO / CALCUTTA / DEPART CALCUTTA

Fly to Calcutta. In the evening farewell dinner. Later transfer to international airport for flight back home.