Bhutan's Sacred Heartland Paro to Bumthang

Begin with a climb of about an hour through pine and rhododendron to Tango Monastery, Bhutan's senior college of Buddhist philosophy. A hermitage was founded here in the 13th century, and the monastery was rebuilt in its present form in 1688. A picnic lunch among the prayer flags.

Back in town, watch young artisans learn the thirteen traditional arts at the National Institute for Zorig Chusum, meet the takin, Bhutan's odd national animal, at the Motithang preserve, and see Buddha Dordenma, a gilded bronze Buddha 51.5 meters tall on the hill above the city. Walk the Centenary Farmers' Market among chilies, red rice and dried cheese, and end at Tashichho Dzong for the evening flag lowering.

East over Dochu La at 3,100 meters, where 108 red-banded chortens honor the soldiers of the 2003 campaign, beside a temple whose murals mix Buddhist imagery with scenes of modern Bhutan. On clear days, most often from October to February, the horizon runs along a line of snow peaks to Gangkar Puensum, at 7,570 meters the highest unclimbed mountain in the world.

Down through oak and rhododendron forest into the warm Punakha valley, around three hours in all. After lunch, a 30-minute walk through rice paddies and Yuwakha village to Chimi Lhakhang, built in 1499 to honor Drukpa Kunley, the irreverent Divine Madman, and still visited by couples hoping for a child.

Cross a suspension bridge over the Mo Chhu and walk up through farmland to Khamsum Yulley Namgyal Chorten, completed in 2004 by the Queen Mother to protect the kingdom. Inside, fierce deities fill three floors, and the roof looks over the whole valley.

Then Punakha Dzong, raised in 1637 by Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyal where the Pho Chhu, the father river, meets the Mo Chhu, the mother river, and Bhutan's seat of government until the 1950s. In spring jacaranda frames the white walls in violet. Watch the river for the critically endangered white-bellied heron. In the afternoon, light butter lamps at a private family temple, an exclusive visit, and try archery, Bhutan's national sport.

The longest day of the trip, around 212 km and eight hours of driving before stops, so the start is early. The road climbs over Pele La at 3,420 meters, the old divide between western and central Bhutan, past Chendebji Chorten, an 18th-century stupa modeled on Boudhanath in Kathmandu, to Trongsa.

Trongsa Dzong spills down a ridge above a deep gorge. Until 1970 the only road east ran through it, and the Wangchuck kings rose to power as its governors; every crown prince still holds the title of Trongsa Penlop before taking the throne. After lunch, over Yotong La at 3,425 meters into Bumthang, stopping at Chumey to watch women weave yathra, the bold woolen cloth of these valleys, before reaching Jakar.

Bumthang is Bhutan's spiritual heartland, and the Choekhor valley holds many of its oldest temples. Start at Jambay Lhakhang, founded in 659 by the Tibetan king Songtsen Gampo as one of 108 temples built to pin down a demoness. Then Kurjey Lhakhang, three temples ringed by a wall of 108 small chortens, the oldest built around the cave where Guru Rinpoche left the print of his body in the rock.

Lunch is at a local farmhouse, with buckwheat dishes the valley is known for. In the afternoon, cross the river to Tamshing, founded in 1501 by the treasure revealer Pema Lingpa, whose murals are among the oldest in Bhutan and whose iron chain-mail coat you can lift onto your shoulders. The day ends in Chamkhar, the small town at the heart of the valley.

East into the quieter Tang valley. On the way, Mebar Tsho, the Burning Lake, a deep pool in the Tang Chhu gorge where in 1475 Pema Lingpa is said to have dived in holding a lit butter lamp and come back up with a treasure and the flame still burning. Pilgrims leave butter lamps and small clay offerings on the rocks.

Then up to Ogyen Choling, a religious estate first chosen in the 14th century, whose 19th-century manor is still owned by the same family. Its central tower is now a museum of how a noble household lived: the kitchen and grain stores, the family's armor, textiles and dyes, masks and the library. A picnic lunch in the valley, then back to Jakar.

Another long day on the road, back over Yotong La and Pele La to Punakha, around eight hours of driving with stops along the way. In Trongsa, visit the Ta Dzong, the 17th-century watchtower above the dzong, restored and opened in 2008 as the Royal Heritage Museum.

Its eleven galleries hold royal possessions, thangkas, bronzes, arms and armor and a Raven Crown, the symbol of Bhutan's kings, and they tell the story of how a governor of Trongsa became the first king in 1907. From its viewpoints the dzong below looks almost close enough to touch. Then on through the forests of the Black Mountains to Punakha for the night.

A leisurely breakfast, then back over Dochu La to Thimphu, around two and a half hours, with another chance at the mountain view if the morning is clear. Lunch is in town, with time to stop at the Memorial Chorten, built in 1974 in memory of the third king and busy all day with people walking around it and spinning its prayer wheels.

Then the drive of around an hour and a half on to Paro, following the river past the confluence at Chuzom, where three stupas in different styles mark the meeting of the Paro and Thimphu rivers. Check in for three nights in the valley, with a free evening to rest after the long journey from the east.

A day trip over the Chele La at 3,988 meters, Bhutan's highest road pass, around an hour and a half up from Paro. On a clear morning Jomolhari, at 7,326 meters, rises to the northwest, and yaks graze the slopes below the prayer flags.

Down into the Haa Valley, opened to foreign visitors only in 2002, to see Lhakhang Karpo and Lhakhang Nagpo, the White and Black Temples, and Chundu Lhakhang, seat of the valley's guardian deity. Lunch is a picnic, followed by a visit to a century-old family farmhouse to see how people live in the remote valleys, with farmhouses painted in bright patterns among the fields. Back over the pass to Paro.

The day the whole journey builds toward. From the trailhead at around 2,600 meters, the path climbs through blue pine hung with moss and prayer flags, past prayer wheels turned by a stream, to the cafeteria at about 2,930 meters. From there Taktsang appears across the gorge, fixed to a cliff 900 meters above the valley floor at 3,120 meters.

Legend says Guru Rinpoche flew here on the back of a tigress in the 8th century. The temple was built around his meditation cave in 1692, gutted by fire in 1998 and faithfully rebuilt. The hike is around 6.4 km round trip and five to six hours with the visit, and you can stop at the cafeteria if you prefer. Lunch there is a Bhutanese buffet, with ema datshi, chilies in cheese.

After breakfast, your guide lets you know when to check out, depending on your flight time, and takes you to Paro airport, a short drive down the valley. Flights operate in daylight only, and the climb out of the valley is as dramatic as the landing, so ask for a window seat.

On a clear morning there is a last look up the valley toward Jomolhari. The departure hall has a small gallery of work by Bhutanese artists, a bookstore, a post office shop for a last stamp or postcard, and a coffee shop if you have time before boarding.