Kingdom in the Clouds Bhutan's Western Valleys

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. Its name, horse head, recalls the wrathful deity said to have appeared in the cliff. 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 walk the Centenary Farmers' Market among chilies, red rice and dried cheese. End at Tashichho Dzong, seat of the throne room and the monk body, for the evening flag lowering.

East over Dochu La at 3,100 meters, where 108 red-banded chortens, built by the Queen Mother, 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. You enter over a covered cantilever bridge, and 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.

Back over Dochu La to Thimphu for an easy to moderate ridge walk through blue pine and oak to Wangditse, a quiet temple above the capital. From the trail the city spreads out below: Tashichho Dzong, the National Assembly, the Supreme Court and, up the valley, the royal residence at Dechencholing.

After lunch in town, Buddha Dordenma, a gilded bronze Buddha 51.5 meters tall, consecrated in 2015 and seated on a hill above the valley. Inside its throne hall sit 125,000 smaller gilded Buddhas. Then the drive of around an hour and a half on to Paro, for three nights in the valley.

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. On Paro Tshechu departures, the day starts before dawn below Rinpung Dzong, as monks unfurl the giant Guru Rinpoche thongdrel for the festival's final morning.

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. Back over the pass to Paro.

The day the whole trip 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, a fixture.

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.