Gentle Walking Bhutan reviews
Read holiday reviews by Mountain Kingdoms travellers.
We have enjoyed numerous holidays among mountains around the world (several of them with MK) but for its combination of easy walking amidst stunning scenery and insights into a fascinating culture, our two weeks in Bhutan marked a new high. Our local guide was simply fantastic, a wonderful companion and mine of information whether leading us down forest trails graced by unfamiliar flowers and birds, or explaining the significance of paintings and statues at stunning temples and fortresses.
Our guides were really awesome guys. Very competent, knowledgeable and kind. We loved the hiking in rural areas, historic temples, friendly local people, good healthy food and Himalayan mountain scenery.
It's hard to pick out highlights. The whole experience was unforgettable, a once-in-a-lifetime holiday. Our guide and driver were exemplary. The landscapes were amazing. The initial treks were very challenging but prepared us well for the final descent to the Tiger's Nest Monastery. The decision to stay in 2 homestays was the right one, as we relished the opportunity to meet families, eat with them, and I spent a very happy evening chatting to 2 children, hearing about a 12 yr old's ambitions.
The organisation or our private holiday was superb. Usually, we are fierce independent travellers but Bhutan does not cater to this. We were able to set our start time in the morning a little later to accommodate everyone's sleeping needs and our wonderful guide rescheduled the last few days of the trip so as to avoid a very long potential 7-8 hour drive back to Paro on windy mountainous roads. We split this return journey over 2 days and the re booking of hotels etc. was done seamlessly.
Travelling through Bhutan was an amazing experience, not least due to our superb guide, known to everyone as Bull. He has been a guide for 30 years and knows Bhutan, its history, customs and places intimately. As we were the only people on the trip, Bull was able to adjust and add to the itinerary to suit the weather, our interests and abilities (we are mid 70s), and local events. Bhutan is like nowhere else; unspoilt, peaceful, uncommercialised and very special. Go before it changes.
We waited two years (due to covid!) for this trip to happen. Was it worth the wait? Definitely! Bhutan is a wonderful, beautiful experience, unlike anywhere else in the world I have been. The trip was well organised even given the last minute changes to the itinerary, the guide was very professional as was our driver but most of all, the Bhutanese people were so friendly and welcoming. Being offered tea with the locals on the Tiger's Nest trek was perhaps the highlight of the trip!
What a beautiful country Bhutan is. The scenery is stunning. The people are so friendly and welcoming. Our guide was excellent. His knowledge of the country and Buddhism was excellent. Our driver drove us well around the endless bends. We were lucky to have blue skies most of time. The accommodation was good although rather cold on occasions. The staff were always welcoming and food mostly good. Our trip was one of the best we’d had. It was a shame we only had 9 days there!
BEAUTIFUL COUNTRYSIDE! Great guide - Tshering, was very respectful, patient and informative, plus able to be flexible at times. Driver Karchan was very safe and sensible. There could have been more time to stop and contemplate on walks, which tended to be paced by the fastest walkers, so although guide Tshering said go at your own pace, it wasn't really possible to do so as it would have meant others waiting longer than they would have liked. Fantastic temples and zhongs, well explained.
I think the ‘gentle’ part of your title could be reviewed! Either Gentle Trekking or Mountain Walks might give a better hint of the fairly strenuous days. Your altitude guide could perhaps be emphasised - though none of these comments detract from our huge enjoyment of an amazing and greatly enjoyed adventure.
Bhutan is as friendly, colourful and quirky as we had hoped it may be, but with better infrastructure than we had dared hope. Some lovely walks in valleys and over ridges with far reaching views of the Himalaya. We stayed in some charming traditional houses, ate some good food, and enjoyed the company of an entertaining group, all aided by the expert leadership by our guide Bhim, and outstanding driver Ugyen who made everything run so easily, giving us lots of local insights and stories, as well as some top souvenir tips!