The clean and clear rivers of Bhutan are one of the kingdom’s best kept open secrets. Fed by the Eastern Himalayas, the six rivers (Wang Chhu, Sunkosh, Puna Tsang Chhu, Mangde Chhu, Kuri Chhu and Dangme Chhu and their tributaries) have been scouted for kayaking and rafting. They cut through high valleys and low plains to meet up with the Brahmaputra River in India. The natural setting and the sheer variety of the rivers’ courses makes up for a unique opportunity to explore Bhutan’s beautiful wilderness. It is more than a teaser and an invitation to anyone interested in adventure travels. The rivers are plentiful with high currents and depths reaching a maximum of about five meters; at places it passes gently on and in others the rivers rage through loudly, dominating the environs. Although adventure sports and tourism are relatively recent introductions, it is gaining on in popularity.
Day 01:Arrive at the Paro Airport
Arrive at the Paro airport and explore the town in the afternoon. After lunch or evening tea, drive to Thimphu.
Day 02:Sightseeing in Thimphu
Whole day sightseeing in Thimphu on your motorcycles.Visit the NationalFolk Heritage Museum, the ZorigChusum school of 13 traditional arts/crafts, the Textile Museum, the Memorial Chorten (stupa) and the SimtokhaDzong. Visit the colourful vegetable market and the Tashichhodzong fortress. Enjoy a fantastic meal in some of the best restaurants with choice of Bhutanese, Indian, Chinese, Japanese, Italian, Thai culinary. Ride up to the Buddha-point to see the largest statue of Buddha Doderma and continue to the Takin Reserve center to see the national animal of Bhutan.
Day 03:Drive to Punakha
Drive to Punakha over the Dochula pass (3050m). Visit ChhimiLhakhang temple on the way, which involves a nice walk through a village surrounded by paddy fields. Continue to your campsite in Punakha, which is next to the Mo chhu river. Enjoy camping with bonfire in the evening.
Day 04:Drive up 2 hours to Tashitang
For those who dare, our kayakers will take on the Tashithang Devil’s gorge today, a Class V rapid. It’s a 12km stretch taking 5 -7 hours with scouting. Higher than medium flows makes this run dangerous. A high water run is not recommended.There is a short stretch of flat water about six kilometers down, the end of which marks the start of the Devil’s Gorge, a step up from the whitewater above. There is little access to the road, so paddlers attempting this section of river should be ready to commit to the whole thing. For those, not wanting to bite off such a big chunk of hard whitewater, we’ll do the Mo Chhu Upper run. Drive up 14km to the Mo Chhu Upper Run with several Class IV and V rapids. This is one of the most extreme sections of water rafted in the Punakha Valley – This run takes you through some really interesting class III & IV rapids and a beautiful gorge. We see lots of bird life and it is not uncommon to see a family of otters.
Day 05:Wangdue
Drive through the unpaved dirt road of 12 kms will take you to the valley of Samdenkha where you will start the second day rafting. This wonderful class III river is would be a good introduction to whitewater rafting with some fun intermediate rapids and spectacular scenery. You will pass by many village farmhouses and also see farmers in the field. After lunch drive to Wangdue to visit the wangdueDzong.
Day 06:Drive to Trongsa
Drive to Trongsa and visit the Tower of Trongsa museum and the TrongsaDzong. Explore the town in the evening.
Day 07:Punakha – Paro
Paddle the EmaDatshi canyon of the MangdeChhuriver. It offers one of the finest stretches of whitewater and an absolutely raunchy river canyon. While the road follows the river for the entire run, the river quickly disappears into a sheer sided bedrock canyon, heavily overgrown with dense jungle. The canyon walls are dotted with wild honey combs we often come across wildlife like Golden Langurs, Macques, variety of birds, gorals and if you are lucky, even a leopard. Overnight in Jangbi Community-based tourism product campsite with a local cultural show. Be entertained by the community residents.
Day 08:Phubjikha
Hike back to the road and transfer to Phubjikha. Visit the GangteyGompa.
Day 09:Drive to Paro
Visit the oldest temple KyichuLhakhang.
Day 10:Paro
Whole day sightseeing in Paro including a hike up to the Tiger’s nest and the National Museum in the evening.
Day 11:Depart from Paro airport.
