6 days / 5 nights · Private tour
Tour highlights
About this tour
This Bhutan meditation retreat is for free spirits, seekers and backpackers who want more than sightseeing. For six days, you meditate with monks, sleep a night at a monastery, light butter lamps beside local families and walk in silence to Tiger’s Nest. Your own guide and driver look after everything else.
In Bhutan, Buddhism is not a scene put on for travellers. Instead, it is everyday life: monks are neighbours, prayer wheels turn in every village, and a quiet mind is something people actually value. If you want to slow down and look inward, this is your place.
First, a monk guides you through simple breathing and calm-abiding meditation and answers your questions about the practice. Next, you spend a night at a monastery, eat with the community and wake to the sound of morning prayers. In addition, you light butter lamps and walk the prayer circuit with local people, just as Bhutanese families do.
Finally, several mornings begin with a silent walk: no talking, just your steps, the forest and the prayer flags. No experience is needed, and you never have to be Buddhist to join.
If you have meditated in Rishikesh or studied in Dharamshala, Bhutan is the quieter next step. There are no crowds of seekers and no retreat industry, only living monasteries and valleys that still feel untouched. Direct flights also connect Paro with Kathmandu, Delhi and Kolkata, so it is easy to add to a longer journey.
Want more culture after your retreat? Add our Thimphu sightseeing tour, or travel deeper to the old temples on our Bumthang tour.
Spring, from March to May, and autumn, from September to November, bring clear skies and mild days. Meanwhile, winter is cold but very still, which many people love for meditation. Summer brings rain, green valleys and almost no other visitors. For weather, visas and packing, read our Bhutan travel information guide.
Not in the usual way. Most visitors must travel with a licensed Bhutanese operator, so there is no hostel-and-local-bus route here like in Nepal or India. However, you can still travel like a backpacker: in a small group, in shared rooms and simple guesthouses, eating local food and walking wherever you can.
In fact, many backpackers add Bhutan as a short, deep stop on a longer trip through Nepal and India. Because your guide handles permits, transport and rooms, you spend your days on what matters: the monasteries, the mountains and the people.
We have not put a price on this one, on purpose. Tell us your dates, how many of you are coming and roughly what you can spend, and we will find a way 😉. Shared rooms, simple guesthouses and travelling as a small group all bring the cost down. Of course, if you would rather treat yourself, we can make it as comfortable as you like.
To be honest, Bhutan is never rock-bottom cheap. Every visitor pays the Sustainable Development Fee, USD 100 per night, set by Bhutan’s official tourism site and confirmed at this rate only until 31 August 2027. However, travellers with an Indian, Bangladeshi or Maldivian passport pay a much lower daily fee, so ask us.
Message us: WhatsApp +975 77780105 or email andrew@bhutantourismagency.com. We have been licensed since 2012, and we reply fast.
No. The monks start with the basics and go at your pace. Complete beginners are very welcome.
Not at all. You simply join with respect. Your guide explains each ritual, so you always know what is happening and why.
Inside temples and monasteries, cover your shoulders and knees and take off your hat. Also, bring warm layers, because monasteries are cold in the early morning.
Yes. Many people add a few days of hiking or a festival. Just message us and we will shape the trip around you.
Day by day
This itinerary shows one way to enjoy this trip. We can change any day, add or remove places, change the pace or the hotels, and add a festival. Every journey we run is curated around you.
Paro to Thimphu · 55 km · about 1.5 hours · 2,300 m Your flight drops between the mountains into the Paro Valley, and your guide greets you with a white scarf. After the short drive to Thimphu, you rest and let the altitude settle. In the evening, you join local people walking slowly around the Memorial Chorten, spinning prayer wheels as the light fades. Next, you light your first butter lamps, a simple offering that Bhutanese families make every day, and set an intention for the week. Overnight: Thimphu
Thimphu valley · easy walks · 2,300 to 2,800 m In the morning, a monk guides you through your first meditation session, starting with the breath and a calm, steady mind. Afterwards, you can ask anything about the practice or monastic life. After lunch, you visit Buddha Dordenma above the valley, then head up into the hills to the monastery where you spend the night. In the evening, you share a simple meal with the community and sit quietly as the prayers begin. Overnight: Monastery stay
Thimphu to Punakha · 72 km · about 3 hours · Dochula Pass 3,100 m You wake before sunrise to the deep sound of horns and chanting, and you join the monks for their morning prayers. Then you walk down in silence through the forest. Later, you cross Dochula Pass, where 108 chortens stand against the Himalaya, and you pause there for a few quiet minutes. In the afternoon, you walk through rice fields to Chimi Lhakhang, the temple of the Divine Madman, in the warm Punakha Valley. Overnight: Punakha
Punakha to Paro · 125 km · about 4.5 hours with stops · 2,200 m You start with a silent walk along the river, as mist lifts off the water. Next, you cross a wooden bridge into Punakha Dzong, set where two rivers meet, and sit for a while in its courtyard. After lunch, you drive back over Dochula to Paro. In the evening, you visit Kyichu Lhakhang, one of the oldest temples in Bhutan, and light butter lamps once more before an early night. Overnight: Paro
Tiger's Nest hike · about 500 m climb · 4 to 6 hours return · 3,100 m You set off early and walk the first part of the trail in silence, through pine forest hung with prayer flags. At the viewpoint opposite the monastery, you stop for a short meditation as the cliff appears through the trees. Then you continue to Taktsang itself, where Guru Rinpoche is said to have meditated in a cave. In the afternoon, you can relax with an optional hot stone bath in a farmhouse. Overnight: Paro
Paro airport · short transfer After a last quiet breakfast, your guide and driver take you to the airport and see you off with a farewell scarf. As the plane climbs out of the valley, take one more slow breath and look back at the mountains. Many people tell us the calm they found here stays with them for months. When you are ready for more, we will be here for a trek, a festival or a longer retreat.
Tell us your dates, and we will shape this trip around you.
