Get organised

We recommend arriving into Bangkok at least one night prior to your flight into Paro, Bhutan, to allow for any delays.

Today your guide will meet you at Paro airport, where we’ll load up the vehicle and transfer to the capital city Thimphu. En-route we will stop to visit Tamchog Lhakang (the Iron Chain Bridge) and take a short break to breathe in Bhutan’s fresh air and rich nature. We will walk over this 15th century iron bridge reconstructed using original chain link from the famous Tibetan bridge builder TangThong Gyalpo.

When we arrive at Thimphu we’ll have lunch at the hotel, after which you’ll head out to build your bikes in the ornate town square.

Once bikes are built and stored we will take an evening visit to the Memorial Chorten Stupa, a sacred shrine built in the memory of the third king of Bhutan, then on to a welcome dinner where you can enjoy fine authentic Bhutanese cuisine. Your guide will go through the all-important pre-trip briefing over dinner.

Your first ride in the magical Kingdom of Bhutan will prepare you for the challenge of mountain biking at altitude. We’ll set off on a sedate cross country-style ride that will gradually introduce you to some “enduro” features as we go, helping to set the scene of the adventure ahead.

After a gradual 6km climb and with the blessing of Bhudda as we pass, we’ll drop into the capital’s favourite MTB trail, the KC Trail, that extends for 6km of flowing singletrack with grin inducing S-bends. The trail ends at a breathtaking monastery at Motithang where we will catch our breath and take a shuttle back to the Buddha statue to ride another amazing descent to Babesa.

Then we’ll hit the hills up to the Takin Reserve centre, with a stop to see the takins, the national animal of Bhutan. We’ll continue to the radio tower, which will be our entry point for the next two descents: the Wangditse trail and (of course) the Takin trail. After these two superb descents, we’ll be ready for some lunch.

After lunch, we’ll hike-a-bike for an hour on the Phajoding trail and ride the Ridge down to the radio tower and continue on the Takin trail and enjoy another fast flowy trail. The entire ride is on fantastic singletrack punctuated with great views over the capital city. You may also come across some of our local MTB riders on this popular trail.

After our ride you will have time to stroll around the city and enjoy a nice dinner at one of the best restaurants in the capital city.

Your time in Bhutan is not just about riding, but also to enjoy some very good craft beers and local culture – both rural and urban. Tonight we’ll go to one of our favourite bars called the Mojo Park where young musicians will be playing covers and originals to go along with your beers!

After a traditional Bhutanese breakfast we will hop in the shuttle and drive for an hour up to Trashigang gonpa at an altitude of 3,000m from where we can enjoy a stunning panoramic view of the Himalayas.

From here we’ll hike-a-bike to Lungchutse gonpa for an hour at an easy pace. It’s a magical hike-a-bike and we’ve spotted red pandas on this section before.

From the head of the Madman Trail at 3500m, the ride drops into rhododendron and old fir forests with wide and wild trails for 3 km of pure descending in the mist.

When we reach Thinleygang village a picnic lunch will be waiting for us.

After lunch, we’ll continue to ride down to an old village by the river, and from there we’ll pedal on a gentle and long meditative climb through pine forests offering great views. Once we reach Laptsakha village, we’ll head downhill to Punakha Dzong fortress. The ride is 25 km with 80% downhill on one of the best trails in Bhutan.

When we arrive back at our hotel we’ll be ready for a hot shower and cold beer before dinner!

Today we’ll enjoy some serious descents. We’ll shuttle the bikes to Talo village and enjoy riding on one of the best downhill singletrack natural trails in the valley. Stretching 9 km with an altitude drop of 1000m, this ride takes us through beautiful forests and villages, punctuated with monasteries and awesome viewpoints.

After lunch, we’ll shuttle to Tshochhasa village and again enjoy a long flowy descent from 2200m to 1300m. This ride mostly winds through chripine forests and ends at the paddy fields near the fortress.

We’ll take you to a lovely little restaurant in Khuruthang town for dinner.

We have a day off the bike today to refresh the legs and take in some of Bhutan’s cultural sites.

We’ll drive to Punakha valley to visit the Khamsum Yuelley Namgyal stupa, which involves a short scenic hike through paddy fields for about 45 minutes to the hilltop where the temple is located. From here you can also enjoy a majestic view of the underlying valley. The temple itself is a splendid example of Bhutan’s fine architectural and artistic traditions and the only one of its kind in the world.

Our next stop is at Punakha Dzong – the most beautiful fortress in Bhutan situated at the confluence of two rivers. This ancient fortress is the winter residence of the monastic order’s leadership and still serves as the administrative headquarters for the Punakha region.

To round off our cultural day we’ll drive to the village of Lobesa and pay our respects to one of Bhutan’s most charming and eccentric historic figures nicknamed ‘The Divine Madman’ at the Chhimi Lhakhang – also called the fertility monastery – where your guide will explain the history.

We will enjoy dinner in Lobesa before heading back to our hotel

Back on the bike today for a long cross-country ride. After checking out of the hotel, we’ll shuttle to Samtengang village for about an hour and from here we’ll ride on to Razawo village through beautiful stretches of the Trans-Bhutan Trail on forested singletrack at an easy pace for about 20 kms.

From here, we’ll shuttle the bikes to Phobjikha valley and stop at the Lawala pass where we’ll probably see some yaks grazing.

Next, we’ll hike-a-bike for about 40 minutes to the ridge above the valley and enjoy an 8 km long ridge ride that gives you a feeling of a freeride as there are multiple line choices.

Once we reach the valley floor, we’ll ride through some of the quaint villages and eventually the beautiful stretch of pine forests that passes through the black-necked crane sanctuary, where we’ll have a break.

We’ll continue riding to our lodge for the night where the local family will welcome us into their accommodation, which has amazing views of the Phobjikha valley below.

It’s a big day on the bike riding point-to-point with no shuttle assists.

We’ll head off early, at 8 am, with a gradual ascent of 8 km to the Phobjikha pass and from there descend about 10 km on back-country logging roads before a gradual ascent for another 6 km to reach the second pass.

From there we continue downhill for 12 km on a logging road to reach the hidden valley of Khotokha which is far from the tourist trails. It’s a high glacial valley that is so beautiful and tucked away from civilisation. Our riders are the only visitors who pass through this old authentic village that seems to be untouched by tourism.

We’ll stop to enjoy a lovely lunch at a local farmhouse.

After lunch we hike-a-bike for about an hour to reach Moleyla pass at 3000m, from where you are about to be rewarded with one of the most technical and exciting trails we know.

The Khotokha trail is 30% rock-gardens and then it comes to a beautiful forest ride where you can let go of the brakes a bit more. The flowy trails are full of roots, leaves, switchbacks, natural berms, jumps and very fast sections allowing riders to shred to their limits.

Theres a nice resort waiting at the end of the ride.

After a leisurely breakfast, we’ll drive to Paro for 4 hours.

In the afternoon we’ll visit a farmhouse to try a herbal hot-stone bath which is known to be therapeutic and helps ailments related to joints and muscle aches (after a long week of biking), besides it is simply soothing for your mind and body.

We’ll also enjoy an authentic local dinner at the farmhouse.

By now, you might start believing that the trails in Bhutan get better with each passing day, and today might reaffirm this as we will ride one of your best trails ever!

It is a big day, but with your rested legs it should be no problem. So we’ll start a bit earlier than normal and shuttle the bikes for about an hour to get to the Museum, from there we will hike-a-bike for around 1.5 hours to reach the Jela temple which sits on a ridge overlooking the valley.

We will sit here for a well earned snack before we hit the famous Jela trail which is a 15km descent on one of the best trails in Bhutan.

After lunch in Paro town at the best pizzeria in town, we shuttle the bikes for about an hour and a half to reach the trail head close to Kila Goenpa nunnery at 3600m. We’ll enjoy a long descent down to Paro valley for 12 km. The trail starts to get nice loamy on a beautiful fast-flowing trail through rhododendron and Oak forests.

Once we get to Gorina monastery, the trail starts to get loose with hardpacked dirt with a number of rock gardens, making it awesome ride. The entire downhill section is close to 12 km. This trail is pure ecstasy with very interesting assortment of features.

It’s your last day in Bhutan today, and one you won’t forget!

We have options today, depending on how much challenge you feel ready to take on.

The full challenge is to drive to the trail head for 30 mins and then hike-a-bike for about 4 hours up to Bumdra campsite via Sangchhokhor Buddhist College.

After lunch we’ll ride Bhutan’s ultimate downhill trail passing several monastries located at dramatic spots that gives a true sense of riding in Shangri-la. The highlight to end your Bhutan adventure is the famous Tiger’s Nest monastery that clings precariously to a 1000 ft cliffside.

The ride is a 2000 m descent on some spectacular trails. Switchbacks, off-camber, downhill, rock gardens, flowy trails, enduro-style riding – you name it, it’s all in there!

After visiting the Tiger’s Nest, we’ll enjoy some proper downhill type of riding to end a spectacular MTB adventure in Bhutan.

Alternatively, we can hike up to Tiger’s Nest Monastery, without bikes, spend time there, then hike back down and enjoy the final descent.

Tonight it’s chill time and we’ll visit Bhutan’s first brewery-pub to sample some amazing craft beers, food and celebrate our Bhutan adventure together!

After breakfast at your hotel your guide will take you to the airport. Your guide will help you with the formalities and wish you farewell on your onward journey.