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THE CORONATION DRAGON
THE CORONATION DRAGON tour is dedicated to His majesty the 5th King of Bhutan who assumed the Golden throne in Nov 2008. The tour will take you to interesting cultural sights of Western and central Bhutan, to the secluded places of Zhemgang and southern districts of Sarpang and Tsirang. Bhutan, the secret Shangri la or the Land of the Peaceful Thunder Dragon is the best-kept secret in the travel industry. Due to its relative isolation, the country is little known to the outside world and until 1960, western visitors rarely visited the country. Today very few people have experienced the beauty of Bhutan. The few who do visit this magical place find an ancient Buddhist culture thriving in a landscape of incredible natural beauty. The mountains are magnificent, the countryside green, the air is like champagne, and the architecture striking. Our motorcycle tours give you an intimate insight into Bhutan's Buddhist culture and way of life. The mountain roads are well maintained throughout Bhutan, and reach heights of 3000m. Bhutan offers the most fantastic sights of the Himalayan ranges, whilst riding through various types of vegetation ranging from sub tropical to alpine vegetation through valleys and  villages with terraced rice fields and fairy tale rivers.
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Itinerary
 
Day 1. Departure from home country.

Day 2. Arrive Paro by Druk air. The flight into Paro (2280m/ 7524ft) on Druk Air is spectacular. In clear weather, magnificent views of the world’s highest peaks give way to the verdant greens of the Paro Valley. The first gift from Bhutan is the cool, clean fresh air as we step from the plane. After clearing customs and visa control we are met by our guide and then drive a short distance to your hotel. The remainder of the day is at leisure with a walk through the main streets of Paro or time permitting take charge of your machines and start getting familiar with the traffic conditions in Bhutan.

 Day 3. Paro local rides/acclimatization/sightseeing. (70-80km). Paro is a beautiful valley offering many sights of cultural interests. We will do some riding around the valley and visit some sights of cultural interest. Visit the national muesuem, The Rinpung Dzong, the ruined Drugyal Dzong, ride some village roads.

Day 4. Paro-Haa-Thimphu. (150km). We begin our ride today towards Thimphu, making a loop around the Chelila pass and into Haa and then to Thimphu. Climb 35 km from Paro to the Chelila pass at near 4000m which is also the highest motor able road point in Bhutan. Weather permitting you have great views of Mt. Jhomolhari, Haa valley and rugged Himalayan landscape. Stop for lunch at Haa town and continue towards Thimphu. You cross many villages like Karna, Jyenkana, Bitekha. The ride is beautiful with very minimal traffic and stunning scenery as you ride through pine forests. Once you reach the river confluence of Thimphu and Paro, its 31km to Thimphu on the national highway.

Day 5. Thimphu local sightseeing. (appx. 60 km). Thimphu is the capital city of Bhutan with appx. 100,000 inhabitants. Visit some sights of Cultural interests like the Memorial stupa of the 3rd King. Ride to the view point of Thimphu to get the whole view of Thimphu, enroute you can also visit the Takin sanctuary which is the national animal of Bhutan. Ride further north of Thimphu to explore some villages. Later be at leisure to explore the bars and cafes in the town.

Day 6. Thimphu to Punakha. (79km). We’ll aim for an early breakfast so we can do some more sightseeing before leaving for Punakha the old winter capital of Bhutan. En route we’ll cross the Dochula Pass at an altitude of 3150mts. On a clear day the eastern range of the Himalayas can be seen from here, so fingers crossed! We then descend down to the Punakha Valley at an altitude of 1350mts. The road has lots of sharp bends, with lots of breathtaking views of the mountains and valleys. If we get to Punakha early enough we’ll visit the glorious Punakha Dzong, also known as the "the Palace of Great Bliss". 

Day 7. Punakha to Trongsa. (142km) to Bumthang (68km). Today’s ride to Trongsa takes us through two major passes and the small town of Wangdue at 1350mts, where we’ll explore .Maybe visit the Dzong and then ride on to Nobding. From Nobding the road ascends sharply to Pelela Pass at 3300mts before descending through pastureland at Sephu where we reach the historical Chendebji Chorten. After consuming our much-anticipated packed lunch at Chendebji, we’ll ride to Trongsa at an altitude of 2350mts. While Punakha and Trongsa are at approx the same elevation, there are lots of bends, beautiful waterfalls and thick forest cover on the way. This part of the ride offers views of the south Trongsa Valley and stunning views of the Trongsa Dzong. After visiting the absolutely amazing Trongsa Dzong, we’ll ride to Bumthang. En route we’ll pass many interesting villages and cross the Yutongla Pass at 3400m before descending into the beautiful Bumthang Valley. Our hotel in the trading centre of Jakar is at an altitude of 2680mts. Getting in relatively early will give us all a chance to explore the township

Day 8. Bumthang Local rides. (40-50km). Bumthang is also known as the Switzerland of Bhutan, the whole valley resembling the Swiss Alps but with many monasteries and prayer flags that dot the hills and pine forests. There used to be many Swiss people living in Bumthang developing the logging industry in the 80s. It’s a wide valley and interesting to do local rides in the valley visiting villages and visiting sights of cultural interests.

Day 9. Bumthang to Zhemgang. (180km). We will take a short ride back to Trongsa and then ride towards the south of Bhutan to the district of Zhemgang. We will ride through many interesting villages, the district of Zhemgang is one of the remote places in Bhutan but with very rich ecological diversity and rich flora, fauna and avifauna. We also come across some interesting waterfalls and wildlife enroute. Due to its remoteness tourism has not been touched at all here hence we will need to camp on this route.

Day 10. Zhemgang to Tsirang. (216km). Today we will ride further south to the towns of Geylegphug which borders the Indian state of Assam, but we ride in Bhutanese territory. The ride involves riding through rich forest diversity and varied weather patterns as we ride for some time in the tropics and again climb to conifer belts, meanwhile traveling through many small villages.

Day 11. Tsirang to Thimphu. (184km). After breakfast in the camp, we head towards Thimphu and today the highway is one of the most interesting and well kept roads in the country. It is a beautiful ride as you all along the Wangdue river until you reach the Wangdue bridge and then its 79 km to Thimphu. Once you reach the Wangdue bridge you would have completed the Coronation Dragon loop, that has been dedicated to the 5th King of Bhutan His Majesty Jigme Gesar Namgyal Wangchuck who has been crowned in Nov 2008.

Day 12. Rest Day at Thimphu. This day is free to rest in Thimphu or pursue sightseeing, shopping and exploring this small and interesting city. Today we will ride further south to the towns of Geylegphug, which borders the Indian State of Assam, but we ride in Bhutanese territory. This section involves riding through rich forest diversity and varied weather patterns as we ride for some time in the tropics and again climb to conifer belts, meanwhile traveling through many small villages.

Day13. Thimphu to Paro. (55km).Transfer to Paro by coach. End of bike ride.

Day14. Departure Paro.

Day15. International Departure.

Day 16. Arrive Home Country

NB. 2 nights camping on this tour.