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High Lander Festival

The Royal Highlander Festival is held at Laya,Gasa District. It was first introduced on the 16th Of October in 2016 to mark the celebration of the birth of HRH the Gyalsey; 400 years of Shabdrung Rimpoche and the Rabjung (60 years cycle) birth year of Guru Rimpoche. The Royal Highlander festival shares the beauty and the wonders of Gasa Dzongkhag through its nature, history and its age-old tradition and culture, and the simplicity of the life of the Highlanders with our guests.

His Majesty The King graced the Royal Highland Festival, which is being held on 23rd and 24th October in Laya, Gasa.

The Royal Highland Festival was initiated by His Majesty The King in 2016, as an annual event celebrating and showcasing the unique Highland culture and beauty.

The festival, held in Laya, the highest settlement in Bhutan, has participants from 10 dzongkhags of Bhutan with Highland communities, each with their unique dress,  local customs and products.

Bhutan’s Highland communities are among the most resilient peoples in the country, inhabiting remote, high-altitude villages rich in natural beauty, and largely unchanged by the passage of time. The Royal Highland Festival is an opportunity for visitors to experience the Highland way of life, and for Highland communities to enhance their income through international and domestic tourism.

During the festival, visitors can witness the traditional offering of Buelwa (Gift offering) with Auley (a traditional epic poem/song recitation tradition originating from Zhabdrung Rinpoche days) that began during Zhabdrung Rinpoche’s reign in showing loyalty and respect by the community of Laya is being offered for the dynamic and visionary leadership of our successive monarchs.

A variety of cultural programs will be performed by Layaps. Various competitions on highland animals including the Yaks, horses, and Mastiffs will be held and also competitions such as traditional songs and dances will be held.

The festival consists of a series of stalls ranging from locally based yak produce to highland technology, highland agriculture technology, medicinal herbs & plants, and others.

High Lander Festival Package

Upon arrival at Paro International Airport, you will be greeted by our M3 Guide and driver and then transfer to Thimphu, the capital city of Bhutan. Lunch will be served at Thimphu. After lunch, we will do some sightseeing in Thimphu, like visiting to Memorial Chorten (It was built in 1974 in the memory of the third king late Jigme Dorji Wangchuk, who is regarded as the father of modern Bhutan). Buddha Point (Kuensel Phodrang). This gigantic statue of Shakyamuni measures in at a height of 51.5 meters, making it one of the largest statues of Buddha in the world). And in the evening, we will visit Trachichho Dzong (an architectural delight that houses the throne room, the office of His Majesty the king, and the ministries of home affairs and finance). Dinner and overnight stay at Thimphu hotel.

After our breakfast at the hotel, we will do sightseeing in Thimphu, the capital city of Bhutan. We will visit Post Office and make the personalized stamps. Visit Drupthop Dewachen Nunnery (The Thangtong Dewachen nunnery was founded in 1976 by Rickey Jadrel, who is considered an emanation of Thangtong Gyalpo). Visit Takin Mini-zoo (To see the National Animal of Bhutan, Takin). Lunch will be served at Thimphu town, one of the restaurants. After lunch, we will continue with our tour and we will visit Paper Factory (to see traditional methods to produce the authentic Bhutanese paper known as Deh-sho). Craft Bazar (A spectacle of traditional bamboo huts, aligned neatly below Norzin Lam, opposite to Nehru Wangchuk Cultural Centre, showcasing a wide range of authentic Bhutan-made art and craft products). Evening we will explore Thimphu town by walking. Dinner and overnight stay at a hotel in Thimphu.

After our breakfast at the hotel, we will drive to Punakha over dochula pass (3150m). You will see the stunning view of the eastern Himalayan Mounatin Ranges on clear days. We will stop at the pass for photography and enjoy the fresh air. On reaching Lobesa, we will hike to Chhimi Lhakhang, the temple of fertility. After the hike, we will serve lunch. Then we will drive to Punakha. On reaching Punakha, we will visit Punakha Dzong. This dzong is the most beautiful dzong in Bhutan and is located majestically at the confluence of Pho Chhu (Male River) and Mo Chhu (Female River. Evening at leisure. Dinner and overnight stay at Hotel Punakha hotel.

Early Morning leave your hotel for our approx. 5 hours drive to Gasa where the road ends, from there start our trek (4 hours) to Koina which, is your destination for tonight. Starting from the end of the road, trek for approx. In 4 and half hours, the trail first winds with a gradual descent till Koina and then winds up with a gradual climb till your campsite past the small bride (Thongchu zam).

Overnight Camp.

After breakfast, start trekking to our destination, the beautiful highland village of Laya. The trail winds up gradually and at times with steep climbs till you reach Laya. Early arrive at your camp and enjoy the scenic beauty of the landscape and then you will come across a lot of locals in their typical Laya costumes. Overnight Camp

The Royal Highlander festival was first introduced in the year 2016 on the 16th of October to mark the celebration of the birth of HRH the Gyalsey; 400 years of Zhabdrung Rinpoche and the Rabjung (60 years cycle) birth year of Guru Rimpoche. The Royal Highlander festival shares the beauty and the wonders of the Gasa district through its nature, history, and its age-old tradition and culture, to share Gasa’s vision of “Good to Great Gasa” and finally share all these authenticities and the simplicity of the life of the Highlanders with our guests.

During the festival, visitors can witness the traditional offering of Buelwa (Gift offering) with Auley (a traditional epic poem/song recitation tradition originating from Zhabdrung Rinpoche days) that began during Zhabdrung Rinpoche’s reign in showing loyalty and respect by the community of Laya is being offered for the dynamic and visionary leadership of our successive monarchs.

A variety of cultural programs will be performed by Layaps. Competitions such as traditional songs and dances and other various competitions on highland animals including Yaks, horses, and Mastiffs will be held.

Enjoy the 2nd day of the Festival at Laya.

After breakfast, we will trek back to Koina with pack lunch. Today we will overnight stay at Koina camp.

After breakfast, we will drive to Gasa. Visit Gasa Dzong – the administrate and religious center of Gasa Dzong. Lunch will be served at Gasa Camp. After lunch, we will relax at the Gasa Hot Spring. Dinner and overnight stay at Gasa camp.

After breakfast after saying goodbye to our trekking crewmembers, we will drive to Paro. Lunch will be served at Punakha or on the way. Continue the journey to Paro. Dinner and overnight stay at Paro Hotel.

After the breakfast, we will drive to the Ramthangka, where the hike to one of the Bhutan’s most dramatic monuments, the Tiger’s Nest (Taktshang Monastery). We will use pony till the Taktshang cafeteria. From the cafeteria, we have to hike up to the monastery for about 1hr 30minutes. Even from the cafeteria, we can see the spectacular views of this most sacred monastery in the Buddhism world. Of, if you cannot hike from the cafeteria, we can sit and enjoy the view of the monastery, which is perched on the rocks, 900m above the valley floor. Our lunch will be served here at cafeteria. On our way back to the hotel, we will visit Kyichu Lhakhang, it is one of the two most sacred and the oldest temples in Bhutan, built in the 7th century by Tibetan king Songtsen Gampo (the 33rd Tibetan king, who is also the manifestation of Avalokiteshvara, commonly known to Bhutanese as Chenrize). Evening stroll around the Paro valley, the valley of surpassing Beauty.

After our breakfast, we will drive to Paro International Airport for your onward flight. Our guide and driver will bid you farewell here at the airport. We wish you a very safe and pleasant flight to your onward destinations.

Note: This is a sample itinerary, intended to give you a general idea of the likely trip schedule. Numerous factors such as weather, tour conditions, group options, and the physical condition of participants, may dictate itinerary changes either before departure or while on tour. We reserve the right to change this schedule in the interest of our guests, safety, comfort, and general well-being.

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