Paro is a beautiful valley with an abundance of scenic beauty, rich culture, and a lot of legends and myths. Paro is the home to most of the ancient monasteries and temples in Bhutan. Along with that, Paro boasts of having the national museum and the one of its kind airport in the Bhutan. Paro is known to be the most fertile mountain valley in the kingdom of Bhutan producing a majority of red rice from its valley fields.
What to see in Paro?
- Rinpung Dzong: The first temporal and spiritual ruler of Bhutan, Shabdrung Ngawang Namgyal built it in 1646. These Dzong houses were built as the monastic houses of the place, containing the office of the district judge and the district administrative head. One can reach there through Nemi Zam, which is a traditional bridge. While walking through the bridge, you will come across a variety of architectural wonders. Also, Paro Tshechu is held here annually during spring.
- Ta Dzong:This tower is a must watch as it was built for defending Ripung Dzong at the time of Intervalley War in 17th century. After that, it is served as the country’s National Museum. There is a fascinating and exquisite collection of thangka paintings, relics, art and postage stamps of Bhutan. The circular shape of museum helps in augmenting its various collections on floors.
- Drukgyel Dzong:Shabdrung Ngawang Namgyal built this beautiful village in 1646 to celebrate his victory over Tibetan invaders. Strategically and historically, this Dzong withstands all its glory and this was featured in National Geographic magazine in 1914. Its glory remains intact even when it was destroyed in 1951 due to fire.
- Kyichu Lhakhang:It is among the most sacred and oldest shrines of Kingdom right from the beginning of 7th century. The architectural complex of Lhakhang has two temples, one of which was built in 7th century by Songtsen Gampo, a Tibetan king and the other one was built by the mother queen of Bhutan, i.e. H.M. Ashi Kesang.
- Farmhouse or the traditional house of the village:The beautiful Paro valley has a cluster of farmhouses. These farmhouses are very beautiful, decorative, colorful, and built traditionally without using a single nail. All the houses are built with the same architecture. The lifestyle of a typical farmer can be depicted with a visit to these farmhouses.
- Dungtse Lhakhang:There is a chorten type temple towards the west of Dungtse Lhakhang. It is an unusual building built by a builder of the iron bridge named, Thangtong Gyalpo. There are three floors each of which represents heaven, earth, and hell respectively. The paintings placed in the temple are believed to be the best paintings in the entire Bhutan.
- Ugyen Pelri Palace:It is wooden compound on the southern side of the river towards the west of Dzong. This was built by Tsering Penjor and Paro Penlop in 20th century. The designing is done in accordance with the celestial paradise of Guru Rinpoche and Zangto. Pelri, thus is known to be the best example of Bhutanese architecture.
- Takshtang Lhakhang or the tiger’s nest:This is among the most famous monasteries of Bhutan, situated on a side of a cliff which is 900m higher than the valley floor of Paro. It is believed to be place of meditation of Guru Rinpoche who arrived here by sitting on the back of a tigress. That is why this site is known as Tiger’s valley. It is believed to be among the most sacred places of Bhutan. Almost all the Bhutanese visit here once in their lifetime.
- Kila goemba: This is a home for Buddhist nuns dedicating their lives to spirituality. They lead their lives in a very peaceful way and stay deep in meditations and prayers. Goemba is situated on the mountainside below Chelela pass.
Where to stay in Paro?
- Udumwara Resort The hotel has a free WiFi feature available along with a sunny terrace. You will get pet-friendly accommodation here. Guests may enjoy at the on-site restaurants. Private parking is also available on site for absolutely free. You can reserve your room in advance even without a credit card.
- Viewpoint lodge Accommodations are being offered by View Point Lodge in Paro. This hotel also provides free WiFi facility along with free private parking facility on site. All rooms or units have a flat-screen cable TV in them. The reservation here is also possible without a credit card.
- Sonam Trophel Inn This hotel offers excellent accommodations in Paro. Guest can enjoy restaurant facility on-site. All have units have televisions fitted in them. Some of the units also include a sitting area to relax. It also invites reservation without a credit card.
- Le meridian Paro Riverfront Accommodations are offered by Le Meridien in Paro. The rooms are well equipped with flat televisions having cable connections in them. Also, the guests may enjoy the on-site restaurant. Some of the rooms also have a sitting area where one could relax for some time.
- Bhutan Mandala Resort Bhutan Mandala resort offers free WiFi to its guests. Also, there is an availability of free private parking facility. There are flat Screen televisions in each room. The more advantage here is that there is a Kettle in each room.
- Olathang Hotel Free WiFi and private parking facility is there in this resort in Paro.
- Tashiling Hotel Tashiling hotel provides quality accommodations in Paro. Guests may enjoy on-site bar facility. Also, they will find each of the room equipped with flat screen cable televisions. The hotel provides you the facility of reservation without a credit card.
- Reema resort Reema Resort features a sun terrace and free WiFi in Paro. It also provides free on-site private parking facility. All the units have flat screen televisions installed in it and a few of them also have a balcony and a dining area in them.
- COMO Uma Paro This hotel has been rated with 5 stars. It provides you a facility of free WiFi along with a fitness center.
- Hotel Khamsum They have free WiFi and restaurant facility, Hotel Khamsum provides you accommodations on your visit to Paro. Guests may enjoy the facility of the onsite restaurant. Some of the units may include sitting areas which will help you to relax.
How to reach Paro?
- By air: The only international airport of Bhutan is in Paro which is well-connected to flights from Dhaka, Bangkok, Kathmandu, Kolkata, Delhi etc. Thimphu is the capital city of Bhutan and it takes nearly an hour to reach Thimphu from Paro international airport.
- By train:If you are planning to reach Paro through the train, there is no direct train from Delhi, Mumbai or Bangalore to Paro. You need to travel to New Jalpaiguri, Siliguri or Kolkata to go to Bhutan via railways.
- By taxi or car:if you want to travel to Bhutan by road from India, you will have to cross three border points in total. One of them is at Phuentsholing/ Jaigaon in West Bengal and rest of the two are Gelephu/ Bongaigaon and Samdrup/ Darangamela in Assam. The most preferred point of exit for the travelers is Phuentsholing/ Jaigaon Border. It is because, there are facilities here for staying. Along with that permits are easy to get from there. Private taxis could be hired from Siliguri, NJP station and Bagdogra airport and private buses could be hired to reach Phuentsholing from Siliguri.
- By bus: Tourists may book a bus to the border town Phuntsholing from Kolkata. Bhutanese government manages these buses.
How to reach the hotel in Paro
There are taxies available in the Paro city which may take you to your required destination. Taxies have meters in them, but the drivers hardly use them and ask for flat rates with no chance of negotiation. Also, many of them charge high for foreigners like Indians. So beware!
Local food
Try out the following Bhutanese food for making your Bhutan trip a memorable one.
- Ma Datshi: The most famous Bhutanese dish is Ema Datshi. This dish is full of cheese and chillies. The chillies could either be red or green, which are sliced lengthwise to cook along with Datshi. Datshi is the local cheese of Bhutan.
- Kewa Datshi:Kewa means potato. So this dish is the mixture of potato with cheese. The potatoes are sliced in thin pieces, and then these pieces are sautéed with butter and cheese. Sometimes chillies and tomatoes could also be added, but usually, it is a mild dish which focuses just on cheese and potatoes.
- Shamu datshi:This is the third staple dish for the people of Bhutan. It is a mixture of mushroom in cheese. Mushrooms could be of a variety like Himalayan mushrooms or of any other kind. You may eat this dish along with rice.
- Shakam ema datshi:There is no way of escaping from cheese, once you go to Bhutan. Shakam refers to dried beef in Bhutan. This beef is preserved by drying so that the taste resembles that of a jerky beef, being a little thicker but not completely dehydrated. In the dish, the beef s cut into small bites and simmered with butter and cheese.
- Shakam Paa:This is a wonderful food of Bhutanese made with slices of radish and dried chillies. The beef is added along with dry chillies and it makes the dish amazingly tasty.
- Shakam Shukam datshi:This is a rare dish and is not available in every restaurant there. Shukam is the dried white chillies of Bhutan. This dish has a lot of dried beef along with cheese and white chillies. This adds an incredible taste to the dish and makes it unique.
- Phaksha Paa:Along with yak and beef, people of Bhutan like pork too. In this dish, the pork is sliced and fried with red chillies and mountain vegetables. The end mixture is a great dish which can be served well with rice.
- Sikam Paa:Sikam pana resembles bacon. For making sikam paa, dried belly pork is fried along with dried chillies.
- Yaksha shakam:Dried yak beef is quite similar to dried beef but is different in fragrance. Yak has comparatively high nutritional content than beef. In yaksha shakam, dried yak meat, just like jerky is cooked in many ways like with fermented cheese of yak etc. This dish can be termed as the dream dish for Bhutanese.
- Goep:In Bhutan, goep are the slices of tripe which are fried along with small vegetables, green onions, and dried chillies. Trips are really chewy and built up the real texture of the dish.
- Juma:juma are the most common sausage made in Bhutan along with rice, minced meat and light spices wrapped in an intestines paper.
Currency tips
Bhutanese local currency is Ngultrum which has to be pledged under Indian rupee. As the package for the tour is prepaid, one has to carry cash just for their personal expenses, drinks and souvenirs. US$200 is enough for an individual there. There are ATMs but only in important towns. So be cautious about money withdrawal. Try to pay with credit cards in handicraft stores and hotels.
Weather tips
If you are planning a trek in Bhutan, you must consider months like April, May, September, and October as these months have the best weather for the trek. Though it is cold there, skies will generally be visible as blue and will not be muddy. Monsoon season in Bhutan is in July and August. You can experience light rains anytime during your travel.
Winters are the best time to take a look at the black-necked cranes in the Phobika valley and summers are great for picking mushrooms there. Along with that, you can get a glimpse of rainbows across the valleys in summers. If you are heading to Bhutan for spiritual reasons, you are invited to Bhutan in every season.
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