Nepal & Bhutan: Two Himalayan Kingdoms

Arjun meets you at KTM. Transfer to Dwarika's Hotel. Krishnarpan dinner in the heritage courtyard.

The great stupa and sacred cremation ghats — Buddhism and Hinduism in one extraordinary morning.

The Kumari Chowk and Kathmandu Durbar Square in the morning; Patan's golden temple and masterpiece Durbar Square in the afternoon.

Full Bhaktapur day then the evening drive to the Nagarkot ridge for tomorrow's sunrise.

Himalayan dawn from 2,175m then return to Kathmandu for Bhutan visa collection and final Thamel shopping.

The Druk Air flight to Paro is one of the world's most dramatic — the final approach threads between 7,000m peaks in a narrow valley, the pilot banking sharply between the mountain walls. Pema meets you at Paro airport and transfers you to Uma Paro.

A morning introduction to Bhutan: Rinpung Dzong (the great fortress-monastery that guards the Paro Valley entrance) and the National Museum of Bhutan in the Ta Dzong tower above it. Afternoon walk along the Paro river through apple orchards and traditional farmhouses with Pema explaining the GNH philosophy that shapes Bhutanese society.

The defining experience of Bhutan. Paro Taktsang — the Tiger's Nest — clings to a sheer cliff face at 3,120 metres, accessible only by a two-and-a-half hour hike on a steep mountain path. The monastery was built around the cave where Guru Rinpoche meditated in the 8th century, flying there on the back of a tigress. The approach, the crossing of the waterfall ravine, and the arrival in the monastery's inner sanctum with its extraordinary gold and jewel iconography, is genuinely transformative. An alternative viewpoint at the first trail level (1.5 hours return, moderate ascent) offers a magnificent full view of the monastery for those who prefer not to complete the full hike.

The drive from Paro to Thimphu — Bhutan's capital and the only capital city in the world without traffic lights — passes through traditional farmland and forested passes. Afternoon in Thimphu: the weekend market (largest in Bhutan), Tashichho Dzong (seat of the royal government) and the extraordinary National Memorial Chorten.

Thimphu's cultural institutions: the National Institute for Zorig Chusum (the traditional arts school where the 13 ancient crafts of Bhutan — including thangka painting, wood carving and embroidery — are taught to the next generation), the Royal Textile Academy and the Motithang Takin Preserve — home to Bhutan's national animal, the extraordinary takin (a bovine/goat hybrid described by Rudyard Kipling as "the most bizarre animal in the world").

The drive from Thimphu to Punakha crosses the Dochula Pass at 3,100m — on clear days, a panorama of over 400km of Himalayan peaks. The 108 memorial stupas on the pass, built to honour Bhutanese soldiers, are extraordinarily moving. Descend to subtropical Punakha — warmer, greener and centred on the great Punakha Dzong at the confluence of two sacred rivers.

Punakha Dzong — the finest fortress-monastery in Bhutan, its white and ochre towers rising between the Mo Chhu and Pho Chhu rivers — in the morning, followed by the extraordinary Chimi Lhakhang fertility temple, dedicated to the "Divine Madman" Drukpa Kunley, who used unconventional and bawdy methods to achieve Buddhist enlightenment. The temple and its traditions are candid and joyful — Pema's briefing turns what could be an awkward visit into a hilarious and enlightening cultural encounter.

Return drive to Paro through the Punakha and Paro valleys. A final evening at Uma Paro for the Bhutanese dinner and the view from the terrace of the paddy fields below and the mountains above.

Pema accompanies you to Paro airport for the Druk Air departure. The flight out — banking over the Paro valley, Chomolhari and Jichu Drake visible above the wingtip — is as dramatic as the arrival. Nepal and Bhutan recede behind you, fourteen days of the world's most extraordinary Himalayan culture contained in memory.