Our 2016 Bhutan Tour:
- 14 days, 13 nights Pilgrimage Tour.
- Thursday, Oct. 13 – Wednesday, October 26, 2016
- Includes 5-day practice retreat, October 17–21, 2016, participating in a “conversation” dialogue with Western teachers and Bhutanese lamas, monks and scholars.
- Cost of Tour is $4,395.00, which includes $600.00 retreat registration.
View Detailed Tour Itinerary page
View 2016 Bhutan Travel Planner page
Includes:
- Welcome Dinner in Punakah, Bhutan, the traditional winter home of the royal family.
- All in-country ground transport.
- Bhutan daily Govt. Tariff of $250.00 per day.
- All meals & lodging in traditional lodges and hotels in Bhutan. English speaking Bhutanese guides and naturalist.
- Donations to: the Retreat host, Lhodrak Kharchu Monastery Foundation; Shechen Ogyen Chodzong Nunnery; Tharpaling Monastery; and Matthieu Ricard’s humanitarian foundation, Karuna-Shechen.
- The Retreat week will include meditations, mindfulness movement experiences, teachings, dialogue, and transmissions.
- Participate in 2-day sacred dance festival Tshechu, in honor of 8th Century Guru Rinpoche in Bumthang, central Bhutan.
- Entry into all Monasteries, Temples, sacred sites, ritual dances and archery events.
- Opportunities to interact with Buddhist monks, nuns, lamas, scholars, and village artisans.
- Walking meditations in ancient, broad-leaf forests.
- Opportunities for bird spotting (600 species of birds) in Bhutan’s broad-leaf mature forests.
- Also, up close encounters with wild monkeys, baboons, and yaks, can be seen in the Cloud Forests.
- Cherished sites we will visit include: Iconic Tiger’s Nest, Burning Lake, site of sacred relics, Kurjey (the Queen Mother’s) Monastery, the Trongsa Dzong (fortress), the stunning Phojikha Valley, with astonishing views of the Himalayan peaks.
- Full Itinerary – view here.
Does Not Include:
- Airfare from the U.S. to Bhutan; Bhutanese Visa ($40.00), travel insurance, alcoholic beverages, tips, and traditional Bhutanese hot stone baths.
- Lodging in Bangkok or in other gateway cities. Pre-tour lodging at Bangkok boutique hotel, at discounted rates, can be arranged.
- Roundtrip airfare from Bangkok-Paro, Bhutan-Bangkok. Royal Bhutan Airlines flies into Bhutan. Currently, the published roundtrip fare is $700.00. Other gateway cities that fly into Paro, Bhutan, include Kathmandu, Nepal, also Singapore, and Kolkata, India. We will facilitate participants obtaining their Bhutanese Visa and also coordinating obtaining air tickets into Bhutan.
- Single Occupancy Option add $630.00
Imagine participating in a 5-Day Retreat while being immersed in a culture of complete spiritual intelligence, profound compassion, and respect for nature:
- Buddhist contemplative wisdom: Looking deeply into Resilience, Spirituality, and Compassion.
- Bringing compassion and resilience into your professional and personal practice.
- A conversation on the pathways to Optimism, Gratitude, Altruism, and Mindfulness.
- The Nine Domains of Gross National Happiness (GNH) in Bhutan: What we can Learn.
- A deepening understanding of the 37 Versus on the Practice of the Bodhisattva.
Being in the Kingdom of Bhutan, a deep reservoir of wisdom and sacred traditions, is a wonderful opportunity to explore and deepen your study of the contemplative mind, and to cultivate your inner wisdom.
Bhutan is a pristine place for retreat and renewal. Situated in the Himalayas between Tibet and India, it is well connected by cell phone and internet transmission. An English-speaking Kingdom with so many delights to discover, we look forward to talking with you about the Pilgrimage-Tour to Bhutan, the ‘Land of the Thunder Dragon’.
We encourage you to read the November 2, 2014) New York Times Style Magazine-Travel Section on Bhutan, a marvelous 9-page article by by Jody Rosen, “The Higher State of Being.”
Kind regards, and looking forward to hearing from you with Gratitude,
Charles Simmons and Marla Perry-Simmons.
Email: charles@nulltwoTruths.org
Telephone: 520-331-8338