Two Truths

Cultural Immersion – Meditation Retreats – Sacred Places – Bhutan Pilgrimage Tours – Gross National Happiness – Compassion – Impermanence – Vajrayana Buddhism – Pilgrimage – Kindness – Interdependence – Dakini – Tara – Wild Beauty

2017 Bhutan Tour and Retreat Overview

Our 2017 Bhutan Tour and Retreat:

  • 14 days, 13 nights Pilgrimage Tour.
  • Wednesday, Oct. 4 – Tuesday, October 17, 2017
  • Includes 5-day practice retreat, October 9–13, 2017, participating in a “conversation” dialogue with Western teachers and Bhutanese lamas, monks and scholars.
  • Cost of Tour is $3,995.00, per person double occupancy, plus $650.00 retreat registration.
  • Participants outside the USA can make international bank wire payments. Contact us for details.

View Detailed Tour Itinerary page
View 2017 Bhutan Travel Planner page

Includes:

  • Welcome Dinner in Paro, Bhutan.
  • All in-country ground transport.
  • Bhutan daily Govt. Tariff of $250.00 per day, which includes $65.00 per day contribution toward Bhutan’s universal free health care and free education.
  • 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 various spiritual teachers’ benefitting charities.
  • The Retreat week will include meditations, mindfulness movement experiences, teachings, dialogue, and transmissions.
  • Participate in 2-day sacred masked 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; and the Kurjey (the Queen Mother’s) Monastery.
  • Full Itinerary – view here.

Does Not Include:

  • Airfare from the U.S. to Bhutan; Bhutanese Visa ($40.00), travel insurance (highly recommended), alcoholic beverages, tips, and traditional Bhutanese hot stone baths.
  • Lodging in Bangkok, the gateway city. Pre-tour lodging at two Bangkok boutique hotels near the Bangkok International Airport, can be recommended.
  • Roundtrip airfare from Bangkok – Paro, Bhutan – Bangkok. Royal Bhutan Airlines flies into Bhutan. Currently, the published roundtrip fare is $725.00. We will facilitate participants obtaining their Bhutanese Visa and also facilitating your purchase of air tickets from Bangkok into Bhutan, round trip.
  • Roundtrip airfare from Paro to Bumthang, on Druk Air. Previous years, we have driven at least one way, on the National Highway of Bhutan. This one and only west-east road is undergoing major reconstruction. Last October it took us 3 days to traverse. The road is subject to temporary closures, delaying the itinerary. We have decided – since the road construction is a 3-year project – that this year (2017), it is prudent to fly both ways, Paro-Bumthang, which is a 35 minute flight. The cost is approximately $360.00
  • Single Occupancy Option add $630.00

Retreat Week Theme: “Nurturing Bodhichitta in Times of Challenge”
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, Interdependence, and Compassion.
  • Awakening to courage, wisdom, generosity, and right action in 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