"Our dream to visit Bhutan was an old one. We wanted to hike in the high mountains and get to know ordinary Bhutanese people. But, for us as Buddhist meditators, it was also a pilgrimage. Ugyen Wangdi, the owner of Bhutan Pelyab Tours, considered all our desires and designed a beautiful custom tour that met those requests so well that we could not refuse, even though it was a longer trip than we had planned. Ugyen was amazingly responsive during all our communications and planning.  He arranged all the details, including visas, flights and connections.  It was the most hassle free travel either of us has ever experienced. 

We are in our 70s. We hiked and trained at altitude before the trip which proved to be a very good idea. Our first trek, the Dagala trek was mostly above treeline, among yak herders, their yaks and sturdy stone cabins. We spent 3 days at 14,000 feet or more.  (We took 125 mg. Diamox 2x daily during this first trek).  The accommodations on the treks are very luxurious, especially for backpackers like us who are used to traveling light.  We had a nice bedroom tent and a heated dining tent!  The staff was exceptional, and the food was delicious.  Our second trek, the Nabji Korphu trek, was in the lower country in broadleaf forest.  There we saw more bird life, Langur monkeys, Macaques, Hornbills, and a fleeting glimpse of a Himalyan Black Bear’s butt, a rare occurrence, and only thanks to the sharp eyes of our local guide.  We had exceptionally good weather and got nice views of the Himalayas which isn’t always the case.  Between the treks we did the usual sightseeing, dayhiking in the countryside, and visiting many temples and Dzongs with our wonderful guide Sonam and driver Tsheten.  Being familiar with drivers in India we had trepidations about the driving on the winding roads in Bhutan, but we needn’t have worried.  The Bhutanese are sane!  And Tsheten was a perfect driver as well as a splendid person.

The staff themselves were absolutely delightful and satisfied our desires to get acquainted with Bhutanese people. They became like family to us. Sonam, Tsheten were our companions throughout the trip.  Our cooks on the treks, Tukden and Sherab were delightful, as well as talented cooks.  The cook’s helper Lobsang was our companion for all our hiking and our constant attendant. Ugyen made surprise appearances along the way to arrange special events for us with local families and their neighbors. By the time our vacation was up we felt that we had made wonderful friends.  It was hard to say goodbye.

Our Buddhist interests were well satisfied by the many temples and holy sites including Drukpa Kunley’s temple and Paro Taktsang.  All in all we had a very memorable time and can’t say enough about Bhutan Pelyab Tours.  They seem to be the best in the business."