Off the Beaten Path: Discovering Bhutan's Hidden Gems in 09 Days

I had an absolutely amazing experience in Bhutan with Raven Tours—they are offering by far the best, most unique, and most personal visits to the Dragon Kingdom. I initially contacted several tour operators and received sample itineraries and pricing. Raven cost a little bit more than some of the other companies I looked at, but with excellent reason—every day was thoughtfully planned to maximize my experience in Bhutan and to connect fully with the amazing people, cultural, wildlife, and natural beauty of the country. We saw so many highlights, but they offered so many additional special moments that other operators do not. I spoke to the director, Deepak, right from the start, and he customized and amended the itinerary based on my goals for the trip. I had an amazing day in Thimpu, a fantastic monastery stay, a wonderful visit to a local farm stay with a great family. These moments and some of the terrific ecolodges we stayed at were all facilitated by the great personal relationships that Deepak and Raven have throughout the country. My guide, Yeshi, and my driver, Chencho, were both fantastic. They were equally comfortable joking in the car and offering deep naught into the amazing places we visited. They brought to life each monastery and dzong we visited with rich history and stories, and they were great at spotting examples of Bhutan’s unique wildlife as we explored. I’ll never forget the people I met in Bhutan, and I can’t wait to return to visit the news friends I made during my short time there. What a wonderful country, and so many thanks to Raven for bringing each moment there to life for me.

The connection with raven team dates back to Dec 2019 when the first plan for my very first international journey and as called the bucket list I had made. Deepak guided and had given very insightful plan. However Covid struck and the plans were derailed. Here starts the professional but a compassionate approach of raven. Deepak refunded entire amount and also assured to connect back when normalcy has been restored. Finally after the normalcy and hectic years we again connected recently in December 24 , redraw same plan for may 25. The values (costing) had nearly doubled , so was the urge for visitings The raven team professionalism by now had also impressed us a lot with use of technology and proper technique to communicate, however this was also done with a passionate interest for customer engagement. Me and wife landed finally to Paro on 3rd may and were greeted by Keshab Neopani guide and Choten Tshering our chauffeur for entire Journey. The arrival was made in such a condition that the tourists should get quite comfortable very quickly. The entire trip happened very well, due to this amazing team, as if they had been known quite long but was with very professional approach and a proper understanding. The pair toured the journey quite effectively, properly informing every aspect about location, ancient history of the place, spiritual and religious traditions etc. Local delicacy, food as per our need (being pure vegetarians), and of course the tea/ coffee service in between as needed. The team carries plenty of water bottles, hot water thermos and coffee sugars sachet during the journey. Commendable driving skills of Choren taking the country sides easily made the complete drive looked easy of course from the rear seats ???? Keshav’s excellent guiding and his experience has no doubt made ha well known face amongst many up coming young guides. We were surprised and happy to note that he is also an assessor for guides and an instructor as well. The places picked up by Raven team and the stays were all awesome , specially would put the special mention for Aum Passang , young up coming lady entrepreneur for a home stay at her very own home, Gaselo Eco Lodge again a unique place, with fantastic view overlooking Nyezergang monastery and the valley view at right hand, simply stunning and breathtaking. We returned back on 11 may with a very strong urge for revisiting again after a long time for the remaining places we could not visit, Our visit plan in brief was to Thimpu, Punakha, ( special mention of OM kitchen where we got a perfect hot meals, proper Indian still????), Phobjika ( should be a must have visit) , Gangtey,, Paro and if course unforgettable Tiger Nest with. A. Hot stone water bath after the trek.Do not miss to visit Indian Masala restaurant in Paro( for all veggies specifically, thanks to Keshab again) The icing was visiting HAA valley thru Chelela pass - we had make make shift young buzzing guide Sonam since Keshab had some emergency meeting This guy is simply awe some , a total non stop running commentary and conversation, made sure we enjoyed the difficult roads as well There’s too much to be said, however signing off on this very long run script, with a complete satisfaction of being able to get the most best team , good luck to you all team raven

My friend and I went with Raven Tours on a personalised private tour which encompassed highlights of Bhutan such as the Paro Tshechu festival as well as hikes and various other facets of Bhutan that we were interested in- such as homestays and Tiger’s Nest. We were fortunate to have a knowledgeable and earnest guide in Kencho, who was attuned to our various needs and interests. For example we really wanted to see snow, so he switched the itinerary around so that we could go to Chele La Pass on a day that it had snowed (we were thankful that weather was on our side as well!). Our driver, Tshering, was not only funny and humorous but also very kind in taking care of us (eg when ill) or slowing down so that we could take photos. Overall, we had such an eye opening trip and we were very touched by the generous and kind spirits of the Bhutanese people, as embodied by our driver and guide!