River-based Valley town Paro situated around 55 KM from Thimphu city, takes around two hours to reach via Thimphu Highway. This short journey offers you a natural treatment to eyes, gives a blissful experience. On the route, you would find the confluence of Thimphu river (Wang Chu) and Paro River (Pa Chhu), a temple owned by the descendants of famous Tibetan bridge-builder Thangtong Gyalpo.
Paro is known as one of the sacred cities in Bhutan as it houses Tiger’s Nest (Paro Taktsang), Rinpung Dzong, Kyichu Lhakhang and Jangsarbu Lhakhang. The town is located around 2195 meters from sea level. Country’s only International Airport is also situated just beside the sacred stream of Paro Chu.
Weather at Paro
Similar to Thimphu, winter-wears are necessary at Paro as well. Average October temperature stays within 8 – 19 º C. For more details visit Paro Weather.
Cuisines at Paro
Almost similar to Thimphu, prices are a bit on the higher side in Paro. Starting from Bhutanese, Thai, Chinese to North Indian cuisines are available here.You could also find Italian and continental cuisines in the marketplace. Many high-quality coffee shops are available across the street as well.
Here is the list of popular restaurants @ Paro.
Places at Paro
Ta Dzong
The circular fortress that once protected this valley from the Tibetan invasion. It is now National Museum with an excellent collection of Bhutanese antiquities.
Evening view of Pa Chu
Paro Rinpung Dzong
A short drive back to the Paro Rinpung Dzong which was built and consecrated in 1646 by Shabdrung Ngawang Namgyal. This Dzong is also the administrative seat of the district of Paro and it also contains a state monastic community of about 200 members.
Drugyel Dzong
This Dzong, with a delightful village nestling at its foot, was built in 1646 by Shabdrung Ngawang Namgyal to commemorate his victory over the Tibetan invaders. Historically and strategically this Dzong withstood all its glory and was featured in 1914 vide National Geographic magazine. The glory of Drukgyel Dzong remained even when it was destroyed by fire in 1951. On a clear day, one can see the commanding view of Mount.Chomolhari from the village, below the Dzong.) which is located upstream to the end of the paved road.
Kichu Monastery
It is one of the oldest and most sacred shrines of the Kingdom dating back to 7th century (the other is Jambey Lhakhang in Bumthang). The Lhakhang complex is composed of two temples. The first temple was built by Tibetan King, Songtsen Gampo in the 7th century and in 1968, H.M. Ashi Kesang, the Queen Mother of Bhutan, built the second temple in the original pattern.
Tiger’s Nest (Paro Taktsang)
This is one of the most sacred places of Himalayan Buddhists, Guru Padmasambhava is said to have meditated for three years, three months, three weeks, three days and three hours in the 8th century. This monastery is situated on the cliff side of upper Paro valley. You need to trek for 2-3 hours to reach the gate of the monastery, hence prefer to start early in the morning. Divide the trek into three smaller milestones like described below
- Parking lot to the Cafeteria: Around two KM trek with 973 feet elevation makes it adventurous and fun filled. You can buy a wooden trek stick from the parking lot to help you along. Carry a bottle of water and some dry foods for your journey. It takes around an hour to reach the Cafeteria where you could take some rest. Enjoy refreshing sips of tea while looking at one of the great views of the Tiger’s nest.
- Cafeteria to the Viewpoint: You need to climb 1.5 KM with 734 feet elevation to reach the awesome viewpoint, takes around an hour. It’s the best place to take photos of the nest. Prefer to take some rest, have some dry foods to energize up.
- Viewpoint to Paro Taktsang’s Entrance: It’s around half a mile, firstly need to walk down a series of steep stairs to reach the heavenly waterfall, then start to climb to the entrance. One of the primary dress code requires you to wear shirts/t-shirts with collar while entering into the monastery. You also have to leave your mobile/camera/electronics behind to enter the place, could use the available locker facility at the gate.
Inside the monastery, there are several small temples dedicated to Guru Padmasambhava. You need to leave behind foot-wears to get an entry. Extremely peaceful ambiance helps you to meditate inside. One can offer several butter lamps in a separate temple of lamps.
On your way down to the parking lot, take breaks again at the view point and the cafeteria. This time it would take lesser time to reach the spot. There is a small market place at the parking lot, it is a good idea to shop some souvenirs from here as they are cheap here than the town’s market place.
Shopping Destinations at Paro
An ideal way to spend an evening in Paro is to have a sip of coffee at any Cafe near Pa Chu (Paro River) and then enjoy a couple of hours of shopping at the streets. You could shop for handicrafts, souvenirs, idols etc in Paro market though the items are bit costlier than Thimphu.
Here are some of other sopping destinations referred by Lonely Planet team.
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