Bhutan Wangdue Phodrang Tours

Wangdue Phodrang stretches along the Punak Tsang Chhu in west-central Bhutan, its ridge-top dzong of 1638 once controlling the routes east. Fire gutted the fortress in 2012, and tours now watch a painstaking rebuild carried out in the original techniques.

Phobjikha and the Winter Cranes

The district's quiet star is the Phobjikha valley, a glacial bowl at about 3,000 meters where black-necked cranes arrive from the Tibetan plateau between late October and February. Gangtey Monastery overlooks the marshes, and an easy nature trail loops the valley floor in two to three hours.

Crafts and Roadside Stops

Villages here are known for bamboo weaving and slate carving, and the market below the dzong sells both. Most itineraries fold Wangdue Phodrang into the drive between Punakha and the central valleys of Trongsa and Bumthang.