In the Kingdom of Happiness
Dear Sonam,
We are now back in the UK and back to reality! Memories of Bhutan will stay with us forever. We cannot thank you enough, our trip was perfect in so many ways. Bhutan is an incredible country, it is so amazing to think how much the people of Bhutan have achieved in a mere generation. We were so impressed with how progressive your country is in its environmental and educational policies, it really puts the rest of the world to shame. The beauty of the mountains, monasteries, and the smiles of the wonderful people are forever imprinted on our hearts.
Gempo and Kharka are such an impressive team. Gempo is so knowledgeable and keen to share, he is warm, funny and very professional. We really appreciated the team altering the itinerary to build in more of what we love (walking), answering millions of questions, hanging out with us after hours, and going above and beyond our expectations. Gempo’s commitment to conservation and cleaning up the nature trails is so admirable, we all joined in must have collected several sacks of rubbish! Kharka is an excellent driver, some of the tricky places he navigated were truly scary, yet we always felt entirely safe.
The lovely gifts from you now have a special place on our travel wall, along with a snowlion mask we found in Punakha. Thank you again for your kindness and thoughtfulness.
We hope to plan another visit to Bhutan someday in the future, we’d love to do a longer trek and see a festival. Until then, we will recommend Bhutan Journeys to all of our friends and on the internet.
All the very best,
Dear Sonam,
Hi Sonam,
I want to thank you for all your help and professionalism in the organising, planning, arranging, and indeed guiding me personally throughout my recent trip to Bhutan.
Your excellent and prompt responses to all my queries contributed to the outstanding success and enjoyment of everything that you put in place for me, and you and your staff of Bhutan Journeys fully deserved the trust, which I felt confident to put in you.
I would definitely recommend your Bhutan Journeys travel agency to anyone planning to visit Bhutan, as you made the necessary processes very clear and easy for me to carry out, and unfailingly gave good advice both before and during my trip.
I had a wonderful experience in your special and unique country and particularly appreciated your adaptability and skill in continually altering my itinerary in response to my needs and my wishes to catch up with all my Bhutanese friends.
So I will definitely be happy to recommend Bhutan Journeys as their first choice of Travel Agency, to anyone who is planning a visit to Bhutan.
With great appreciation and warm regards,
Hello Sonam and Gembo!
My husband and I just returned from a week long guided tour in Bhutan with our two young children. Sonam programed a beautiful, exciting and enlightening trip for our family and our guide Gembo made each day and each activity enjoyable. He was so great with our girls and helped keep everyone happy and entertained throughout our treks and adventures. We went white water rafting, hiking to Tiger’s Nest, visited an art school, cultural museum, practiced archery (the national sport), had an epic, breathtaking horseback ride into the amazing Tang Valley and of course, visited several stunning temples, stuppas, dzongs (forts), suspension bridges covered in prayer flags.
We felt as though every aspect of Bhutanese life, culture and tradition was nicely covered and we were so well taken care of. I highly recomend this tour company for anyone: family, couples, solos interested in exploring the beauty of Bhutan.
Thank you again, so much for the wonderful experience!
The logistics of the trip proved to have been very thoughtfully planned, and the sights were excellent.Our accommodations were also outstanding, so congratulations on that aspect. We really enjoyed your selections of Bhutanese food for us, though I will not miss the hot green chilis(which I thankfully survived).
Let us one more time express you our deep satisfaction regarding the organization of our tourist tour to Bhutan. Due to high qualification of your employees we have learnt many new information about your beautiful country and have got a good rest. Special thank for your unbelievable present, which occupied the honored place in our collection. Hope to see you again in Bhutan and will definitely recommend you and Bhutan journeys to others.
Our warmest regards,
Bhutan has been on my wish list for a long time. After much research online, my friend and I booked the Masangang trek with Bhutan Journeys in October 2015. The owner of the company, Mr. Sonam Chophyel, was very thorough with the travel arrangements and very responsive throughout the process. He even went out of his way to retrieve my duffel bag which was lost on my original flight out of the United States. Our guide, Tashi, made us feel at home from the start and his knowledge about Bhutan was impressive. He did a wonderful job explaining the local culture and customs of each area we visited.
From meditating in the Tiger’s Nest Monastery to viewing the beauty of Punakha’s terrace farming to taking in the natural beauty of the National Park, this trip was one of my most memorable to date. I want to personally thank Sonam for making the trip so rewarding and I would be more than happy to be a reference for Bhutan Journeys.
Bhutan Journeys was highly recommended by my daughter after she had a most wonderful holiday in Bhutan. Her stories of the country made my husband and I decide to make a trip to Bhutan as soon as we could. We managed to make up a group of 21 pax and had Sonam Chophyel work on a suitable itinerary for us. The majority of us in the group were above 60 years of age. Thus, Sonam had to make sure that he did not tire us out at the end of each day! And he did such a wonderful job that no one complained or fell sick.
We were introduced to almost every aspect of life in Bhutan, a truly beautiful nation of very happy people. Everywhere we went, the Bhutanese people made us feel at ease. They spoke good English and were most helpful. The Bhutanese food was delicious. The Chilli-Cheese dish is out-of-this-world. Although chilli is used in many of the dishes, it is not that spicy. However, there are the delicious non-spicy dishes as well.
Bhutan Journey’s guides are very knowledgeable and well-trained. Sonam was always ready to answer our questions on Bhutan and was most entertaining. The drivers drove safely and carefully to bring us to all the interesting places. Not once did we encounter any form of dangerous driving during our 7-day trip to Bhutan.
The hotels Sonam put us up at were clean and comfortable for all of us to have a very good night’s rest before the following day’s new adventures! For 5-star quality, the price would have been different.
Bhutan is one country which is still unspoiled despite having modern technology. Low-rise buildings are the norm in all the big towns. It is a place to go to for a really relaxed holiday overseas, and at the same time learn about the country’s culture and traditions. Bhutan Journeys can tailor your holiday according to your taste and needs. Our group travels all over the world, and Bhutan Journeys is one company that has really impressed us with its professionalism.
Thank you, Sonam and your wonderful team, for a most enjoyable and exhilarating time in Bhutan. We’ll be back to visit Eastern Bhutan when the airport there is ready.
I recently made my way back to Bhutan for the 3rd time, each time I have traveled with Sonam Chophyel of Bhutan Journeys. The first year he had dreams of starting his own business. Sonam displayed clear knowledge of Bhutan’s culture, history and natural environment, and skills at organizing hotels, meals and events. I was confident that his business would be a great success. Therefore the next time I visited, we planned our trip with the young Bhutan Journeys. I traveled with my mother and grandmother, her 3rd and last trip to her beloved Bhutan. Sonam’s generous nature and attention to detail assures a highly personalized trip for his guests. He was able to arrange a trek for my mother and I, such that my 88 year old grandmother was able to join us for tent camping on our last night out.
Then he fulfilled her dream to visit Ogyen Chholing Museum high on the hill above Tang Valley (at that time not accessible by road) by providing special transportation, horse and tractor, for her to make the journey. Sonam further honored her last wishes to have some of her ashes left in Bhutan when he arranged this most recent trip, my 3rd. This time our group was 11 people, all of my family as well as a few friends. Sonam worked with us on many iterations of our itinerary, thoughtfully incorporating our many ideas, until we had a workable plan for our time period. He managed to include everything on our long wish list, plus so much more, making our experience rich and diverse. We requested to eat local and shop at local markets. We regularly stopped at food stands along the road, where we were able to purchase fruits and snacks for the bus ride, and the guides purchased seasonal produce, wild asparagus and fiddle head ferns, that we later saw on our dinner table. Red rice was provided to the hotels for our meals, and ema datsi, the national dish of chili and cheese, was available to us most every lunch and dinner. I know Sonam worked long and hard to coordinate the requested school visit, but he made it happen and was greatly appreciated. My son is particularly interested in archer; Sonam arranged for an afternoon of archery games for us at the hotel. We were in Bhutan during a time when there wasn’t a tshechu, so Sonamhosted a surprise cultural event, just for our group, on our last night complete with hors d’oeuvres and sampling of traditional singing and dancing.
Most special of all, Sonam was aware of my grandmother’s wish to have some of her ashes spread in Bhutan. He remembered her specific request of Membartsho, Burning Lake, and also recommended the most incredible spot at Taktshang, Tiger’s Nest, to lay her ashes. Both experiences were beyond my wildest dreams for her and displayed a genuine respect for her. In general, traveling with Bhutan Journeys you can expect the best rooms available (all had incredible views), satisfying meals of the interesting and local cuisine, commitment to a personalized experience, thoughtful conversation and much laughter. Needless to say, when I return again, it will be with Bhutan Journeys. I highly recommend both the place and the company.
Dear Sonam,
Our trip to Bhutan was very fantastic. During our crossing the country we met very friendly people. It has been a fortune for us to be able to talk about themes such as life and death, illusion and reality, joy and sorrow. An unusual Bhutan journey we will always remember with a smile. I send you two photos related to our talk about happiness.
Happy to meet you.
We recently traveled to Bhutan and instantly fell in love with this beautiful country and its people. When initially researching our trip, we contacted a number of companies but from our first contact with Sonam, we knew that Bhutan Journeys was the company for us.
Sonam’s email communication was prompt, professional and informative. I asked an overwhelming number of questions but nothing was ever too much trouble, there was never any pressure to book and Sonam made us feel that our tour with Bhutan Journeys would be personalised and that we would be well looked after.
We were not disappointed! We cannot recommend Bhutan Journeys highly enough. The moment we arrived at Paro airport, we were greeted with big smiles and open arms by our fantastic guide Tashi, and our friendly and safe driver, Passung and we instantly knew we had made the right decision to book our tour with Bhutan Journeys.
Sonam and all of his staff, including our trekking crew, were professional, courteous, friendly, patient and always did their utmost to ensure we were happy and comfortable at all times during our stay. Tashi was personable, informative and fun and his pride in his country was evident as he enthusiastically shared his knowledge with us.
The hotels and restaurants all exceeded our expectations and as it wasn’t quite full peak period, we were very fortunate and grateful to be given some upgrades to rooms with fantastic views.
The scenery in Bhutan is absolutely breathtaking and our trek through the peaceful and serene Haa Valley was a wonderful experience, despite the altitude being a little challenging at times.
It was fantastic to immerse ourselves in Bhutan’s culture, from the beautiful architecture of the Dzongs to attending the colourful and vibrant Tsechus, devouring Bhutanese meals and trying dried yak cheese, puffed rice and butter tea, drinking local peach wine and beers, playing archery and khuru, and soaking ourselves in the rather warm but traditional “hot bath”!
We absolutely loved our trip to Bhutan, which is now one of our most treasured travel experiences. We cannot thank Sonam and his team enough for making our trip so special and memorable. We love Bhutan and hope to return in the future. In the meantime, we will continue to recommend this beautiful part of the world and to experience it with Bhutan Journeys.
Tashi Delek.