Wednesday 2nd September, 2026
Another hour drive onto Thimphu where we collected two of our fellow travellers (father and daughter) who stayed in town and visited the hospital as the daughter had a bad gastro intestinal virus. She was feeling better and we were back to a full compliment.
Another one hour plus drive to Paro, where first was a lunch stop and then a visit to the fort at Paro, known as Paro Rinpung Dzong, which means "Fortress on a Heap of Jewels" - we looked closely but couldn't really see the jewels ! The original construction of this Dzong is believed to have been constructed in 1458 and it was restored to its former glory by His Majesty the Third King of Thailand King Jigme Dorji Wang Chuck to mark his royal wedding in 1951. We spent about an hour there before walking / hiking back down the hill and over a covered bridge.
We then had a free time in the centre of Paro to do any shopping or souvenir hunting, we also picked up some snacks for our hike tomorrow as we would leave early before breakfast.