Dear Anand,

Thank you for checking in with me about the trip.  I have been meaning to write reviews for Tripadvisor, but there is so much in my mind I haven’t been able to get it done yet.

The trip was a peak experience of my life.  My daughters (plus one boyfriend) and I loved it.  Namgyel was an exceptionally good guide and he took great care of us every day.  The trekking staff was excellent, especially the food service.  The tents were very good in spite of difficult weather most days.  I think the itinerary Windhorse prepared was perfect for our time there.  We were very happy with Gangtey Palace and Hotel Druk.  Namgyel was very knowledgeable an open to answering our many questions.

On the trek we had quite a bit of rain, so it wasn’t as scenic as it might have been.  However, the packing list from the Windhorse web site ensured we were well equipped to deal with all of the different weather conditions we experienced.  Our camping was comfortable in spite of the weather.  The trek itself was more physically challenging than I had anticipated due to the altitude, but Namgyel was very good at maintaining a pace I (the oldest and least fit) could manage.  When the rain did break the scenery was magnificent.  On day 3 I did ask Namgyel to shorten the lake excursion due to the rain.  He found a hut where we had a dry and comfortable lunch.  We took some free time in the afternoon and my daughter composed a song which she sang for the yaks.

On the day after the trek we chose to take the horses to see Tiger’s Nest and to skip the climb to the temple as we were pretty worn out from the trek.

Sonam, our driver, was safe and attentive.

I particularly appreciated the quick responses to all my questions in advance of the trip.  And I definitely appreciated the itinerary recommendation which got us away from tourist crowds.  We only saw one other group on the entire trek (they had aborted due to weather and were returning to the start point).  It was clear to me that the Windhorse staff takes maintaining the environment very seriously.  I appreciate that.

Trying to think of constructive suggestions, only two very minor points come to mind.  I wish there would have been a way to confirm seats on DrukAir ahead of check in at the airport.  We were not able to sit together or get the preferred side of the airplane on the Delhi-Paro route.  The other is that, because we arrived on a Sunday, I couldn’t exchange currency (but Namgyel found an ATM).  The only problem with that was that I was never able to exchange before the trek, so had to tip the trekking staff in USD which I imagine was less convenient for them.

I will definitely recommend Windhorse (and Bhutan) to others.

Sincerely,

Martin