Our aim at Blue Poppy Tours and Treks is to make your dream holiday in Bhutan a reality – and a trip to remember for ever. We offer cultural tours, treks ranging from 3 days to 3 weeks, or just day hikes, festival visits or a mixture of all of these. You will have the opportunity to see monasteries and temples, enjoy the stunning beauty of Bhutanese landscapes and scenery, visit a traditional Bhutanese festival and experience a unique and traditional Bhutanese culture almost unchanged by time.

We can help you get off the beaten track and gain access to whatever interests you. Whether you want to go on a meditation course or learn archery, go mountain biking or bird-watching, or learn to cook traditional Bhutanese food – if it's possible, we'll make it happen.

We offer homestays with a local farmer and his family, allowing you to experience traditional village life at its purest, and the opportunity to try the restorative properties of a hot stone bath. If you prefer to experience one of Bhutan's luxury hotels instead (or as well!) we can arrange this also.

For those of you who prefer to book a 'ready-made' itinerary, have a look at our sample cultural tours. Remember, these can be used simply as rough guides for you to get an idea of what's on offer – you can leave out or add in as much as you want. For more ideas for what to do on your trip, contact us, letting us know how long you want to visit for, the time of year and what your interests are, and we'll put together some suggestions for you.

If you are thinking of a trekking holiday have a look at these trekking itineraries.  Find out more information here about trekking in Bhutan, including when to go, what to bring, and what is provided for you.

If you would like to attend a festival have a look at the festival dates for 2008 or the tentative festival dates for 2009.  The main festivals visited by tourists are Paro, Thimphu, Punakha, Ura and Bumthang Drup.  There is no reason why you can't go to one of the less commonly visited festivals, although you should be prepared to find yourself as much the centre of attention as the masked dancers in that case!  If you let us know which festivals you are interested in visiting we can put together a suggested itinerary for you. Click here for sample itineraries for Thimphu festival, Paro festival and Ura festival.

Or join our group tour for Thimphu festival in October 2008.

This year we plan to run the Snowman Trek for a group of 8 to 10 hardy trekkers.  This is a tough trek in the remote mountain region of Lunana and you need to be prepared for long climbs at altitude over snow covered passes.  We are offering two alternative routes for the trek.  The first group will start from Drukgyel Dzong (just outside Paro) and follow the route of the Laya/Gasa trek as far as Laya, which they will reach on day 10 of their trek.  The second group have a shorter route starting at Damji (near Punakha) and will be in Laya on day 3 of their trek.  From Laya the groups will continue together over the pass into Lunana and through the Lunana district past Gangkhar Puensum and Dur Hot Springs, finishing the trek in Bumthang.  The first route will be 27 trekking days (including 4 rest days) and the whole trip lasts 32 days (15th September to 16th October 2008).  The second route will be 20 trekking days (including 3 rest days) and the whole trip lasts 26 days (21st September to 16th October 2008).  Truly the trek of a lifetime and guaranteed to run - find out more here.

Last year we worked with 2:09 Events to offer the first mountain marathon in Bhutan.  The event was a popular success both with locals and visitors and we plan to repeat it in November this year.  Watch this space for dates and details in due course.  In addition to the marathon, the tour includes a day walk to Taktshang monastery, a two day trek into the mountains so that you can acclimatise, some sightseeing in Paro and then the race is followed by time to visit the historic and cultural sights of the capital - assuming your legs will still carry you round! 

Last year we also ran our first bird watching trips and we have more on offer this year.  Or you may be interested to try the Nabji Trail - a new six-day low altitude trek which opened for the first time in October 2006. The trail runs through Jigme Singye Wangchuk National Park, so if you are interested in a gentle nature trek take the opportunity to be one of the first to take this brand new route.  Contact us for more details of all of these.