Himalayan Adventure: India, Nepal & Bhutan — Self-Launched

Land at Indira Gandhi International and take the Airport Express metro (₹60, ~20 min) to New Delhi station, or a prepaid taxi (~£4-5) if you arrive late. Base yourself in Paharganj or Karol Bagh — plenty of £10-15 doubles. Sort an Indian e-SIM (Airtel/Jio, ~£3-5), get cash from an ATM, and take an evening wander to Connaught Place for your first thali.

🚌Airport Express metro or prepaid taxi from IGI Airport

🛏Hostel or budget hotel, Paharganj/Karol Bagh (~£12)

• →Airport transfer and SIM/cash admin
• →Evening walk to Connaught Place
• →First Delhi thali

Join a small-group Old Delhi heritage walk (Delhi Walks or a Reality Tours & Travel 'Delhi by Locals' walk, ~£15-20) through Chandni Chowk's spice lanes and alleys — the independent equivalent of the operator's youth-led city walk. Afterwards take the 4pm Gatimaan Express from Hazrat Nizamuddin to Agra (~1h40, ~£8-12 in AC chair car); book on IRCTC in advance. Evening at a rooftop with Taj views.

🚌Gatimaan Express train Delhi–Agra

🛏Guesthouse in Taj Ganj (~£12)

• →Old Delhi food & heritage walk (book via GetYourGuide/Klook)
• →Chandni Chowk spice market
• →Rooftop Taj views

Buy your Taj Mahal ticket online (ASI site or GetYourGuide, ~£12 for foreigners) and be at the East Gate for opening around sunrise — far fewer crowds. Walk to Agra Fort (~£6) in late morning, then take an auto-rickshaw (~£1.50) to I'timad-ud-Daulah, the 'Baby Taj'. Skip the guide if you like — audio guides are a couple of pounds.

🚌Walking + auto-rickshaw

🛏Guesthouse in Taj Ganj (~£12)

• →Taj Mahal sunrise entry
• →Agra Fort
• →I'timad-ud-Daulah (Baby Taj)

Hire a car and driver for the day (~£30-40 split between 2-3 people, organised through your guesthouse) or use the local bus to Fatehpur Sikri (~£1). Explore the deserted Mughal capital (~£6 entry), stop at Chand Baori stepwell in Abhaneri (free/₹25), then continue to Dhula village near Dausa. Community-run rural stays here (search 'Dhula village homestay' or book via Responsible Travel-style operators) cost ~£15-25 including meals — a fair-trade stand-in for the operator's tented camp.

🚌Shared car and driver or local bus

🛏Village homestay/community guesthouse near Dausa (~£20 with meals)

• →Fatehpur Sikri
• →Chand Baori stepwell at Abhaneri
• →Village walk and home-cooked dinner

Continue by shared car or bus to Jaipur (~2-2.5h, ~£3-5 by bus). En route, book a block-printing workshop with a Sanganer or Bagru artisan family (Sanganer is the classic hand-block hub; workshops run £8-15 direct through guesthouses or GetYourGuide). Check into a haveli-style guesthouse in the old city and walk the pink-tinged bazaars of Johari and Bapu in the evening.

🚌Local bus or shared car Dhula–Jaipur

🛏Old-city guesthouse/haveli, Jaipur (~£15)

• →Sanganer/Bagru block-printing workshop
• →Old city bazaar walk
• →Hawa Mahal from outside at dusk

Get to Amber Fort early (bus #5 or auto, ~£1.50) and buy the composite ticket (~£8-10) covering Amber, City Palace, Hawa Mahal, Jantar Mantar and Albert Hall. Optional: the classic Jaipur cycle tour (GetYourGuide, ~£25-30 with lassi stop) or an evening cooking class with a local family (~£15-20). Sunset from Nahargarh Fort if you have legs left.

🚌Local bus and auto-rickshaw

🛏Old-city guesthouse/haveli, Jaipur (~£15)

• →Amber Fort
• →City Palace
• →Hawa Mahal
• →Jaipur cycle tour or cooking class (optional)

Optionally take a sunrise hot-air balloon flight over Jaipur (book direct with Sky Waltz, ~£200 — pricier than the group rate, so skip if budget-minded). Otherwise a morning at Jantar Mantar, then the Double Decker or Shatabdi train back to Delhi (~5h, ~£8-12). Evening free in Delhi — maybe a half-day food tour in Old Delhi if you didn't do one on Day 2.

🚌Shatabdi/Double Decker train Jaipur–Delhi

🛏Budget hotel, Paharganj (~£12)

• →Jantar Mantar
• →Optional Jaipur balloon flight
• →Free evening in Delhi

Book a low-cost flight (IndiGo/Air India, ~£75-110 one way, cheaper booked weeks ahead) to Kathmandu. Get your Nepal e-Visa online before you fly (~£25-30 for 15-30 days) and take a prepaid taxi (~£5-6) to Thamel. In the afternoon, walk or take a taxi to Patan Durbar Square (~£8 entry) for the Newari temples and courtyards.

🚌Flight Delhi–Kathmandu + airport taxi

🛏Thamel guesthouse (~£10)

• →Patan Durbar Square
• →Thamel evening wander

Take local bus #9 or a taxi to Bhaktapur (~£1-6, ~£12 entry) and spend the morning among the brick squares and Nyatapola temple. Return via Swayambhunath (Monkey Temple, ~£2) for the 365-step climb and valley views. Book an evening momo-making class with a Nepali women's cooperative or Social Tours (~£15-20) — direct booking, same dumpling fix.

🚌Local bus and taxi

🛏Thamel guesthouse (~£10)

• →Bhaktapur Durbar Square
• →Swayambhunath Temple
• →Momo cooking class
• →Optional Boudhanath Stupa at dusk

Take a tourist bus from Kathmandu's Kantipath (7-9h, ~£8-10 including a lunch stop) or a 25-minute flight (~£60-80) if you'd rather save the day. On arrival, walk the Phewa Lake shoreline (Lakeside) and catch sunset with the Annapurnas reflected in the water.

🚌Tourist bus or domestic flight

🛏Lakeside guesthouse, Pokhara (~£10)

• →Phewa Lake sunset walk
• →Lakeside cafes

Hike or take a taxi up to Sarangkot for sunrise over the Annapurna range (taxi ~£8 return; or walk up from Lakeside in ~2h). Later, hire a boat on Phewa Lake (~£3/hour) and visit the Tal Barahi temple island, or do the short hike to the World Peace Pagoda. Adrenaline-seekers can book paragliding (~£55-70) direct with a local operator.

🚌Taxi to Sarangkot, boat on Phewa Lake

🛏Lakeside guesthouse, Pokhara (~£10)

• →Sarangkot sunrise
• →Phewa Lake boating
• →World Peace Pagoda hike
• →Optional paragliding

Take the tourist bus from Pokhara to Sauraha (~5h, ~£7) or the local bus from Pokhara's Prithvi Chowk and change at Tandi. Book a Tharu community homestay in Barauli or elsewhere in the buffer zone through Community Homestay Nepal (~£20-30 with meals) — the independent version of the operator's community guesthouse night. Evening cultural dance and a Tharu dinner.

🚌Tourist bus Pokhara–Sauraha/Tandi

🛏Tharu community homestay (~£25 with meals)

• →Tharu village walk
• →Cultural dance and song performance
• →Home-cooked Tharu dinner

Book a full-day 4x4 jeep safari (or a half-day canoe + jungle walk combo) through your guesthouse operator or the park's own guides (~£25-40 depending on group size). You're looking for one-horned rhinos, gharials, deer and, with luck, tigers. Late afternoon free — cycle the village lanes where buffalo and goats outnumber cars.

🚌4x4 safari vehicle, bicycle hire

🛏Tharu community homestay (~£25 with meals)

• →Full-day Chitwan 4x4 safari
• →Canoe trip on the Rapti
• →Village cycling

Bus back to Kathmandu (5-6h, ~£8-10) or fly from Bharatpur via Pokhara if you want to save a day. Use the afternoon to pick up your Bhutan trip logistics — confirm your guide, submit your Bhutan visa details through your ground operator, and repack. Evening: the rooftop bar strip around Thamel, or an early night before an early flight.

🚌Tourist bus Chitwan–Kathmandu

🛏Thamel guesthouse (~£10)

• →Travel day
• →Bhutan visa and guide confirmation
• →Thamel evening

Fly Druk Air or Bhutan Airlines (book direct at drukair.com.bt or bhutanairlines.bt — the Kathmandu–Paro leg is usually ~£180-260 one way and gives you the famous Himalayan approach). Note: all foreigners must travel on a Bhutanese operator's arranged itinerary with a licensed guide and pay the Sustainable Development Fee (~$100/day for most nationalities). A solo-friendly local operator (e.g. a small Paro/Thimphu agency booked direct by email) will handle the visa and run the same itinerary at roughly half the group-tour cost. After landing, drive ~1h15 to Thimphu. Visit the Memorial Chorten and the giant Buddha Dordenma at Kuensel Phodrang.

🚌Druk Air/Bhutan Airlines flight + guided vehicle

🛏Simple hotel in Thimphu (~£25)

• →Himalayan approach flight to Paro
• →Memorial Chorten
• →Buddha Dordenma (Buddha Point)
• →Takin Preserve

Morning at the National Textile Museum and the weekend market (if your dates align), plus a wander up to Changangkha Lhakhang. Afternoon at Tashichho Dzong and, if the archery grounds are busy, watch Bhutan's national sport with a thermos of suja. Your guide will drive you — Bhutan has no self-drive tourism, so all transport is via the operator.

🚌Guided vehicle

🛏Simple hotel in Thimphu (~£25)

• →National Textile Museum
• →Tashichho Dzong
• →Archery ground viewing
• →Thimphu weekend market

Drive over the Dochula Pass (3,100m) for a coffee stop among the 108 chortens and Himalayan views, then descend to Punakha. Hike 20-30 minutes through rice paddies to Chimi Lhakhang, the temple of the Divine Madman, then explore Punakha Dzong at the confluence of the Mo and Pho Chhu rivers. Stay in a farmhouse guesthouse in the Punakha valley if you want the local-living feel (~£20-30).

🚌Guided vehicle over Dochula Pass

🛏Punakha valley guesthouse or farmhouse (~£25)

• →Dochula Pass and 108 chortens
• →Chimi Lhakhang hike
• →Punakha Dzong

Optional morning rafting on the Mo Chhu (~£30-40 via local operators) or a walk to Khamsum Yulley Namgyal Chorten. Drive back to Paro (~3h) and visit Paro Dzong (Rinpung Dzong) plus the archery grounds below it. Browse Paro's main street for Bhutanese textiles — the prices are fixed and reasonable.

🚌Guided vehicle

🛏Guesthouse in Paro (~£25)

• →Khamsum Yulley Namgyal Chorten walk
• →Optional Mo Chhu rafting
• →Paro Dzong
• →Paro archery grounds

Start early to tackle the hike to Taktsang Monastery (Tiger's Nest) — roughly 2-3 hours up, 800m of climbing, ~£12-15 entry, cafés at the halfway point. On the way back, stop at Kyichu Lhakhang, one of Bhutan's oldest temples (~£4), and optionally the Ta Dzong National Museum. Celebrate with momos in Paro town.

🚌Guided vehicle to trailhead

🛏Guesthouse in Paro (~£25)

• →Tiger's Nest (Taktsang) hike
• →Kyichu Lhakhang
• →Paro town evening

Fly out of Paro on Druk Air or Bhutan Airlines — connections via Kathmandu, Delhi, Kolkata or Bangkok. Book your onward international connection yourself in advance (Druk Air allows this online). If your flight is late, squeeze in the Ta Dzong museum or a last stroll along the Paro Chhu before heading to the airport.

🚌Flight from Paro Airport

🛏—

• →Departure flight
• →Optional Ta Dzong museum