- (Bondey-Isuna Bridge)
- Location: Paro Valley, Western Bhutan
- Length: Approximately 10 km (3 hours)
- Difficulty: Class III-IV
- Flow: About 500 cfs
- Season: March – April
- Craft: Kayaks recommended due to narrow and steep rapids
After breakfast, we begin exploring the beauty and challenge of traversing through Bhutan’s sublime waters. We take a short drive to Bondey and start kayaking from there.
It will be a beautiful experience negotiating along the Paro river till Isuna, a small settlement on the way to Thimphu. Taking about three hours, the flow is not very swift. We exit at Isuna, where we will have our lunch.
Lower Paro Chhu (Isuna Bridge – Chhuzom)
- Location: Paro Valley, Western Bhutan
- Length: 7 km (1 hour)
- Difficulty: Class II – III, with one V
- Flow: Approximately 500 cfs
- Season: March-April
- Craft: Kayaks (too small for rafts)
This is the second part of the Paro river excursion and is just an-hour adventure along a valley flanked by steep ridges on the one side and the Paro-Thimphu highway on the other.
We stop at Chhunzom, the confluence of the Paro and Wangchu rivers.
Wang Chhu – Upper Run (Chhuzom Confluence – Lower Tam Chhu, Dobji Dzong)
- Location: Thimphu/Paro/Phuentsholing Highway, Western Bhutan
- Length: Approximately 4 km (2 hours)
- Difficulty: Class IV, one class V
- Flow: 800 -1000 cfs
- Season: March – April, November – December (Caution: a high water in this section is extremely dangerous. Not recommended for amateurs)
- Craft: Only Kayak
Wang Chhu – Lower Run (Tam Chhu – 4 km Downstream)
- Location: Thimphu/Paro/Phuentsholing Highway, Western Bhutan
- Length: 4 km (1 hour)
- Difficulty: Class III
- Flow: 800 -1000 cfs
- Season: March – April, November – December (Tips: a high water run is possible with good scouting)
- Craft: Kayaks, Rafts
In what would be the third part of our first day kayaking, we continue downstream from Chhunzom till Tam Chhu. The water is swift here and the adventure is recommended only for experts. After approximately two hours we arrive at Tam Chhu and then begin the second part of the excursion downstream, which would take us an hour. We could try trout fishing here. We then move to Thimphu.
Night halt at Thimphu