We made it back to town in the early afternoon – and in time for a late lunch. From the restaurant it was on to a bonus temple: Kyichu Lhakhang.

This temple is truly ancient, the first one in Bhutan, originally built in the 7th century. This was probably one of the more atmospheric temples on the trip – and it certainly helped that this one was fairly busy with locals going by their religious rituals. While we had the usual guided tour, the real enjoyable piece here was to just soak in and enjoy the atmosphere.

After our visit to Rinpung Zhong we had a short walk, following the stairs downhill towards the river. A short side trip got us to Hungrel Gyem Lhakhang, another (smaller) temple next to the river. From here we continued to and across the Nyamai Zam Footbridge – with great views of Paro Zhong from the other side.

After a quick visit to Kaja Throm Market and checking out the festivities at Druk Choeding Lhakhang (the Buddhist temple close to Paro’s city center), we finally made our way to the hotel North of the city center.