Paro Travel Guide

Paro, 2250 metres above sea level, is for most tourists the startlingly beautiful introduction to Bhutan. It occupies the largest valley in the mountain kingdom and thus is the only viable location for an airport in the country. The valley that Paro occupies is lush, fertile and littered with inspirational dzongs that are architecturally so perfect that dzongs around the kingdom are modelled after them.

The legend has it that many years ago a Tibetan saint came to Paro, carrying a handful of food (‘pa’) made out of the wheat flour (‘dro’). Thus, the most fertile land in Bhutan appropriately came to be known as ‘Padro’ and today it is commonly spoken and written as ‘Paro’.