Royal Highlander Retreat — Royal Highland Festival

The Royal Highland Festival is held each year in Laya, one of Bhutan's most remote villages at 3,840m, where the trail finally opens onto a high meadow at 4,000m for two days of highland culture rarely seen by outsiders. Bhutan's highlanders — yak herders and horsemen from Laya, Lunana and the surrounding valleys — gather for Auley, the epic oral song tradition of the high pastures, and Buelwa, the ritual offering of gifts, alongside competitions for the finest yaks, horses and mastiffs. Reaching the festival is itself part of the experience: this journey travels from Paro through Thimphu and Punakha to Gasa, with its natural hot springs, before a drive and uphill hike into Laya. It is a celebration of tradition, resilience and remote beauty that takes real effort to witness — and rewards it in full.