Our Bhutan tours offer unique experiences

... at least according to San Francisco Chronicle that published our guest's letter: When I wanted to visit Bhutan, I was lucky enough to find Quo Vadis, a Boston company that has the most ungroupy approach to group travel.

Roxana von Kraus, the founder and operator, escorts all the small groups and plans the entire journey to the most minute detail. She understands that every group has its own dynamic that does not average out the interests but multiples them. Her balance of architecture and politics, music and art, riding, walking, stretching and resting was masterly, and the attention to details made the experience un forgettable. Our hiking trip in Bhumtang alone had 10 helpers and 20 horses for our small group of ten. Jeanne Cooper 2007.

The Quo Vadis tours start either in Bangkok or New Delhi for the Druk Air flight to Paro. If the weather is clear you can see, en route, the massive peaks of Eastern Himalayas - Kanchenchunga and Bhutan's holy mountain Chomolhari.

Our stay in Paro usually coincides with the celebration of the midnight Thomgdrol Festival at the dzong. Followed by Thimphu with its Heritage and Textile Museum, the National Library and the Memorial Chorten Zoo.

Leaving town we drive eastwards passing Simtoka, the oldest of the dzongs, the Dochu La (pass) to Punakha. The Pelala Pass brings us to Trongsa Dzong, the largest in the country. The Bhumtang Valley follows - one of the most beautiful and sacred in Bhutan. If interested, our guests may undertake a trekking course for three days to Lhakhang, Ngalhankang, Tanhung, Ugyencholing - overnighting in tents.

The return to Paro goes through Wangdi and the Chelila Pass with its colorful praying flags. En route one can see the legendary Jomolhari and Juchu Drake, marking the Tibetan border. Back in Paro, we conclude our Bhutan exploration with a hike to Taktsang Lhakhang, Guru Rinpoche's sacred monastery hanging over the world - like a Buddhist prayer.

A travel experience becomes memorable due to unexpected moments:
- Our meeting with the editors of Bhutan Times, the first private newspaper in the country. To discuss the first democratic elections of 2008, when the Bhutanese king transferred power to an elected parliament.

- The private visit to the Traditional Medicine Hospital and the conversation with a Bhutanese healer regarding the use of medicinal plants as a cure.

- The private visit to the National Library that displays the biggest book in the world published in collaboration with our own Boston institution - MIT.

- An invitation to share a village lunch with a local Bhumtang family.