Bhutan
The last Buddhist kingdom, dzongs and the Tiger's Nest.
- Capital
- Thimphu, the only capital in Asia with no traffic lights
- Currency
- Ngultrum (BTN), pegged 1:1 to the Indian rupee
- Languages
- Dzongkha. English is the medium of instruction in schools, so it is widely spoken
- Time zone
- UTC+6, fifteen minutes ahead of Nepal
- Dialling code
- +975
- Power
- 230V, type D, F and G sockets
- Main airport
- Paro International (PBH), 54 km from Thimphu
About Bhutan
A kingdom that limits visitor numbers on purpose, which is why the valleys stay quiet and the dzongs are still working monasteries rather than museums. The Tiger's Nest above Paro is the photograph everyone arrives with; the walks between Thimphu, Punakha and Bumthang are what people talk about afterwards. Independent travel is not permitted, so everything runs on an arranged itinerary.
The visa, and what it costs
A visa is issued online before you travel, and it is not the expensive part. The Sustainable Development Fee of USD 100 per person per night is, and it is charged for every night you are in the country regardless of what you do with the day. Both are paid up front, and the visa clearance letter is issued only once the money has cleared.
| Visa | Cost | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Visa application | USD 40, one-off, non-refundable | - |
| Sustainable Development Fee | USD 100 per person per night | The USD 100 rate runs to 31 August 2027, reduced from USD 200. It was not a discount campaign; it was a policy change. |
| Children 6 to 12 | USD 50 a night | Half rate on the SDF. The visa fee is the same. |
| Children under 6 | No SDF | The USD 40 visa fee still applies. |
| India, Bangladesh, Maldives | INR 1,200 per person per night | The regional rate, and Indian nationals need a permit rather than a visa. |
- Visa application
- Cost
- USD 40, one-off, non-refundable
- Notes
- -
- Sustainable Development Fee
- Cost
- USD 100 per person per night
- Notes
- The USD 100 rate runs to 31 August 2027, reduced from USD 200. It was not a discount campaign; it was a policy change.
- Children 6 to 12
- Cost
- USD 50 a night
- Notes
- Half rate on the SDF. The visa fee is the same.
- Children under 6
- Cost
- No SDF
- Notes
- The USD 40 visa fee still applies.
- India, Bangladesh, Maldives
- Cost
- INR 1,200 per person per night
- Notes
- The regional rate, and Indian nationals need a permit rather than a visa.
| If you hold | What applies |
|---|---|
| Every nationality except three | An online visa, applied for before travel, plus the SDF for every night. There is no visa on arrival and no exception for short stays. |
| Indian nationals | No visa. An entry permit issued on arrival at Paro or at Phuentsholing on production of a passport or a voter ID card, and the SDF at the regional rate. |
| Bangladeshi and Maldivian nationals | The same permit route and the same regional SDF rate as Indian nationals. |
| Everyone, in practice | A licensed Bhutanese guide for travel beyond the Paro and Thimphu valleys. Independent visas exist on paper; the guide requirement is what makes an operator the normal route in. |
- Every nationality except three
- What applies
- An online visa, applied for before travel, plus the SDF for every night. There is no visa on arrival and no exception for short stays.
- Indian nationals
- What applies
- No visa. An entry permit issued on arrival at Paro or at Phuentsholing on production of a passport or a voter ID card, and the SDF at the regional rate.
- Bangladeshi and Maldivian nationals
- What applies
- The same permit route and the same regional SDF rate as Indian nationals.
- Everyone, in practice
- What applies
- A licensed Bhutanese guide for travel beyond the Paro and Thimphu valleys. Independent visas exist on paper; the guide requirement is what makes an operator the normal route in.
How to actually get it
It is booked, then applied for
Your operator submits the visa against a paid itinerary with hotels and a guide named on it. The Department of Tourism reviews it, normally within five working days, and issues a clearance letter with a visa number. You carry that letter; the visa itself is stamped into your passport at Paro on arrival.
Book the flight and the visa together
Drukair and Bhutan Airlines will not confirm a seat without a visa clearance number, and the visa needs a confirmed itinerary. The two are unwound in the right order by the operator, which is a large part of what an operator is for on this particular border.
How many nights to buy
The SDF is per night, so the itinerary length is a straight multiplication and there is nothing to gain by arriving late in the day. A five-night trip is USD 500 a head in SDF before a hotel, a meal or a guide, and that is the number to plan around rather than the headline tour price.
What catches people out
- The SDF is charged per night of stay, including the night you arrive and excluding the day you leave. Count nights, not days.
- The visa fee is not refunded if the application is declined or the trip is cancelled.
- Cancelling inside the operator's window does not automatically release the SDF already paid to the government.
- There is no way to visit Bhutan on a day trip from India by air; the permit and SDF apply from the first night.
- Paro is a visual-approach airport ringed by 5,000 m peaks. Flights go in daylight only and are cancelled for cloud with no alternate, so build a spare day into any onward connection.
When to come
| When | What it is like | |
|---|---|---|
| March to May | Best | Spring, and the best of the year. Rhododendron in the passes, clear mornings, and the Paro Tsechu festival in March or April. |
| June to August | Hard | Monsoon. Green, cheap and quiet, with cloud on the peaks and a real chance of a delayed Paro flight. |
| September to November | Best | The clearest skies of the year and the Thimphu and Jakar festivals. October is the peak and it books out. |
| December to February | Good | Cold, bright and empty in the western valleys. Bumthang and the high passes get snow and can close. |
- March to May
- What it is like
- Spring, and the best of the year. Rhododendron in the passes, clear mornings, and the Paro Tsechu festival in March or April.
Best - June to August
- What it is like
- Monsoon. Green, cheap and quiet, with cloud on the peaks and a real chance of a delayed Paro flight.
Hard - September to November
- What it is like
- The clearest skies of the year and the Thimphu and Jakar festivals. October is the peak and it books out.
Best - December to February
- What it is like
- Cold, bright and empty in the western valleys. Bumthang and the high passes get snow and can close.
Good
Arriving
Two airlines, and no third
Drukair, the national carrier, and Bhutan Airlines are the only two airlines certified to operate into Paro. No alliance, no codeshare with a European or American carrier, and no way to through-check a bag from London. Whatever gets you to Kathmandu, Delhi, Bangkok or Singapore is one ticket, and Paro is a second one.
The approach
Paro sits at 2,235 m in a valley with mountains on both sides and the approach is flown visually, by hand, by a small number of specifically qualified pilots. It is genuinely one of the more dramatic landings in commercial aviation and it is also why the airport works in daylight and good weather only. Sit on the left flying in from Kathmandu.
By road from India
Phuentsholing on the West Bengal border is the land gateway, about four hours from Bagdogra airport and five or six from Paro on the Bhutanese side. It is the practical route for Indian travellers and for anyone combining Bhutan with Darjeeling or Sikkim, and it is a long day.
Flying there
Non-stop routes only. Anything with a connection depends on the day and is better answered by a search than by a table.
| From | Airlines | In the air | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kathmandu | Drukair, Bhutan Airlines | 1h | Daily. The best mountain view from an airliner window anywhere |
| Delhi | Drukair, Bhutan Airlines | 1h 45m | Around five services a week on each carrier |
| Kolkata | Drukair, Bhutan Airlines | 1h | Daily, and the cheapest way in |
| Bangkok | Drukair | 3h 30m | Daily, often via Guwahati or Kolkata |
| Singapore | Drukair | 4h 30m | Twice weekly, with a technical stop |
| Bagdogra | Drukair | 35m | Seasonal, and the air link for the Darjeeling side |
- Kathmandu
- Airlines
- Drukair, Bhutan Airlines
- In the air
- 1h
- Notes
- Daily. The best mountain view from an airliner window anywhere
- Delhi
- Airlines
- Drukair, Bhutan Airlines
- In the air
- 1h 45m
- Notes
- Around five services a week on each carrier
- Kolkata
- Airlines
- Drukair, Bhutan Airlines
- In the air
- 1h
- Notes
- Daily, and the cheapest way in
- Bangkok
- Airlines
- Drukair
- In the air
- 3h 30m
- Notes
- Daily, often via Guwahati or Kolkata
- Singapore
- Airlines
- Drukair
- In the air
- 4h 30m
- Notes
- Twice weekly, with a technical stop
- Bagdogra
- Airlines
- Drukair
- In the air
- 35m
- Notes
- Seasonal, and the air link for the Darjeeling side
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Money on the ground
- Rate
- The ngultrum is pegged one to one with the Indian rupee, and Indian rupees are accepted everywhere except in notes of INR 500 and above.
- Cards
- Hotels in Paro and Thimphu, and very little else. Bring cash.
- ATMs
- Present in Paro, Thimphu and Punakha, and unreliable with foreign cards. Do not build a budget on them.
- Included in the price
- A Bhutan package covers hotels, all meals, the guide, the driver and the entry fees. Very little is left to pay for on the day.
- Tipping
- Not expected historically and now normal on tours. USD 10 to 15 a day for the guide and driver together is generous.
Joining it onto the country next door
Half the trips in this catalogue cross a border. These are the links they are built on, and the lead times they impose.
| On to | How | How long | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nepal | Fly Paro to Kathmandu on Drukair or Bhutan Airlines | 1h | Daily, and the reason a Nepal and Bhutan trip is one journey rather than two holidays |
| India | Fly Paro to Delhi, Kolkata or Bagdogra, or drive out at Phuentsholing | 1h to 1h 45m flying | - |
| Thailand | Fly Paro to Bangkok | 3h 30m | The usual way to join Bhutan onto a wider South East Asia trip |
- Nepal
- How
- Fly Paro to Kathmandu on Drukair or Bhutan Airlines
- How long
- 1h
- Notes
- Daily, and the reason a Nepal and Bhutan trip is one journey rather than two holidays
- India
- How
- Fly Paro to Delhi, Kolkata or Bagdogra, or drive out at Phuentsholing
- How long
- 1h to 1h 45m flying
- Notes
- -
- Thailand
- How
- Fly Paro to Bangkok
- How long
- 3h 30m
- Notes
- The usual way to join Bhutan onto a wider South East Asia trip
Health and safety
- Nothing here is high by Himalayan standards: Thimphu is 2,320 m and the Dochula pass 3,100 m. Altitude is a consideration on the Snowman and Druk Path treks and on very little else.
- The Tiger's Nest walk is 900 m of ascent and back in a day at around 3,100 m. It is the hardest thing on a standard cultural itinerary and people underestimate it.
- Hospitals in Thimphu are decent. Anything serious is evacuated to Bangkok or Delhi, so insurance with medical evacuation is not optional.
- Bhutan is the only country in the world to have banned the sale of tobacco outright. Bringing a personal quantity in is legal and taxed; selling it is not.
- Tap water is not drinkable. Hotels provide filtered water, and the operator supplies it on the road.
