Bhutan Travel Info 2024

Bhutan is a small landlocked country in South Asia. This beautiful Buddhist Kingdom lies in the southern slopes of the Himalayan range. The country borders with Tibet in the north and with India in three other sides. This country consists of high mountains and beautiful river valleys throughout to form the incredible landscape. This small kingdom lies on the ancient Silk Road between India and Tibet.

Some unrecorded theorization of the human settlement in Bhutan takes it to go almost back to 2000 BC but the proven facts show that Bhutan was inhabited since 500 BC. And still most of the historical facts of Bhutan are unclear as most of the records were destroyed in the fire ravage in Punakha, the former capital city of Bhutan.

The country practices Buddhism that has become an inherent identity of Bhutan. Buddhism was initially introduced in Bhutan in the 7th century when Tibetan king Tsrong Tsong Gompo married Nepali princess, Bhrikuti, who was a Buddhist. Buddhism was spread in Tibet and expanded to Bhutan as well. Since then Bhutan has been following Buddhism and the life of people here has been determined by the Buddhist philosophy and culture.

Getting to Bhutan

People travelling to Bhutan get into the country either by air or overland.

Fly in

If you want to fly in, Paro airport is the only place to enter Bhutan. You can take either Druk air, which is also the national flag carrier of Bhutan, or Bhutan airlines from Kathmandu, Singapore, Bangkok, New Delhi, Kolkata, Bagdora, Guwahati, and Dhaka. The flight from Kathmandu, Nepal is the most spectacular one with dramatic views of the high towering Himalayan peaks en route.

Landing and taking off at Paro airport runs on the VFR system so your arrival and departure completely depend upon weather condition. Flights in Paro are usually delayed due to weather condition. It is always advisable to keep more than 24 hours of layover between connecting flight after flying out from Paro to avoid any inconvenience. You need to check in early at the Paro airport to fly out because, sometimes, the flight may take off before the schedule if they see the weather condition worsening later.

Overland

You can also enter Bhutan overland from India. The main entry point to Bhutan from India is Phuentsoling in West Bengal. Other entry points to Bhutan from India are Samdrup Jongkhar and Gelephu in Assam. Phuentsoling, apart from being the main overland entry point to Bhutan, is also a major trade center in Bhutan.

Visa and Custom

Bhutan visa for you has to be arranged by a registered tour operator only after paying the full amount of money to travel to Bhutan including the visa fee. The actual visa is stamped on your passport only at your arrival at Paro airport or at one of the border entry points and is issued for the exact period that you are travelling in Bhutan. If in case you want or need to extend your visa, you can do so by paying applicable charges and your tour operator will help you for that. You need to have the visa clearance letter with visa confirmation number from the Tourism Council of Bhutan, which your tour operator will get for you. You just need to forward a copy of your passport with at least six months’ validity and required details to your tour operator to obtain the visa clearance.

You also need special permission to travel to the restricted areas that are other than Paro and Thimpu. Your tour operator will arrange that permission for you to go around. Your Bhutan touring itinerary has to be strictly followed as sanctioned. Regarding the customs process, you receive a baggage clearance form upon your arrival at the custom. You will also need to declare all the valuables and equipment that you are carrying into the country. You will need to produce the baggage clearance form at the custom on your departure day and may need to show all the items listed in the form. So, it is very important that you keep the form safely until you depart.

Climate and Clothing

Bhutan has diverse climatic situation – from sub-tropical to polar climate from the south towards north. The middle highlands get temperate climate. With the climatic diversity, Bhutan experiences five distinct seasons – spring, summer, monsoon, autumn and winter. Even the seasons get different climatic situations depending of the areas of the country you would like to travel to. For the clothing, you have to be very decent and always careful to wear long sleeves all the time as long as you are in Bhutan. Bhutan has a very traditional clothing culture where women always wear ankle length and full sleeve clothes and men also dress up traditionally and decently even when wearing casual clothing.

 

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