May is the last month of spring and the warmest of the trekking months. The valleys are green, the visitors of April are thinning out, and towards the end of the month the first showers of the monsoon arrive.
- Good for: warm days and warm camps; Late rhododendrons at altitude; Fewer visitors than April.
- Less good for: haze over the mountains; Showers late in the month.
The weather in May
In May Thimphu averages 25°C by day and 12°C at night, with 50 mm of rain on about 9 days. Punakha, a thousand metres lower, averages 29°C and 17°C. Warm in every valley, and hot at midday in Punakha. Rain increases through the month, to about nine wet days in Thimphu, and a haze often softens the mountain views.
Averages for the month: the highest and lowest temperature of an ordinary day, and the month’s rainfall. It is colder on the passes and at any camp on a trek. Figures from the National Center for Hydrology and Meteorology, whose stations are at Paro (2,406 m), Thimphu (2,310 m), Punakha (1,236 m) and Jakar in Bumthang (2,470 m).
Festivals in May
The festivals that begin in May, as the official list has them:
No festival that begins in this month has a date on the official list at present. The festival calendar shows the months that have.
Festival dates follow the lunar calendar and move each year, and the list is the Department of Tourism’s tentative one. The whole year is in our festival calendar.
Trekking in May
The same seven treks as April are open, and the camps are at their warmest of the trekking year. Rhododendrons are still out at altitude early in the month.
- Bumdra Trek
- Tsaluna Trek
- Dagala Thousand Lakes Trek
- Druk Path Trek
- Soi Yaksa Trek
- Jomolhari Trek
- Laya–Gasa Trek
All eight are set side by side on our page of Bhutan’s treks compared.
Where to go in May
The western valleys and Bumthang are all comfortable, and less crowded than a month earlier. Punakha is hot by afternoon.
Good to know
Carry a light waterproof, especially late in the month. The mountains are less often clear than in April or October, so May is a month for the valleys, the flowers and the walking more than for the view. What to bring is on our packing list.
Trips for May
- Dagala Thousand Lakes Trek (10 days)
- Druk Path Trek (11 days)
- Bhutan Highlands Explorer (8 days)
Tell us your dates and we will say plainly what May is like for the trip you have in mind.
Other months
Bhutan in April comes before, and Bhutan in June after. For the year as a whole, see the best time to visit Bhutan.
Weather averages are for 1996 to 2017 (Punakha from 1990). Festival dates were checked against the official tentative list on 12 October 2026.