How many days do you need in Bhutan?
What four, five, seven, ten and seventeen days each let you see, and how to decide how long to stay.
The short answer is seven. A week lets you see the three main valleys of the west and one quieter one, at a pace that leaves room to enjoy them. But the honest answer depends on what you want, and on a fee that is charged by the night. Here is what each length of trip gives you.
Why the number of days matters so much
Two things make Bhutan different from most places. The first is the Sustainable Development Fee: every extra night costs an adult US$100 before a hotel or a meal is paid for. The second is the roads. The country’s valleys are separated by high ridges, and the one road between them winds over a pass each time. Punakha is only 76 km from Thimphu, and the drive takes two to three hours.
So adding a valley usually means adding a day, and adding a day has a clear price. It pays to be deliberate.
Remember, too, that the first and last days are part days. A “four-day trip” has three nights and about two and a half days of sightseeing.
Four days: Paro and Thimphu
Four days is the least we would suggest. It covers the two valleys nearest the airport: a day among Thimphu’s sights, Paro’s dzong and museum, and the walk to Tiger’s Nest. It works as a first taste, as a stopover between Nepal, India or Thailand, or when leave is short. See the Bhutan Short Trip.
What you miss: Punakha, which many visitors find the most beautiful of the western valleys.
Five or six days: add Punakha
A fifth day adds Punakha as a long day trip from Thimphu, over the Dochu La pass. A sixth lets you stay the night there, which is far better: you see the dzong in the afternoon, wake in a warm valley and have time for a morning walk. Five days is the Western Valleys Discovery, and six is the Bhutan Signature Journey.
If you can stretch from five to six, do.
Seven or eight days: add Phobjikha
A week takes you one valley further, to Phobjikha, a wide glacial valley at 3,000 m with a single monastery and, in winter, black-necked cranes. It is the first place on the route that feels remote, and it changes the character of the trip. Seven days is Complete Western Bhutan. Eight days, the Bhutan Highlands Explorer, covers the same ground with shorter drives and adds the Chele La pass.
A week is also the right length for a festival trip, or for the short Bumdra trek with Thimphu and Punakha.
Nine to eleven days: central Bhutan
To reach Bumthang, the valleys at the centre of the country, you need at least nine days. The road there passes Trongsa and its great dzong. Bumthang itself has the oldest temples in Bhutan and more festivals than any other district. A flight back to Paro saves two days of driving.
Nine days gives you two nights in Bumthang: Heart of the Himalayas. Ten adds a day in the Tang valley: the Bhutan Grand Cultural Tour. Eleven adds the Haa valley at the other end of the country: Kingdom in Full.
Ten or eleven days is also what the classic treks need. The Druk Path and the Jomolhari trek are both eleven-day trips. The Tsaluna trek, a shorter walk on the same ridge as the Druk Path, fits into nine days, and the Soi Yaksa trek round the foot of Jomolhari takes twelve.
Two weeks or more: the east, and the long treks
Eastern Bhutan is two days’ drive beyond Bumthang, and a journey there and back takes about seventeen days: Bhutan from East to West. The long treks need the same sort of time, eighteen days for Laya–Gasa and a month for the Snowman.
At a glance
| Days | Nights | What you can see |
|---|---|---|
| 4 | 3 | Paro and Thimphu, with Tiger’s Nest |
| 5 | 4 | The above, with Punakha as a day trip |
| 6 | 5 | Paro, Thimphu and a night in Punakha |
| 7 or 8 | 6 or 7 | The above, with the Phobjikha valley |
| 9 to 11 | 8 to 10 | The above, with Trongsa and Bumthang, or a classic trek |
| 17 or more | 16 or more | The far east, or a long trek |
How to decide
- If this is your one visit to Bhutan, take at least six days, and seven if you can.
- If cost is the limit, a full four or five days is better than a thin seven.
- If you dislike long drives, add days and not valleys. Our eight-day trip covers the same places as the seven-day one.
- If there is a festival you want to see, start from its dates and build outward.
- If you want to trek, decide the trek first. It sets the length of everything else.
Every one of these itineraries can be lengthened or shortened by a day. Tell us how long you have, and we will tell you plainly what fits. Use the form on any tour page, or start from the tailor-made page.
