Frequently asked questions

Spring (March to May) and autumn (September to November) have the most settled weather and are the busiest months. Spring brings rhododendrons and Paro Tshechu. Autumn brings the clearest mountain views and Thimphu Tshechu.

Winter is cold but dry and sunny, with few visitors, and it is the season for black-necked cranes and the Punakha festivals. Summer is the monsoon: green and quiet, with cloud on the passes. Our month-by-month guide goes into detail.

Four days is the least we would suggest, and it covers Paro and Thimphu. Six or seven days is what we suggest for a first visit: it adds Punakha, and at seven days the Phobjikha valley. To reach Bumthang in central Bhutan you need nine or ten days, and the far east takes two weeks or more.

Because the Sustainable Development Fee is charged per night, each extra day has a clear cost. We would rather you saw three valleys well than six in a hurry.

Paro and Thimphu, the two valleys nearest the airport. You hike to Tiger’s Nest, visit Rinpung Dzong, the National Museum and Kyichu Lhakhang in Paro, and spend a day among Thimphu’s sights, including the Buddha Dordenma and Tashichho Dzong.

Not comfortably. Punakha lies two to three hours beyond Thimphu, over the Dochu La pass, so a visit takes a full day at the least. In four days you would have to give up Tiger’s Nest or most of Thimphu to fit it in.

If Punakha matters to you, take five days. Our Western Valleys Discovery adds it as a day trip, and the six-day Bhutan Signature Journey gives it a night.

No. Since Bhutan reopened in September 2022, visitors may book flights, hotels and a guide separately. You still need a licensed guide to enter dzongs and monuments, to trek, and to travel beyond the border towns if you arrive by land. There is no self-drive car hire: vehicles come with a driver.

Many visitors still choose an operator, because one booking covers the visa, the fee, the guide, the vehicle and the hotels, and someone local is responsible if a flight is delayed or a road is closed. We are a licensed, Bhutanese-owned operator in Thimphu: read more about us.

Yes. Every itinerary on this site is a starting point. Trips are private, so we can add or remove days, swap one valley for another, slow the pace, upgrade hotels or build the whole trip around a festival or a trek. Tell us what you have in mind on the tailor-made page or in any enquiry form.

The visa takes up to five working days, so that is the practical minimum. What usually decides it is flights and hotels. Only two airlines fly to Paro, and seats in spring, in autumn and around the big festivals sell out early. For those dates, book as far ahead as you can.

Winter and summer are easier, and we can often arrange a trip at shorter notice. Ask us and we will tell you honestly what is still available.

By air to Paro, Bhutan’s international airport. Two airlines fly there, Drukair and Bhutan Airlines, from cities including Bangkok, Delhi, Kolkata, Kathmandu, Singapore, Dhaka and Dubai. Most visitors connect through Bangkok, Delhi or Kathmandu.

You can also enter by road from India at Phuentsholing, Gelephu or Samdrup Jongkhar. Our page on getting to Bhutan has the details.

Yes. Your trip is private, so you have a guide and a driver to yourself, and every tour page shows a price for one person. That price is higher per person than for a couple or a group, because the guide and vehicle are not shared.

Yes. The charge is Nu. 4,500 per vehicle per day, a guide must travel with you, and an Indian driving licence is accepted. Hire cars without a driver are not available in Bhutan. On our trips a vehicle and driver are included, so most guests leave their own at home.

Yes, unless you are an Indian national, in which case you need an entry permit instead. The visa costs US$40 and must be approved before you travel. When you book with us we apply for you: you send a passport copy and a photograph, and we send back the visa clearance letter. See our Bhutan visa page.

No. Indian nationals enter on a permit, which can be applied for online in advance or issued at the point of entry. An adult travels on an Indian passport or a voter identity card, and a child under 18 on a passport or a birth certificate with a parent or legal guardian. The nightly fee for Indian visitors is Nu. 1,200. Our page on Bhutan from India has the details.

Only nationals of Bangladesh and the Maldives can, and Indian nationals can have their entry permit issued on arrival. Every other visitor needs the visa approved before travelling: the airline asks for the clearance letter at check-in. We apply for you when you book. See the visa page.

Up to five working days from the time the application and payment are submitted. Your passport must be valid for at least six months beyond your trip. A visa allows a stay of up to 90 days.

A fee paid to the government of Bhutan for every night you spend in the country. It is US$100 per adult per night, a rate that is in place until 31 August 2027. It funds national programmes such as free health care and education, and conservation.

The fee is included in the price of every trip on this site. More on our SDF page.

Children under 6 pay nothing. Children aged 6 to 11 pay half, US$50 a night. From the age of 12 the full fee applies.

As a guide, our four-day Bhutan Short Trip costs US$755 per person for three or more travelling together, US$785 each for two, and US$1,080 for one person. That includes the Sustainable Development Fee, the visa, hotels, all meals, a guide and a private vehicle.

Flights to Paro are extra. Our page on what a trip costs explains where the money goes.

The Sustainable Development Fee, the visa fee, 3-star hotels in a twin or double room, all meals, a licensed English-speaking guide, and a private vehicle with driver for the whole trip, including airport transfers. Treks also include the crew, pack animals, tents and all meals in camp.

Not included are flights to and from Paro, entry fees for monuments and museums, travel insurance, tips, and drinks. Each tour page lists both in full.

Once you are happy with the itinerary we send an invoice with the full price per person.

The visa can only be applied for once payment has been received, because the Sustainable Development Fee is paid with the application. The booking conditions are set out in our terms.

Tipping is not required, but it is customary to tip your guide and driver at the end of a trip if you are pleased with them, and the trek crew at the end of a trek. The amount is up to you.

Visa and Mastercard work at ATMs and banks in the main towns, and some larger hotels and shops take cards. Elsewhere you need cash. Bring some US dollars in clean notes, which are easy to change, and draw ngultrum in Paro or Thimphu before you head east.

Because your hotels, meals and transport are already paid for, most people spend little: drinks, souvenirs and tips. See money and currency.

It is a steady uphill walk, not a climb. The round trip is about 7 km and most people take four to five hours including the visit. The path is wide and well used, a teahouse marks the halfway point, and the last stretch is a long flight of stone steps down and then up again. From the car park, at about 2,600 m, you gain a little over 500 m to reach the monastery at 3,120 m.

Anyone used to walking for a couple of hours can manage it at their own pace. Go slowly, because the air is thin. There is more in our guide to the hike.

Our standard trips use 3-star hotels approved by the Department of Tourism. Expect a clean, comfortable room with a private bathroom and hot water, and Wi-Fi that works best in the towns. Most are built in the Bhutanese style and are run by local families or companies.

East of Bumthang the choice is narrower and the hotels are simpler. If you would like 4-star or 5-star hotels, tell us and we will price the trip with them.

Bhutanese meals are built around rice, often the local red rice, with several dishes of vegetables, meat and cheese to share. Chillies are treated as a vegetable, not a seasoning, and the national dish, ema datshi, is chillies cooked in cheese. Hotels and restaurants cook more mildly for visitors, and you can ask for it as hot as you like.

Vegetarians eat well in Bhutan. Tell us about any allergy or dietary need when you book and we will let every hotel know. We have written more about what to eat in Bhutan.

Clothes that cover you from shoulders to knees at the least, and preferably long sleeves and full-length trousers or a long skirt. A shirt with a collar is ideal. Take off your hat on entering, and your shoes before going into a temple. Shorts, sleeveless tops and flip-flops will get you turned away. More on our etiquette page.

Almost anywhere out of doors: the landscape, the towns, the outsides of dzongs and temples, and their courtyards. Photography is not allowed inside temples and shrine rooms, and at Tiger’s Nest cameras and phones are left at the gate before you go in.

Ask before you photograph anyone at close range. Most people say yes, and your guide will ask for you. Drones are not permitted for visitors. Our photography tour is planned around the hours when each place looks its best.

Hotels in the main valleys have Wi-Fi, though it can be slow. Mobile coverage is good in towns and along the main road and patchy between valleys. You can buy a local SIM card at the visitor centre in Paro airport or from a Bhutan Telecom or TashiCell office, and your guide will help. On treks, expect no signal for most of the route.

Yes. Bhutanese people are warm towards children, the trips are private so the pace can be set by the youngest, and the fee is halved for ages 6 to 11 and waived for under-6s. Monument entry is half price for under-18s and free for children of 5 and under.

Keep drives short and build in things to do: archery, a farmhouse visit, the Takin Preserve, an easy walk. Our family travel guide has more.

It depends on the trek. The Bumdra trek and the Druk Path need no previous trekking, only the fitness to walk uphill for three to five hours. The Dagala trek is best if you have done a multi-day walk before.

The Jomolhari trek has long days and passes close to 5,000 m, and you should have trekked at altitude before. The Laya–Gasa and Snowman treks are for experienced, very fit trekkers only. Each trek page states the grade plainly.

We provide the guide, a cook and helpers, pack animals to carry the loads, sleeping tents, a dining tent with table and chairs, a toilet tent, sleeping mats and all meals. You walk with a day pack only.

You bring your own clothing, boots, a day pack, a head torch and a water bottle. The packing list has a section for trekkers.

March to May and late September to November. Spring has flowers and milder nights. Autumn has the clearest skies. High treks are not advised in the monsoon, from June to August, and the high passes are closed by snow in winter.

The low Bumdra trek can also be walked in winter. The Snowman has a much shorter window, usually late September to mid-October.

The Bumdra, Tsaluna, Druk Path and Dagala Thousand Lakes treks need no special permit. The Jomolhari, Soi Yaksa, Laya–Gasa and Snowman treks run close to the northern border and through Jigme Dorji National Park, so they need both an army permit and a park permit. We apply for these as part of your booking, and there is nothing you need to do.

Most are not. Bhutan’s festivals follow the lunar calendar, so they fall on different dates each year. The Department of Tourism and the Association of Bhutanese Tour Operators publish a list for each year and label it tentative, because dates can still move.

Our festival calendar shows the official dates and the day we last checked them. Confirm with us before you book flights. The Black-Necked Crane Festival is the exception: it is held on 11 November every year. If you are deciding between festivals, read how to choose a Bhutan festival.

As early as you can. Paro Tshechu and Thimphu Tshechu fall in the two busiest seasons of the year, and both the flights and the hotels closest to the festival fill well ahead. Smaller festivals, such as those in Bumthang and Phobjikha, are held in valleys with few hotel rooms to begin with.

A festival is a religious occasion and Bhutanese come in their best clothes. Wear long sleeves and full-length trousers or a long skirt, and take off your hat inside a dzong. You will be sitting on stone for hours, often in strong sun, so bring a cushion, a sun hat for outside the dzong, water and a warm layer for the early morning.

Yes, in the courtyard or festival ground, from where you are sitting. Do not step into the dance area or block other people’s view, and ask before photographing anyone at close range. Photography is never allowed inside temples and shrines.

A few rituals may not be photographed at all, among them the midnight Tercham at Jambay Lhakhang. Your guide will tell you. Drones are not permitted.

The cranes arrive in the Phobjikha valley from late October and stay until February or March. The best times of day are early morning and dusk, when they fly between their roost on the marsh and the fields where they feed. The valley holds a festival for them at Gangtey Goenpa on 11 November each year.

On a cultural tour it is unlikely to be more than mild. Paro and Thimphu lie between 2,200 m and 2,350 m, where many people notice a little breathlessness or a light headache for the first day. The highest points are Tiger’s Nest at 3,120 m and road passes of 3,100 m to 3,988 m, which you visit and come down from.

Treks go much higher, and we plan them with acclimatisation days. Walk slowly, drink plenty of water, avoid alcohol for the first days, and tell your guide at once if you feel unwell. If you have a heart or lung condition, speak to your doctor before booking. More in altitude in Bhutan.

It is no longer a condition of entry: the government lifted the requirement in April 2024. We still strongly recommend it. Medical facilities are limited outside Thimphu, and a serious problem can mean evacuation abroad.

For a trek, your policy must cover walking at the altitude of the route and evacuation by helicopter. Check the altitude limit in the small print.

Bhutan is a peaceful country and crime against visitors is rare. The real risks are those of any mountain country: winding roads, altitude, and weather that can close a pass or delay a flight. You travel with a guide and an experienced driver throughout, and we build spare time into the plan where a delay would matter. Check your own government’s travel advice before you go.

Do not drink tap water. Bottled water is provided in the vehicle, and hotels provide drinking water. Bringing a refillable bottle cuts down on plastic. On treks the crew boils all drinking water.

We are not able to give medical advice. See your doctor or a travel clinic at least six weeks before you travel. They will advise on vaccinations for Bhutan and for the countries you pass through on the way, and on any medication you should carry.