The best months for most visitors are March to May and late September to November, when the weather is settled and the big festivals are held. They are also the busiest. Winter is cold, clear and quiet, and summer is green and wet. Which is best for you depends on what you want to do.
The seasons at a glance
| Season | Months | Weather | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spring | March to May | Mild and mostly clear, warming through May | Rhododendrons, Paro Tshechu, day hikes, treks |
| Summer | June to August | Monsoon: warm and wet, with cloud on the passes | Green valleys, quiet sights, lower hotel prices |
| Autumn | September to November | Clear skies after the rains, cooling in November | Mountain views, every trek, Thimphu Tshechu |
| Winter | December to February | Cold, dry and sunny, with snow on high passes | Black-necked cranes, Punakha festivals, empty dzongs |
Spring: March to May
Spring is the season of flowers. Rhododendrons bloom on the passes from late March, the valleys are green with new barley and wheat, and the days are warm enough for a shirt by late morning. Paro Tshechu falls in March or April and is the main event of the season. All but the highest treks are open.
The cost of this is company. Flights and hotels fill early, especially around the festival, and by May a haze often softens the mountain views.
Summer: June to August
The monsoon reaches Bhutan in June. It does not rain all day: showers come mostly in the late afternoon and at night, and mornings are often dry. The country is at its greenest, rice is being planted in Punakha and Paro, and you will have the dzongs almost to yourself.
What you give up is the view. The high peaks are usually hidden, the passes sit in cloud, and high treks are not advised. Roads can be blocked for a few hours by landslides, so we allow extra time between valleys.
Autumn: September to November
When the rain ends, usually in the second half of September, the air is washed clean and the mountains stand out sharply. October is the clearest month of the year and the busiest. Thimphu Tshechu is held in September or October, and in Bumthang one festival follows another through October and November.
This is the best season for trekking, and the only reliable one for the Snowman. By November the nights are cold, the rice has been harvested, and the cranes are arriving in Phobjikha.
Winter: December to February
Winter is an underrated time for the western valleys. The days are bright and dry, the views from Dochu La are often the best of the year, and there are few other visitors. Punakha, at only 1,242 m, is pleasantly mild, and its two festivals are held in February or early March.
It is cold in the mornings and evenings in Paro, Thimphu and Bumthang, where night temperatures fall below freezing. High treks are closed, and a road pass may shut for a day or two after snow.
Month by month
| Month | What to expect | Festivals (2027 dates, tentative) |
|---|---|---|
| January | Cold, dry and sunny. Snow on the high passes. Very quiet. | |
| February | Still cold, with clear skies. Mild in Punakha. | Punakha Drubchen, 13 to 15 February. Punakha Tshechu, 16 to 18 February. |
| March | Spring begins. The first rhododendrons flower and the lower treks open. | Paro Tshechu, 18 to 22 March. |
| April | Warm days and flowers on every pass. One of the two busiest months. | Ura Yakchoe, 18 to 22 April. |
| May | Warmer and hazier, with showers towards the end of the month. | |
| June | The monsoon arrives. Green, warm and humid in the lower valleys. | Nimalung Tshechu, 12 to 14 June. Kurjey Tshechu, 14 June. |
| July | The wettest part of the year. Cloud on the passes. | |
| August | Rain continues and begins to ease late in the month. | |
| September | The rain tails off. Clear skies from the later part of the month. | |
| October | The clearest skies of the year. The busiest month. | Thimphu Tshechu, 10 to 12 October. Gangtey Tshechu, 13 to 15 October. |
| November | Clear and cooler. The cranes arrive in Phobjikha. | Black-Necked Crane Festival, 11 November. Jambay Lhakhang Drup, 14 to 17 November. |
| December | Cold, dry and clear. Quiet again. | Druk Wangyel Tshechu at Dochu La, 13 December. |
Festival dates follow the lunar calendar and move each year. The full list is in our festival calendar, and there is advice on picking one in how to choose a Bhutan festival. Each month in the table above leads to a page of its own, with that month’s weather, festivals and treks.
Average temperatures
Average daily highs and lows on the valley floors, in degrees Celsius, from the National Center for Hydrology and Meteorology: its averages for 1996 to 2017 at Paro, Thimphu and Jakar in Bumthang, and for 1990 to 2017 at Punakha. Treat them as a guide. It is colder on the passes and at any camp on a trek, and a clear winter night can be several degrees colder than the average.
| Month | Paro | Thimphu | Punakha | Bumthang |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 13 / −1 | 15 / −2 | 19 / 6 | 11 / −4 |
| February | 15 / 1 | 17 / 0 | 21 / 8 | 13 / −1 |
| March | 18 / 4 | 19 / 4 | 24 / 11 | 15 / 2 |
| April | 21 / 8 | 22 / 8 | 27 / 14 | 18 / 6 |
| May | 23 / 11 | 25 / 12 | 29 / 17 | 20 / 10 |
| June | 25 / 15 | 27 / 15 | 31 / 20 | 22 / 13 |
| July | 25 / 16 | 27 / 17 | 31 / 21 | 23 / 14 |
| August | 25 / 16 | 27 / 16 | 30 / 21 | 23 / 14 |
| September | 23 / 14 | 26 / 15 | 29 / 19 | 22 / 13 |
| October | 21 / 9 | 24 / 9 | 27 / 17 | 19 / 7 |
| November | 17 / 5 | 20 / 3 | 24 / 11 | 16 / 1 |
| December | 15 / 1 | 17 / −1 | 20 / 7 | 13 / −3 |
When to come for…
- Mountain views: October to February.
- Trekking: late March to May, and late September to mid-November.
- Rhododendrons: late March to early May, depending on altitude.
- The big festivals: March or April for Paro, September or October for Thimphu.
- Black-necked cranes: November to February.
- Fewer people and lower hotel prices: December to February, and June to August.
The Sustainable Development Fee is the same all year, so savings in the quiet months come from hotels and flights, not from the fee.
Festival dates checked against the official tentative list on 12 October 2026. Temperatures from the National Center for Hydrology and Meteorology’s Climate Data Book of Bhutan.