My First solo trip to Thy Bhutan

September 2nd, 2023

1. Checked all possible means to reach Bhutan – By Road, rail as well as Flight

2. Calculated approximate expenses, booking hotels in advance and taxi services

3. Protocols to follow and things to carry etc.,

4. Suitable dates (as we didn’t want to apply to many leaves 😉 )

1. Bagdogra (Darjeeling district, westbengal) is the nearest Indian airport to Bhutan. There are multiple flights from all major cities (Spicejet, Airasia but Indigo is most running iam you know why right !)

2. From Bagdogra by road entry to Bhutan first city – Phuentsholing and to other places in Bhutan (Thimphu, Punaka, Paro and back)

3. One can opt for direct flight to Paro (from Bagdogra) is available once in 2-3 days but its super pricy. 4. By directly going to Paro (through flight) one can save one side (which is essentially a complete day) travel back to Bagdogra. Now one important Alert — Flight landing at PARO runway and the airport is one of the riskiest or scariest thing to do (but believe me watching is rather great fun – let me tell you a story behind this later in the diary)

We preferred road trip from India to enter Bhutan and plan goes like this :

Day 1 (12 Aug) – Bagdogra to Phuentsholing – night stay

Day 2 (13 Aug) – Visa formalities at Phuentsholing and start to Thimphu – night stay

Day 3 (14 Aug) – Site seeing at Thimphu and Punaka – night stay

Day 4 (15 Aug) – Tiger nest visit (hiking) – night stay

Day 5 (16 Aug) – Paro to Phuentsholing – night stay

Day 6 (17 Aug) – Phuentsholing to Bagdogra and flight back to Bangalore

Finally travel date arrived, took early morning flight to Bagdogra (while waiting for my friend who had to join from Mumbai had fun watching flights take off and landing in a small but very efficient airport)

Some Checklist (adath se majboor)

1. Original IDs (passport with 6months validity, Voter ID)

2. Umbrella and flipflops (check for rain forecast)

3. Sneakers and socks

4. Atleast 10k cash (no need to Bhutan currency, everyone accepts Indian rupees) – this money mostly for SDF, entry to Monasteries, Museums, food or purchases at local stores

Around 12pm we boarded Indian Taxi to be dropped at Phuentsholing, reached there around 4pm (did a small pit stop for lunch at ‘Red Chilli’)

First things first, lets know few important things about Bhutan which makes it unique and special. Bhutan is a landlocked country between India, Nepal and China on the eastern edge of the great Himalayan range. Majorly dependent on the India for food supplies, Oil and many more, however has preserved its culture, values and the great heritage. There is no influence of any other culture what so ever it may be – that makes the country really unique. Bhutan main source of Income is Farming (Agriculture), Hydropower and Tourism. Population of less than 7lacs where atleast 1.5lacs staying in other countries like Australia, India etc., in search of employment. Tiny population, mostly hill range with farming as occupation still are very connected to roots of the culture and heritage, sincerely follow rules and abide by the norms. Very respectful and warm hospitality makes them even more special. We all remember knowing Bhutan is the cleanest, least polluted (negative carbon footprint) and sustainability focused country on the planet, but you actually experience what is that mean. Bhutan follows Buddhism, ruled by King (we can actually see the genuine affection in various places from the natives) Monasteries and the religion is largely inspired from Tibet. Bhutan has managed well during COVID pandemic, later opened its doors for tourism but with few conditions.

1. Every tourist visiting Bhutan is required to pay SDF (Sustainable development fees) however exempted for first night stay in Bhutan. (Indian who regularly visit Bhutan are allowed for a day without any entry fees) This is currently INR 1200 per day per person (If the tour is for 6 days, SDF to be paid for 4 days {1200×4=4800 per person} Children below 5yrs are exempted.

2. Taxi Services are mandatorily to be opted from Bhutan registered cars, drivers, In case someone wants to take his/her own Indian car, there are certain permissions and approval cards required.

3. Local guide is mandatory and need to accompany during the tour (few of the tourists who did not hire local guide was not allowed to enter museum and Monastries, Fortresses etc., ) TIP : we have hired Taxi + guide services through Indian agencies, which was really helpful. They operate from Jaigaon which is the border district of India and Bhutan (refer link for quick check – https://jaigaon-taxi-service.business.site/?utm_source=gmb&utm_medium=referral) Offseason charges are around 3k for Creta/KIA seltos kind of car. It might increase if you are looking for bigger car

Let me give you a bit of heads up, need to prepare to go ahead explore nearby places if you really want to make most of the time. (Taxi services are off by max 5pm) Although we didnt move around much in Phuentsholing – there are quite a few places to visit like local market, Karbandi Monastery, Buddist temple, Crocodile bredding center are some of the attraction. we instead decided to enjoy good view of the valley, walked around the hills and watched night settling in..

Stayed in Tashi Namgay Grand hotel — ~6k per night (double bed) including breakfast and dinner Reached Phuentsholing on 12 Aug evening, on 13th Aug morning visited embassy for Visa processing.

1. Guide helped in Visa processing – takes 45mins on the paper work (in weekends)

2. Travel Insurance to be mandatorily purchased, INR 500

3. SDF charges INR 1200 per day to be paid along with Insurance

4. Bhutan prepaid mobile SIM card with 1GB data and 25min talktime is available at Embassy INR 250 Overnight stay is allowed with just an entry and actual visa stamping happens next morning

Thimphu is one of the most beautiful valley towns, looks much like our valley cities of Shimla, Manali etc., however much cleaner, less populated and well organized. I got awstruck to see there are no TRAFFIC SIGNALs or car honking. (can you imagine you are in a place where are so many cars on road but still there is absolutely NO honking or any unnecessary sounds) Thimphu is the capital city of Bhutan, has most of the administration offices along with the large headoffices like any other capital city. Early Morning view of Thimphu valley looks really beautiful with clouds brushing the tip of the mountains.

Top site seeing places in Thimphu :

1. Standing Buddha park, Football Stadium (which reminded me of Dharamshala cricket stadium), Market road, Clock tower & Amphi theater area — we covered all this on our own on the day of arrival to Thimphu (this saved us a lot of time and also it was fun walking in the valley of Thimphu

2. Buddha Dordenma Statue – recently build and opened in 2015, a gigantic, magnificent yet calm and peaceful Buddha Statue.

3. Simply Bhutan – Heritage museum

4. National Memorial Chhorten – Buddhist temple

5. Royal Textile Academy

On the way to Punakha 1. Dochula Pass – 108 memorial chortens/stupas, entire area is covered with clouds most of the time and gives a real feel of walking ‘in the clouds’. When the clouds get cleared and bright day light can give a glimpse of snow covered Himalayan range. No Entry Fees

2. Punakha Dzong – constructed in 17th Century, on the river banks of two beautiful male (Pho Chhu) and female rivers (Mo Chhu) – quite majestic and beautiful fortress, Entry fees INR 1000

3. Punakha Suspension bridge – Beautiful, bit scary and great fun (after some time) ~500 foot long, quiet stable giving absolutely breathtaking view of river, mountains and the valley. No Entry fees

Tigers Nest is the most important attraction for Bhutan, infact this was the place which motivated to chose Bhutan trip. History links to as old as 8th Century and further developed 17th Century, It is believed Guru Padmasambhava came in a flying tiger from Tibet and introduced Vajrayana Buddhism to Bhutan. Thats how the place is known as Tigers nest. The way temples are placed is so interesting – hiking is done on the mountain next to the temple, descend for reaching a beautiful waterfall and hike again (steps) to the actual temple entry Hiking to Taksang Tigers nest takes most of the day, we have started hiking around 9am and slowly ascended to the view point at cafeteria. Met lot of tourists who started around 630-7am and able to manage to descend by 12pm. Temple is situated at height of ~10k feet, which is around 5kms hike, usually takes 5-7hrs as a round trip. When you start from the base, the size of the temple (which is almost hiding in the caves of the mountain) gives a great inspiration to start, cherish with every moment with step of increasing ascend and every minute getting closer to the temple leaves you awstruck.

Finally when you reach the temple steps the feeling of accomplishment cannot be explained in words but need to be only experienced.

1. Entry Fees – INR 1000 per person

2. Guide mandatory to accompany especially for the entry of the temple

3. walking sticks (it gives good grip for ascending and getting down) available for rent – INR 100

4. Things to carry (ideally nothing – as hiking progresses even carrying waterbottle is difficult. ) — water bottle 1-2 liters is fine, energy bars, snacks (dont forget to carry the wrappers back with you) and good camera / mobile to capture the beautiful scenarios.

5. Good gripped sneakers

6. Dont need any prior experience of hiking however if able to have good stamina thats fine.

7. Mobile/camera is not allowed inside the temple hence we are left with pictures of the sceneries.

8. Cotton clothes (T Shirt, Jeans should be fine)

9. Umbrella in case of any rain forecast

10. Good shades (googles for protecting from sharp sun) TIP : Travel light, carry few snacks (energy bars), slow hiking with breaks, spend time sitting in few places and steady slow descend (else might hurt your knee joint and calf muscles)

The Summary of Bhutan Visit (aka Mudde ki baath)

If you are planning to visit Bhutan one sincere advise – not to plan alone – its super expensive

1. Direct flight from Bagdogra to Paro is bit scary and expensive, alternatively reach bagdogra and go ahead by road

2. Taxi, Driver, guide and Stay – Local taxi, driver and guide are mandatory (also some places donot allow entry witout guide – monasteries/fortresses etc.,) Airport pickup from Bagdogra to Phuentsholing — INR 3000-3500 (Wagan R) Local Taxi, driver and guide — INR 5500 per day. We did an advance booking who has taken care round trip (Jaigaon taxi service and many more who operate from India and coordinate well with the local guides and network) Stay – INR 2500 onwards (we preferred prepaid hotel booking which was bit more but wanted to avoid last minute rush but can bargain and get good deal on this)

3. Visa is on arrival — Original Passport with 6months validity (or original Voter ID) small formality at Phuentsholing embassy office – usually guide helps on this paper work (takes app 45mins in a weekend)

4. Sustainable development fees (SDF) INR 1200 per person per day (children below 5yrs exempted), Travel Insurance mandatory INR 500, prepaid SIM card (1GB data, 25mins talk time) can be bought at embassy for INR 250. TIP : Most of the hotels has wifi and we can communicate with the families in the evenings through whatsapp calls, few banks will not allow internet and might block Bhutan SIM and wifi bank transactions.

5. Carry cash of atleast 10k for SDF, Insurance, mobile SIM, entry fees (usually INR 1000 each for Museum, Monastry, Fortress, local fruits/food etc.,) Please note Indian Rupees are accepted in every shop/hotel, cards or UPI will not work (Internal credit cards can work or payment links may work – so plan hotel payments accordingly)

6. Dont miss items in Bhutan –Buddha dordemna, Simply Bhutan, Dochula pass, Punaka suspension bridge, Punaka Fortress, Tigers nest, National musuem paro, quick sneak peak of Paro airport/runway (and interesting stories around). Tigers nest is the complete non negotiable visit.

7. Carry light luggage, Umbrella (check rain forecast), shades, sneakers and some energy bars (especially for Tigers nest hiking)

8. Makemytrip kind of travel agencies charge 39k per person for a 7N6D kind of trip excluding the flight, SDF and other charges, if you can plan a bit in advance work out to be much cheaper.

Bhutan is heavily dependent on India for many supplies (Roads, bridges and many constructions done and maintained by Indian authority) including fuel, yet Bhutan is able to establish its own identity not just in its natural resources but even in the behavior, culture, values and heritage (Clean colonies, pollution free, no traffic signals, vehicles wait for people to cross the road, absolute no honking are only some examples which makes Bhutan so special, happy traveling 🙂

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