Bhutan is a small, landlocked Buddhist country on the eastern end of the Himalayas, situated between China and the northeastern part of India. Bhutan’s tourism rules are rather unusual – international visitors have to pay a $100 “sustainable tourism” fee per night and are obliged to travel the country with an officially licensed tour operator, which charges an additional $200 per day. This includes almost everything – driver, guide, accommodation, and three meals per day. I had to convince myself to spend three days here, but after doing so, I can confirm that I do not regret my decision.
How to enter Bhutan from India
Most international visitors fly to Paro, Bhutan’s only airport, and start their tour from there. This is pretty straightforward. Once you have found a travel agency to tour Bhutan, they will help you with all the details, such as getting a visa and paying the required fee for the duration of your stay.
Since I was very close to Bhutan, I chose the more unusual way of crossing via the land border. My travel agency helped me realize this. Instead of picking me up from Paro airport, my guide waited for me at 9 a.m. at the Indian immigration office in the small border town of Jaigaon. The office doesn’t open earlier, so it is simply not possible to cross the border outside office hours. Once you get your exit stamp from the Indian immigration office, you have to walk to the border point and enter Bhutan.
Bhutan
After entering Bhutan, we drove to Thimphu, the capital of Bhutan, for the the first day. The second day was spent in and around Paro, and the highlight of the third day consisted mostly of hiking to the “Tiger’s Nest” Monastery, probably Bhutan’s most iconic view.
Bhutan is a place of serenity and peace, perfectly reflecting the population’s Buddhist mentality. You will have a hard time spotting a plastic bottle anywhere on the ground or hearing a car honking. People are friendly but more shy than in the big neighboring country to the south (and probably also the one in the north – but I do not know this yet for certain).
The main things to see around are the wooded foothills and, if the weather allows, some Himalayan peaks in the distance – although the most impressive ones are simply too far away from here. In this landscape, you find many buildings in the typical Bhutanese style, which is a white brick style with wooden decorations. We saw palaces, bridges, houses, and monasteries all in this similar style, which gives a nice sense of continuity. The insides of the holy places could not be photographed; these are always very colorful, with big statues of Buddha and other deities, wall paintings depicting different scenes of Buddhist mythology, and colorful flags and offering bowls.
Spending 3 days / 3 nights (the 4th day consisted just of driving to the airport; this day did not cost anything) is the bare minimum for visiting Bhutan. You get a glimpse of its capital and its second biggest city, Paro. If the budget allows, probably a week is really required to visit this wonderful country, but the short trip I took gave me a very nice impression of Bhutan nevertheless.
I assume no one will be said when I say less text, more pictures 😉
