Best Time to Visit Bhutan

With terrain and landscape that changes from north to south and east to west, depending on where you are in the country, Bhutan is a country where the weather very much depends on the altitude in each of the seasons. While it does rain throughout most of the year somewhere in Bhutan, the monsoon season is the worst time for rains, and the peak seasons for tourism in this unique Himalayan kingdom are different than you would find on most four-season countries around the world.

The terrain in Bhutan ranges from high Himalayan Mountains and deep river valleys to thick jungles and low-lying plains, all of which is massively affected by the Indian Southwest monsoon, which brings rain to certain parts of the country depending on the time of year. In general, the best times to visit Bhutan are in the spring and autumn, from March to May and September to November.

Best Season 1: Spring from March to May

The Weather Condition of Bhutan in Spring

Spring in Bhutan is relatively short, running from early in March until around the middle of May, though this does depend on the weather each year. Once the monsoon gets underway and the country sees more rain, spring is normally considered to be over, and summer begins.

Temperatures across the country are typically mild, and the melting snow gives way to beautiful wildflowers that begin to cover the hillsides and valleys. Humidity is generally increasing throughout the spring months and rainfall is low, and the clearer skies make for great viewing of the high Himalayan Mountains to the north.

Bhutan weather can be very different in various areas, and the east of the country is generally warmer than the west. The major tourist areas of Thimphu, Paro, and Jakar see temperatures that range from 12 degrees in the early part of March to as high as 22 degrees in mid-May. However, in Punakha, due to the most sheltered location, temperatures can be higher, ranging from 22 degrees in March to as much as 26 degrees in May.

Rainfall is light, with only around 50-100mm of rain in each month across the entire country, which allows for clothing for warmer weather, and little need for heavy thick clothes and waterproofs, though a folding raincoat can be useful for those infrequent showers. Shorts may not be a good choice in the spring, and you may need a light sweater for the cooler evenings, but overall, thick clothing can be left at home in the spring for most of Bhutan.

Recommended Things to Do in Spring in Bhutan

Paro Tsechu: Held on March 12th to 14th, 2019, Paro Tsechu is one of the biggest festivals in Bhutan during which you can see the traditional mask dances at the courtyard of the Dzong with the locals.

Ura Yakchoe: Held in the village of Ura in the Bumthang Region, the Ura Yakchoe is held in May in the western calendar and celebrates the god of the yak with appeasements and offerings.

Rhododendron Season: The blooming season for the rhododendron forest in Bhutan runs from April to July, and the stunning sight of these beautiful trees with their pink, red, and white blossoms is an amazing experience.

Spring is also the best season for most treks in Bhutan, as the weather is at its best for trekking. Skies are clear and the sun is bright, with little snow on the ground and little chance of rain.

Best Season 2: Autumn from September to November

The Weather Condition of Bhutan in Autumn

Autumn sees the end of the heavier rains in Bhutan, and from late September to around the end of November, the fall season in this mountainous kingdom brings crisp and cooling weather. The air is light but humid, thanks to the remnants of the monsoon, but the skies are clear, bright, and sunny, and the sensational views that once heralded the start of spring also return in the autumn months.

The rains, which are constant in Bhutan, decrease to leave less than 80mm of rainfall a month across the kingdom, dropping further to as little as 20mm by the middle of November. Raincoats are once again a useful addition to your general packing list, and as the season progresses, the higher elevations can see the middle of autumn producing light snows in the foothills of the mountains. This can mean some slightly warmer clothing is required for those traveling in slightly higher altitudes, and a good warm jacket is a useful addition for the colder evenings.

Temperatures drop from the height of summer from around 16 degrees to 10-12 degrees as the autumn heads towards winter, and the nights of November can drop to almost freezing in the areas around Thimphu, Paro, and Bumthang. Once again, Punakha has much milder weather, with daytime temperatures remaining in the high teens to low 20s up to the end of November.

Recommended Things to Do in Autumn

Thimphu Tsechu: Held from October 7 to October 9 every year in the Bhutanese capital, the Thimphu Tsechu is one of the biggest festivals in the country and is witnessed by thousands of locals and tourists.

Jambay Lhakhang Drup: The biggest festival in the hill tribe areas of Bhutan, this unique festival is held on November 13-16 in the western calendar. Noted for its Ter Cham and Mewang, the naked dances, these are not open to visitors.

Black-Necked Crane Festival: Celebrated in the courtyard of Gangtey Gompa in Phobjikha valley, the festival is held every year in November to celebrate the return of the cranes to their winter feeding grounds from northern Tibet.

Autumn is the best time to take on the amazing snowman trek in Bhutan. Billed as being the most difficult trek in the world, this unique 28-day trek takes you through some of the most inhospitable regions in Bhutan, following the mountains along the northern border of Bhutan with China.

Best Season for Budget Tour: Winter from December to January

The Weather Condition of Bhutan in Winter

Winter in Bhutan begins in late November, and runs to early March, making it a long winter season. Altitudes above 3,000 meters are often affected by the mountain snowfall of the season, and frost can often be found across the rest of the kingdom, even in the south. Gale-force winds blast their way through the high mountain passes, and many of the more remote villages and goembas can be cut off for several months until the thaw.

However, while the higher areas are under attack from the polar elements, the central and southern regions are still relatively mild and are still ideal for trekking. Winter can be mostly sunny in much of Bhutan, with light rains in the south, and temperatures in the kingdom’s major cities dropping to below freezing at night. Temperatures in Thimphu and Paro reach up to around 11-13 degrees in the daytime, while in Punakha, it can get as warm as 17 degrees in the daytime, dropping to only around 5 degrees at night.

Recommended Things to Do in Winter in Bhutan

Winter is another of the seasons that are classed as the low season for Bhutanese tourism. With the colder weather, trekking in the main trails and valleys around the mountains can be hard to impossible, and the Daily Minimum Package once again drops to only US$200 per night for tourists to the kingdom. Winter in Bhutan is an ideal time to travel if you are trying to budget your trip and are not bothered by the lack of high-altitude treks.

Also, there are many festivals held in winter in different regions of Bhutan. Here are some popular Tshechus that worth joining in if you visit Bhutan in winter.

Punakha Dromche: Held from February 21st to 23rd each year, the Punakha Dromche is a unique festival held in the area that re-enacts the famous war with Tibet in the 17th century that saw the people of Bhutan drive back the invading Tibetan forces.

Punakha Tsechu: A huge festival in Punakha that follows on the from Dromche on February 25th-27th each year, the Punakha Tsechu is held in honor of Padmasambhava, known in Bhutan as the Guru Rinpoche, who is credited with introducing Buddhism to the kingdom.

Trongsa Tsechu: Another festival honoring Guru Rinpoche, the Trongsa Tsechu is held in December every year, from the 15th to the 17th and features many masked cham dances by the monks, clad in colorful brocades and much chanting of the Buddhist scriptures.

Monsoon Season of Bhutan in Summer from June to September

The Weather Condition of Bhutan in Summer

Generally, summer in Bhutan is quite long, running from as early as mid-May to as late as the middle of September, depending on the climate in that year. Summer is the time of the monsoon rains, and the wettest months of the year are normally in late June to the end of August. One of the low seasons in Bhutanese tourism, this is one of the times when the cost of a tour in Bhutan is lower, with the Daily Minimum Package costing from only US$200 per day, instead of the usual US$250 per day.

Frequent monsoon downpours affect most of the country, especially in the south where there is often a risk of flash flooding during the wettest months of the year. Humidity is very high in the summer months, but the higher elevations can still see huge temperature drops from day to night. In the warmest month of the year, July, temperatures can reach as high as 32 degrees in the east of the country, with Thimphu reaching as high as 26 degrees, Paro and Jakar getting up to 22 degrees, and Punakha seeing temperatures of around 27 degrees

Recommended Things to Do in Summer

A season for mushroom picking in Bhutan, this unique kingdom is rife with mushrooms that come into season in the summer months and make it a popular time to find some of the most unusual mushrooms in the world. Aside from the Bhutan matsutake mushroom, which grows in the pine and oak forests of the higher regions of the kingdom, and the shiitake mushroom, a relative if the famed Japanese variety, most of the mushrooms are found at altitudes above 3,000 meters. The more unusual varieties of mushrooms in Bhutan include the Buddha mushroom, the huge Sangay Shamu mushroom, the beautiful Amethyst Deceiver or Tallowgill mushroom, the Bjichu Kangru or “bird foot” mushroom, the shiny Bolete mushroom, the Horn of Plenty mushroom, and the Bhutanese relative of the cordyceps known in Bhutan as the Isaria. Bhutan is home to more than fifty different types of mushrooms, many of which are only found in this small isolated kingdom.

The Haa Summer Festival is a lively and spirited celebration of the traditional Bhutanese way of life, during which you can experience the uplifting regalia of the typical living-culture, the unique nomadic lifestyles, and the amazing Bhutanese cuisine. The festival is held in Haa on around the 13th-14th of July every year.

Conclusion

Overall, there is no time that you cannot visit Bhutan. For the finest weather, it is recommended to enjoy a Bhutan tour in spring and autumn. Winter is also a good time to visit Bhutan, especially to take a part in the local festivals or do some treks in the warm areas around Paro, Thimphu and Punakha.

Though summer is the monsoon in Bhutan, it is the low season of Bhutan tourism with the Daily Minimum Package costing from only US$200 per day.

If you need more suggestions on Bhutan travel planning and detailed information about the local weather, please feel free to contact us or leave your questions below.