How to Plan a Thimphu Bhutan Travel

Planning a tour of Thimphu, the capital of the Kingdom of Bhutan, is an easy task, thanks to the fact that you need a tour operator or travel agency to handle the trip itself. All travelers are required to be on pre-approved tours, so the tour operator does all the work once you have decided on the tour you want.

Where is Thimphu?

The city of Thimphu is located in the Thimphu Dzongkhag (district) in the western region of Bhutan. It is bounded by Paro Dzongkhag to the west, Gasa Dzongkhag to the northeast, Punakha and Wangdue Phodrang Dzongkhags to the east, Dagana Dzongkhag to the south, and Chukha Dzongkhag to the southwest. The northern border of the district lies on the border between Bhutan and the Tibet Autonomous Region of China.

The modern capital of Thimphu, the largest city in Bhutan, replaced the former capital of Punakha in 1955, and the city extends along the Thimphu Valley from north to south. The city lies on the banks of the Wang Chhu, the main river that flows through the valley, and lies at an altitude of around 2,248 – 2,648 meters above sea level.

How to get to Thimphu?

Flying to Paro first and then transfer to Thimphu proves to be the most convenient way to get to Thimphu. The only international airport of Bhutan sits in Paro, which is well connected by regular flights from Kathmandu in Nepal, New Delhi, Kolkata, Bagdogra, Gywahati, and Gaya in India, Dhaka in Bangladesh, Bangkok in Thailand and Changi in Singapore. Most tourists choose to take flights to Paro firstly, and then drive to Thimphu. With a distance of nearly 54 kilometers, it usually takes you about one and a half hours to transfer from Paro to Thimphu.

What are the must-see attractions in Thimphu?

Thimphu is an amazing city, and has a huge number of attractions for visitor to see and place to go. While it may lack some of the charm and culture of other ancient capital cities, there are many attractions that show how old this land really is and how these traditional Buddhist people live their daily lives.

National Memorial Chorten

The National Memorial Chorten is one of the landmarks of Thimphu. This white chorten was built to commemorate the third King of Bhutan in 1974. You can see the local pilgrims and citizens do the kora around the Chorten.

Tashichho Dzong

Tashichho Dzong is another must-visit attraction during your Thimphu Bhutan tour, and was built in the 18th century by the Zhabdrung Rinpoche as a government office. It was later enlarged to include the monastic and civil bodies of Bhutan’s former government, and is topped a by triple-tiered gold roofs that are lit up at night to give a stunning scene of the Dzong.

Changangkha Lhakhang

Changangkha Lhakhang is one of the oldest temples in Thimphu Valley, and was built in the 15th century. Dedicated to Avalokiteshvara, the Buddhist emanation of compassion, the temple offer some of the greatest views out over the city from anywhere around. Travelers are allowed to enter the temple with their guide and see the ritual payers or talk with the students of this unique Buddhist academic monastery.

National Textile Museum

The National Textile Museum is the best museum in Bhutan and is part of the Royal Textile Academy. The museum features an amazing display of both ancient and modern textiles, something Bhutan is renowned for in the Himalayas. It also explores and explains the rich Bhutanese traditional arts of Thagzo (weaving) and tshemzo (embroidery), with the entire ground floor focusing on the royal ghos and wedding gowns of the Wangchuck royal family.

Buddha Dordenma

The Buddha Dordenma stands at the entrance to the Thimphu Valley, and is one of the most commanding examples of Buddha statues in the world. Standing 51 meters tall and made from gilded steel, this massive statue is one of the most amazing sights in Bhutan. The base of the statue, which has three floors, is home to the largest collection of donated Buddha statuettes in the world, and the body of the statue is filled with more than 125,000 small statues of Buddha in different poses.

How many days are required to visit Thimphu?

Most trips to Bhutan do include travel to other places, including Paro and Punakha, to name a couple. However, if you are staying only in Thimphu, the ideal time period for the best trip to the capital of Bhutan would normally be around 5-6 days. This gives you enough time to get to know a little more about the city and visit the major attractions of the capital, as well as having a little time to explore the Taktshang Monastery in Paro before you leave, a must-see for any visitor traveling in Bhutan.

Most Bhutan tours include 1 or 2 days in Thimphu, which covers the most essential parts of this city. It is enough to spend 2 nights in Thimphu. But if you want an in-depth tour to the Thimphu valley, you can spend few more days to take a trek tour around Thimphu within one week. For those who visit Thimphu during the Tshechu, which lasts for 3 days in general, you can take a 5-day city trip in Thimphu, so that you can have enough time to visit the attrations and fully experience the festival in one go.

Where to stay in Thimphu?

Thimphu has one of the largest and widest ranges of accommodation in Bhutan, and can cater to everyone from budget travelers to those looking for the ultimate in Himalayan luxury.

Luxury 5-star Hotels in Thimphu

The five-star hotels in Thimphu are the best places to stay in the city, and offer the height of luxury for the most comfortable Bhutan tour possible. Thimphu actually only has three five-star hotels, which are the Amankora Thimphu, the le Meridien, and the Taj Tashi. All of these luxury hotels are worth spending the extra on to stay in, even if only for just one night, and offer the best in luxurious spa treatments, saunas and steam rooms, multiple restaurants offering a wide range of Indian, Bhutanese, Chinese, and Western dishes, depending on your tastes. On average, the nightly rates for five-star hotels in Thimphu range from as low as USD275 per person per night to as much as USD1,500 to USD2,000 per night for the best suites.

4-Star Hotels in Thimphu

In the mid-range, which for Bhutan is the four-star range of hotels, there are a huge number to choose from, including the City Hotel, the Hotel Jumolhari, the Hotel Druk, and the Hotel Motithang. Four-star hotels in Thimphu are often the more popular places to stay, with all of the best in modern amenities, good standard restaurants, and often with health spas and saunas as well. Prices in the mid-range hotels normally start at around 2,000 Nu (US$30) for a small standard single room, with relatively high standards.

3-Star Hotels in Thimphu

The cheaper end of the market includes such three-star hotels as the Hotel Ghasel and Hotel Tandin, which both offer clean rooms with attached bathrooms and hot water. Both hotels have their own restaurants, offering a range of Indian and Bhutanese dishes, and the vegetarian restaurant in the Hotel Ghasel is rated as one of the best in Bhutan.

Thimphu Climate and the Best Time to Visit Thimphu

Thimphu has a moderately warm temperate climate for most of the area of the Thimphu Valley, though at altitudes above 3,000 meters, the Thimphu climate alters to a colder temperate zone. The city itself lies in the former, and can be relatively warm for a Himalayan capital, even in the winter months. Thimphu has the same four seasons as the rest of Bhutan, with spring from March to May, summer from June to August, autumn from September to November, and winter from December to February. However, it can also be classified as having a two-season monsoon climate, with the southwest Indian monsoon bringing the rains from late May to September, and the rest of the year being dry from October to April.

The best time to visit Thimphu city is in the spring and autumn, either side of the rainy monsoon season. While the weather is not the driest of the year, and it can still rain sometimes in both spring and autumn, the skies are mostly clear throughout both seasons, and temperatures are pleasant and arm. Temperatures in spring range from 16-22 degrees in the daytime to around 3-8 degrees at night, though in May it gets a lot warmer at night. Autumn temperatures are similar, with nights ranging from 5-15 degrees throughout the season, and days as warm as 18-23 degrees.

Winter, however, is not to be easily dismissed for traveling to Thimphu. Winter weather in the capital often feature moderately warm daytime temperatures, some light clouds, and snowfall in late January and February. However, this is still a great time to visit, as the weather is not as cold as you might think, with days reaching as high as 13 degrees in the coldest month of January. Thimphu still has a little rain, even in January, though only a few days of the month normally see rain clouds overhead. Temperatures at night are also not too cold, with January’s nightly temperatures dropping to only around -3 degrees, similar to mainland Europe at the same time of year.

Extra Thimphu Travel Tips

Restaurants in Thimphu

Thimphu has a wide range of restaurants, from the budget establishments that offer good local food to the luxury restaurants that offer European and other cuisines. Mid-range is usually the best option, as the meals are not too pricy, but you have a wider selection of cuisines to choose from, including Italian, Chinese, Indian, Thai, western, and local.

Drinks in Thimphu

Tea is the normal drink in Bhutan, and in the same way as in Tibet, it is made as either sweet tea or butter tea. However, a large coffee culture is opening up in Thimphu in recent years, with a large number of cafes in the city offering freshly-brewed coffees at reasonable prices.

Thimphu Tsechu

Thimphu Tsechu is held on the 10th day of the 8th lunar month, and is one of the largest festivals in Bhutan. Happening in October in the Gregorian calendar, this three-day event is well worth organizing your tour around, and will give you one of the best insights into Bhutanese religion, culture, and social interaction in the kingdom.

Conclusion of Thimphu Bhutan Travel Plan

Planning a trip to Thimphu in Bhutan is not as hard as you might think. With a requirement for pre-approved tours with registered tour operators, all you really need to do is decide where to stay and what to see, and the rest is up to us. So why not come and book your lifetime trip to Bhutan’s famous capital now?