Top 21 Bhutan Travel Tips You Need to Know before Taking a Bhutan Trip

If you are planning a trip to Bhutan, then there are a few travel tips you should take on board before you travel. Bhutan is a very different country from the rest of Asia, let alone the rest of the world, and a few hints can help you to enjoy your trip more and give you a little idea of what to expect in this isolated Himalayan Kingdom.

1. You need a Bhutan Travel Permit

Before you can enter Bhutan, you need to have a travel permit, the Bhutan Visa, to enter the country and travel around the unrestricted areas of the kingdom, mainly around the cities of Paro and Thimphu, the Bhutanese capital. This is arranged for by your travel agency in advance, and will be waiting for you with your guide when you arrive. For travel to areas outside these two Dzongkhags (districts in Dzongkha, the Bhutanese language), you will need to have restricted areas permits, which will also be arranged for by the travel agency before you arrive.

2. You can’t travel independently, need to book with a local tour agency

Independent travel is not permitted in Bhutan with the exception of nationals of India, Bangladesh, and the Maldives. All other nationalities must be on a private tour booked through a registered travel agency, as part of the kingdom’s “High Value, Low Impact” policy. All travel agencies for Bhutan travel are registered with the Tourism Council of Bhutan (TCB) and will only get paid for the tour once your tour has completed.

3. You can’t book the flight ticket by yourself

In fact, you cannot book the flight to Bhutan by yourself unless you already have a pre-booked tour and your Visa Clearance Letter. Visas are provided only once you pay for the Bhutan tour, and you need the clearance letter in order to book a flight with the airlines. The TCB sends copies of the clearance letters to both airlines, and the immigration desk at the airport will also have record of your clearance for your visa stamp when you arrive. Usually, the flight ticket will be involved in the tour package arranged by your travel agency, so you don’t worry about booking the flight to Bhutan.

4. You will expect the chili cheese all the way

The national dish, Ema Datshi (which translates to Chili and Cheese), and is a stew made from a wide variety of chilies and some yak cheese, served over a bed of red rice. Bhutan is a country where chili is not a spice, it is a vegetable. Every dish in Bhutan has some amount of chilies in it, from one or two to add flavor and a little spiciness to dozens as part of the vegetables for the dish. Chilies are a love-affair thing in Bhutan, and if it is not blisteringly spicy, most Bhutanese will not eat it. Cheese is another favored ingredient in Bhutanese cuisine, and can be found in a wide variety of dishes. Made from yak milk, the cheese is rich and creamy, and is often used to balance dishes. This dish is a mixture of these two local characteristics. If you are going to visit Bhutan, don't miss trying this dish.

5. You will have 100% chance to enjoy one of our festivals except for the summer

Bhutan has more than 50 major festivals throughout the year, and several dozen more small local ones, so there are few times when there is not a festival going on somewhere in the kingdom. Bhutan Festivals are semi-religious occasions, often held in celebration and commemoration of the Guru Rinpoche, also known as Padmasambhava, who brought Buddhism to Tibet in the 8th century. They are also social events where locals interact, play games, shoot arrows, and generally have fun once the religious ceremonies are done. There are fewer festivals in the summer months due to the rains, but every single month has one festival somewhere, at least.

6. You can do some short treks, one to two hours, every day

Bhutan has some great trekking trails, and there are a few that are really short, which allows you to spend a shorter time hiking the trails and more time admiring the amazing Himalayan views and exploring the Dzongs and Lhakhangs that can be found all across the country. Even you don’t take the trekking tour in Bhutan, you can also enjoy a leisure trek and hike every day after your ordinary sightseeing tour.

7. You never miss out the competition of Archery

Archery is the national sport of Bhutan, and was declared so in 1971, when the kingdom joined the United Nations (apparently, it is a requirement to have a national sport!). Bhutan has always used bows in its military, and the Bhutanese are naturals at archery. Since it was named, it has become much more popular, and you can find archery contests and competitions all around the kingdom, even down to the inter-village levels, which are some of the most fun events for those looking for a traditional Bhutan experience.

8. You will expect the good road condition

Bhutan has around 8,000 kilometers of roads, and around 60 percent of them are paved. The rest are dirt and gravel roads, which usually thread through the mountains and valleys in the more remote areas. There is a good network of roads across the center of the kingdom, leading down to the southern border ports, and the main cities of the kingdom are well connected. The biggest road in Bhutan is the Lateral Road, which runs from Phuentsholing in the west to Trashigang in the east.

9. Summer from middle of June to August is the Rainy Season, also the off-season

Yes, summer is the low season in Bhutan, due to the high incidences of rainfall. Summer, from June to August is the monsoon season in Bhutan, and the kingdom is heavily affected by the Indian Southwest Monsoon. It is not an idea season for Bhutan tours. As off-season of Bhutan tourism, summer months are the good time for a cheaper tour in Bhutan, especially in northern areas that are not too wet during the monsoon season.

10. You can expect the wild animals, like monkeys, birds just before your vehicle on the road

Bhutan is a country where around 70 percent of the landscape is wilderness, protected for future generations from logging, development, industrialization, etc. Out in this wild landscape, bears, wolves, monkeys, Takins, leopards, and many other animals roam free, and many have rarely seen people or cars. So do not be surprised to see cows and horses along the side of the road and monkeys hanging in the trees looking at you.

11. You will be touched by our logos “Happiness is a Place” everywhere

The tourism logo of Bhutan, “Happiness is a place” is a shortened version of the Finnish saying, “Happiness is a place between too much and too little.” This slogan can be found all across the kingdom, and not just in word form. You will find that every place in Bhutan has something about it that will give you unending amounts of happiness, right up to and beyond the day you leave.

12. It’s easy to get a SIM card, so you can get online even if the Wi-Fi is not good enough

Prepaid SIM cards are available at Paro International Airport, and if you forget to buy it at the airport, you can ask your guide to get one for you in the city. Cellular connections are actually pretty good across the country, although some of the offbeat tourist destinations may have a patchy cell signal. They are economical to use, and can save you activating your international roaming, which is always expensive. You can load the Sim cards for use for calls and data, and connectivity is relatively good, enough to upload your latest photos to Facebook or Tweet about the chilies in your dinner.

13. You won’t find another destination which has the same service level of our tour guide and driver

Having that car, driver, and guide with you every time you leave the hotel may seem like an assisted tour, but you will be glad they were with you. And there is nowhere on earth that gives you this kind of VIP treatment in every aspect of your tour as you will find in Bhutan. All guides and drivers are well trained with college courses and will all speak excellent English (or some other languages which can be requested).

14. You will have to spend at least USD250 per day

Yes, if you travel to Bhutan in the peak season, it will cost you 250 dollars per day. However, while this may seem expensive, it does cover everything you will need for your stay in Bhutan. And there are no hidden charges either. Your hotel accommodation up to three stars, all your main meals, your car, driver, gasoline, and guide, all of your attraction entry fees, etc. are covered with this single payment which is known as the Minimum Daily Package.

15. You can find Uma and Six Scent, the super 5 star hotels in Paro and Thimphu, so try them at least one night.

Bhutan may be a nation where most of the country is still virgin and primeval forests, but it is far from backwards. Technology and modern amenities came to Bhutan a long time ago, and you can also find some great five-star international hotel chains in the kingdom. The Uma and Six Scent hotels can be found in Paro and Thimphu, along with several others, and it is worth the added cost for one night of hat luxury experience.

16. Homestay is a very unique experience

One of the best ways to learn about a new culture is to live with them, and in Bhutan you can do just that. Homestays in Bhutan are nights out of your hotel spent in a local farmhouse or home, which has been opened up to international travelers. For a day and a night you can live with the family in the traditional way of Bhutan, eat the same food, learn their ways, and enjoy one of the best overall experiences in this amazing land.

17. If time limited, Paro and Thimphu are always the must-sees

If you are limited for time, and cannot travel for several days or take on the long treks, then staying around Thimphu, the Bhutanese capital, and Paro, the home of the airport, is a must for any traveler. These two stunning cities have a wealth of things to do, from ancient Dzongs and temples to museums, textile weavers, and much more.

18. The Tiger Cave is the landmark of Bhutan

Bhutan received Buddhism from the Guru Rinpoche, known as Padmasambhava, who is reputed to have flown to the kingdom from Tibet on the back of a flying tigress that was his former Tibetan consort, Yeshe Tsogyal. He is said to have landed halfway up a cliff in Paro close to some caves, and the site is now the most amazing monastery in the world. Sitting 900 meters above the Paro Valley, more than 3,000 meters above sea level, this unique monastery, known as the Tiger’s Nest Monastery, was built on a small ledge above the caves used by Padmasambhava for meditation after he arrived.

19. You will be very safe if traveling independently

Bhutan has one of the lowest crime rates in the world, and the chances of getting mugged, or worse, in Bhutan are almost impossible. Not only is it a safe place for individual travelers, you must take into account that you are never alone when traveling, as your guide must be with you all the time when outside the hotel.

20. You can use USD dollars, and also Rupees.

The currency in Bhutan is the ngultrum, or Nu. However, this is linked to the Indian rupee, and they are accepted at all vendors and stores across Bhutan. You can even use dollars for larger payments, as they are widely accepted in Bhutan.

21. You will expect to see a lot of phallic symbols. It’s not porn!

Bhutan is obsessed with the phallus, and you can find drawings and painting of them all across the kingdom, from being drawn on the sides of walls everywhere to being the most popular pieces of artwork in the kingdom. And these are not stylized phallic symbols, but paintings of the real thing, complete with testicles. The phallus is seen in Bhutan as a tribute to the favorite saint of the kingdom, Drukpa Kenley, known as the Divine Madman. He used his own phallus to fight demons and help convert Bhutan to full Buddhism.