Travel style · Bhutan
Family holidays in Bhutan
Short drives, low altitudes, room to run
Family trips that keep drives short and sleeping altitudes sensible: Kumaon lakes, Shimla and the toy train, Darjeeling, Gangtok, Paro and Thimphu. With notes on what children and grandparents can manage.
Photo: Afifa Afrin · CC BY-SA 3.0 · CommonsWith children and grandparents, altitude and drive time matter most. We keep most nights below 2,500 m, drives under five hours, and add at least one day without a car.
Bhutan is a Himalayan kingdom of about 38,394 sq km where every valley is run from a dzong and every tourist pays a nightly Sustainable Development Fee. Indians pay ₹1,200 a night and can drive in from Siliguri via Phuentsholing; most other visitors pay USD 100 and fly into Paro. Go March–May or late September–November.
Trips
Family holidays trips in Bhutan
Photo: Christopher J. Fynn · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Commons
Comfort
Paro, Thimphu and Punakha in comfort, 6 nights
Private car with driver
Photo: Afifa Afrin · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Commons
Saver
Bhutan by road from Siliguri, 6 nights
Shared jeep or bus to Jaigaon, then shared vehicle with licensed guide
2 places
Where to go
Experiences
Days that fit the style
Photo: Afifa Afrin · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Commons
Permit morning and a walk through the Bhutan Gate
For Indians entering by road, the first Bhutan experience is practical: meeting your guide, collecting the entry permit…
Photo: Afifa Afrin · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Commons
Zangdopelri temple and the evening town walk
Walk from the gate to the three-storey Zangdopelri Lhakhang at the centre of town as Bhutanese families circle it with …
Photo: Uchchhas Kundu · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Crocodile centre and Karbandi monastery
Fill a permit-waiting morning with two short stops: the Amo Chhu crocodile breeding centre on the edge of town and the …
Photo: L Shyamal · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Commons
Punakha Dzong and the rivers that meet below it
Cross the cantilever bridge over the Mo Chhu, walk through the three courtyards of Bhutan's most photographed dzong and…
Photo: Bernard Gagnon · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Field walk to Chimi Lhakhang
A flat 20-minute walk from Sopsokha village through rice and mustard fields to the small yellow-roofed temple of Drukpa…
Photo: Taxidesign · CC BY 2.0 · Commons
Rafting the Mo Chhu past the dzong
A gentle grade II–III float down the Mo Chhu that ends in sight of Punakha Dzong. Suitable for first-timers and older c…
Where to sleep