Travel style · Bhutan
Road trips in Bhutan
The high roads, driven at the right speed
The Himalaya has some of the highest motorable roads in the world: Manali to Leh, the Spiti circuit, Sela Pass, the Old Silk Route. We plan them with acclimatisation days, a driver who knows the bends and honest drive times.
Photo: Bernard Gagnon · CC BY-SA 4.0 · CommonsA mountain road is slow. Two hundred kilometres can take eight hours when the road climbs over a pass, crosses snow-melt streams and waits for a landslide to be cleared. We plan drives in daylight, keep long days to one in three, and build a spare day into any route that crosses a pass above 4,000 m.
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
Road trips trips in Bhutan
Photo: Christopher J. Fynn · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Commons
Comfort
Central Bhutan to Bumthang, 12 nights
Private car with driver
Photo: Afifa Afrin · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Commons
Saver
Bhutan saver with Phobjikha farmhouse, 7 nights
Shared jeep or bus to Jaigaon, then shared vehicle with licensed guide
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
5 places
Where to go
Photo: Bernard Gagnon · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Dochu La
108 chortens on the pass between Thimphu and Punakha
Photo: Christopher J. Fynn · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Commons
Gasa
Hot springs and a cliff-top dzong at the edge of the high north
Photo: Christopher J. Fynn · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Commons
Haa
Over Chele La to a quiet valley of white and black temples
Photo: Afifa Afrin · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Commons
Phuentsholing
Bhutan's road door from India, a gate away from Jaigaon
Photo: Thomas Wanhoff · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Commons
Trongsa
The dzong that could shut its gates and split the country
Experiences
Days that fit the style
Photo: Bernard Gagnon · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Sunrise over the chortens and high peaks
Reach the pass early on a clear winter morning to see sunlight move across Bhutan's highest peaks, then walk among the …
Photo: dhaag23 · CC BY 2.0 · Commons
Druk Wangyel Tshechu on 13 December
A modern festival held each 13 December on the ground in front of the Druk Wangyal Lhakhang, with dances performed by t…
Photo: Thomas Wanhoff · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Commons
Walk down the Lumitsawa ancient trail
Follow a 4.7 km stretch of the old Thimphu–Punakha footpath from Dochu La down through rhododendron, hemlock and oak fo…
Photo: Norbu2023 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
A soak in the Gasa Tshachu hot springs
Walk down from the road to the Mo Chhu and soak in Bhutan's best-known hot springs, where pools of different temperatur…
Photo: Christopher J. Fynn · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Commons
Gasa Dzong and its round watchtowers
Visit the 17th-century Trashi Thongmön Dzong on its ridge above the Mo Chhu, built to defend Bhutan's northern frontier…
Photo: Benjissimo · CC BY 3.0 · Commons
Up the Mo Chhu valley from Punakha
Follow the Mo Chhu north from Punakha past rice terraces, Tashithang forest and the boundary of Jigme Dorji National Pa…
Photo: Mario Biondi writer · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Chele La ridge walk at sunrise
Stop at Bhutan's highest road pass, 3,988 m, and walk along the prayer-flag ridge for views of Jomolhari and the Paro a…
Photo: Leovdvxxx · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Lhakhang Karpo, Nagpo and the three brother hills
Visit the White and Black temples at the foot of Miri Punsum, the three brother hills that guard Haa, and hear how a lo…
Where to sleep