Travel style · Bhutan
Treks and walks in Bhutan
From an afternoon ridge walk to two weeks on foot
Day walks between villages, teahouse treks in Nepal, camping treks to high lakes and passes. We grade every walk by hours, height gain and the highest point, and pair you with licensed local guides and porters where the rules or the terrain call for them.
Photo: Christopher J. Fynn · CC BY-SA 3.0 · CommonsTrekking in the Himalaya is mostly walking on old paths between villages, which means you can choose your comfort: teahouses in Nepal, homestays in Ladakh and Sikkim, tents where nobody lives.
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
Treks and walks trips in Bhutan
Photo: Christopher J. Fynn · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Commons
Signature
Six Senses and COMO Uma Paro, 7 nights
Private car with driver
3 places
Where to go
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: xiquinhosilva · CC BY 4.0 · Commons
Paro
Bhutan's front door, with the Tiger's Nest on its cliff
Photo: Phuentsho · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Phobjikha (Gangtey)
A glacial bowl where black-necked cranes spend the winter
Experiences
Days that fit the style
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: Original: Nina R from Africa Derivative work: … · CC BY 2.0 · Commons
Hike to Taktsang, the Tiger's Nest
The classic Bhutan day: a steady climb of about 500 m from the car park to the cafeteria viewpoint, then on to the mona…
Photo: Bernard Gagnon · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Rinpung Dzong and the National Museum on foot
Walk from the town across the covered cantilever bridge, up through the dzong's courtyards and on to the round Ta Dzong…
Photo: David Broad · CC BY 3.0 · Commons
Morning prayer wheels at Kyichu Lhakhang
One of Bhutan's two oldest temples, a few minutes north of Paro town, where villagers walk circuits and spin prayer whe…
Photo: Sumeetmoghe · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Dawn crane watching on the Phobjikha marsh
Watch black-necked cranes leave their night roost and spread across the marsh to feed, calling as they go. Start at the…
Photo: Christopher J Fynn · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Gangtey Goenpa and the nature trail
Visit the 1613 monastery on its spur above the valley, then walk the Gangtey nature trail down through pine forest and …
Where to sleep
Stays in these places
Photo: Phuentsho · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Budget
Phobjikha valley farmhouse stays
Registered farmhouse stays scattered around the Phobjikha valley floor and Gangtey village, a short walk from the …
Photo: Xiaojun Deng · CC BY 2.0 · Commons
Mid
Zhiwa Ling Heritage, Paro
A hand-built Bhutanese hotel at Satsam Chorten in the Paro valley, opened in 2005 after five years of work by Bhut…
Photo: Phuentsho · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Mid
Dewachen Hotel, Gangtey
A 16-room lodge in traditional Bhutanese style at the edge of the Phobjikha valley, near Gangtey village and the B…
Photo: xiquinhosilva · CC BY 4.0 · Commons
Luxury
Amankora
Aman's circuit of five lodges in Paro, Thimphu, Punakha, Gangtey and Bumthang, designed to be travelled in sequenc…
Photo: xiquinhosilva · CC BY 4.0 · Commons
Luxury
COMO Uma Paro
A 29-key resort on a pine-covered hill above Paro town, on a 37-acre estate a short drive from the airport. Rooms,…