Bhutan Tour From Nepal

How to Get to Bhutan from Nepal? Multiple ways to travel from Nepal to Bhutan.

Nepal to Bhutan by Flight Distance: 404km and how to travel

Getting to Bhutan from Nepal by air can only be done on one of the two Bhutanese airlines. Bhutan has only one international airport, at Paro, which is considered to be one of the hardest airports to land at due to the high mountains that border its approach. The flights from Kathmandu to Paro cover a distance of 404 kilometers and take around 1 hour 15 minutes.

To get a ticket on either Druk Air or Bhutan Airlines, the only two carriers allowed to fly into Paro International Airport, a pre-booked tour must be arranged, as the approval for the visa is sent to the airlines, and tourists are not permitted to purchase flight tickets without it. The airlines run only a few flights per day from Nepal’s Tribhuvan International Airport to Paro, which takes a little over an hour. However, if you are flying on a Tuesday or Thursday, then there is just one single flight per day.

Flights into Bhutan usually cost from around 200 US dollars per person for a one-way economy ticket and you will be required to book the return flight at the same time, as you will not be allowed to enter without your outbound ticket booked. On average, the cost of a return economy ticket from Nepal to Bhutan and back is around US$390 to US$ 400 per person. Economy flights to Bhutan from Nepal include a 30kg luggage allowance, in-flight meal, and complimentary drinks (non-alcoholic).

Nepal to Bhutan by Road Distance: 787km and how to travel

Traveling overland from Nepal to Bhutan by road is a little more complicated than flying, as you will have to cross the Indian state of West Bengal to get to the main border checkpoint between India and Bhutan at Phuentsholing. The main exit point from Nepal, when traveling overland to Bhutan, is at Kakarbhitta in far eastern Nepal, on the border with the Indian state of West Bengal. There are direct buses that run the 457 kilometers from Kathmandu to Kakarbhitta daily, which take around ten hours to get to the border town.

Once across the border, there are local buses from Panitanki to Darjeeling, the main center for transport in West Bengal, which take around three hours. From Darjeeling, it is possible to get an overland bus direct to Phuentsholing in Bhutan, the main border crossing checkpoint and the easiest way to access the kingdom overland. The buses take around seven hours to get to Phuentsholing from Darjeeling, and once you have completed the entry requirements at the immigration office, a car to Thimphu, the Bhutanese capital, will take another six hours. Thus it would take you about 19 hours to finish the whole 787-km-long overland trip from Kathmandu to Thimphu.

If you are planning to drive yourself to Bhutan, then you will need to organize two separate rental cars to get you there, and you will still need to get a taxi or the bus from Hasimara to Phuentsholing. International driving license holders are permitted to drive in Nepal and India on their own license for up to one year but will need to have comprehensive insurance for the renting of a self-drive vehicle, which can be a little costly. For a less expensive way of taking a car through Nepal and India, hiring a car and driver works out cheaper. Moreover, aside from Indian citizens, international visitors to Bhutan are not permitted to bring a car, and must be transported using their supplied driver and private vehicle at all times.

Nepal to Bhutan by Train Distance: 138-km-long railroad from New Jalpaiguri to Hasimara and how to travel

If you are planning to travel from Nepal to Bhutan by train, then you will find that neither Nepal nor Bhutan have a railway network. You will need to have a bus or car to take you to the border at Kakarbhitta/Panitanki, and the closest railway link to Panitanki on the Nepal/India border is at New Jalpaiguri, near Siliguri. Buses run regularly from Panitanki to Siliguri, and you can get the connecting train from there to New Jalpaiguri. From there, the trains travel to the closest railway link to Phuentsholing, at Hasimara, traveling through Nagrakata on the way. The train journey from New Jalpaiguri to Hasimara takes around four hours to cover the 138 kilometers of tracks and runs direct to the town with no connections.

Getting to Phuentsholing from Hasimara, a distance of around 19 kilometers, takes around 40 minutes by taxi, as there are no railway connections closer to Bhutan than Hasimara, and once in Bhutan, there is also no railway network to use. However, this can be a little expensive as the taxis cannot cross the border and will drop you at the side of the road in the small border town of Jaigaon. Local buses do run the route to Jaigaon and Phuentsholing, which cross the border, but start at Alipurduar, and you will need to stand at the roadside outside the station in Hasimara to flag them down as they pass. The advantage here is that they will run all the way to Phuentsholing immigration office and cost just a couple of dollars.

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