Bhutan

Bhutan is a small and land-locked Buddhist Himalayan Kingdom, covering a total area of about 4,700 sq km. Bhutan is bordered with Tibet to the north and Indian territories of Assam and West Bengal to the south and east and Sikkim to the west. This mysterious kingdom is popularly known as the land of Thunder Dragon, whereas, the Bhutanese citizen call it the country of Druk Yul. Bhutan remained in isolation until 1970s, following the year; Bhutan has been an ultimate destination from across the globe.

Bhutan is regarded to be the most expensive country for having trekking or tour in Bhutan but is worth spending of your money because you can only find such natural wonders, arts, and artifacts, flora and fauna in Bhutan. You will feel wonders immediately after you step into Bhutan, as you will begin to the mighty peaks, cascading waterfalls, beautiful monasteries, sparkling streams, ancient Buddhists monasteries, arts and architecture, museums, old buildings, thickly forested mountains slopes full of various species of animals and birds, all these traits have made Bhutan a unique land to visit at least once in lifetime.

As Bhutan remained in isolation for many year, it could preserve the old tradition, lifestyles, customs, arts and artifacts as it is, therefore, Bhutan is also referred to be the Shangri-la of the earth. The Ancient Buddhist culture and breathtaking sceneries of Bhutan attracts thousands of tourists every year, if you wish to visit to Bhutan, feel free to contact us, since Nature Adventure Trekking and Expedition has its own local agent who will make all the necessary arrangements required for making your trip a success.

Travel related information:

Cost relating to Travel: The minimum daily tariff is set by the government of Bhutan, therefore, the cost cannot be negotiated. The rates can be higher or lower depending on the nature of services. Our local travel agent will take care of all the required arrangement relating to your travel in Bhutan such as hotel booking, obtaining of permits to name a few.
Mandatory cost: a person has to pay $200 US per night in the high season, whereas, the cost goes down to $165 US dolor in the low season. Similarly, an individual has to bear $40 US dolor an extra charge per night, a group of two-persons has to bear at least $30 US dolor per night and no extra charges to a group to over 3-persons. July and August is considered to be the low season.

This minimum cost includes the following facilities: - All the internal taxes and charges (including the royalty) - Accommodation - All meals - All travel with a licensed Bhutanese tour guide - All internal Transport - Camping equipments and shipping for trekking tours

Visa fee: a visa is issued at the Paro Airport (the entry point, the Bhutan’s only Airport) during the immigration process. The cost for visa is only $20 US dolor which is issued and approved prior the entry with the pre-payment of travel itineraries. Except for the Indian national, each visitor needs the valid passport and visa in order to enter into Bhutan. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Thimphu issues a visa to all foreign travelers, which needs to be approved prior to arriving in Bhutan.

The requirement to enter and exit Bhutan

You will need a passport and visa to enter and exit Bhutan. All visas are approved from Thimphu and are only issued to tourists booked with a local licensed tour operator, directly or through a foreign travel agent. Applications for tourist visas are submitted by Bhutan based tour operators. All the visitors must obtain visa clearance from Thimphu before coming to Bhutan. Visa clearance takes at least 10 days to process and air tickets to Bhutan cannot be purchased without visa clearance. At your point of entry into Bhutan, immigration authorities will stamp a visa into your passport upon payment. You will also need to provide two passport photos. Visas are issued for a 15 day period with extensions available in Thimphu. The Bhutanese Department of Tourism sets a non-negotiable minimum daily tariff for all visitors to Bhutan. The rate includes all accommodations, all meals, transportation, services of licensed guides and porters, and cultural programs where and when available. The rate is the same for both cultural tours and treks. Travelers should contact the Tourism Council for the latest daily tariff.

Bhutan Travel Permit

Except to the Indian, Bangladeshi citizens and Maldivian nationals, all the visitors require a visa to inter into Bhutan. The visas are issued from Thimphu. The visa is issued to those tourists who book their travel through a local licensed tour operator, directly or through a foreign travel agent like Adventure Club. Application needs to be submitted and there needs to be clearance of visa process prior to enter into Bhutan. It will take at least 10-days a total for visa process. The air tickets to Bhutan cannot be purchased without visa clearance. The entry visa is issued on your arrival at the Paro airport on the payment of 20 US Dolor and two passport sized photo. The visa is issued for a 15-day period and extensions can be obtained in Thimphu.

Getting in to Bhutan

Travel by Air
Bhutan has only an international airport at Paro, which is connected from Bangkok, Delhi, Kolkata, Bodh Gaya, Dacca, Kathmandu and Guwati in Assam. Building of another international at Gelephu is also underway near future tourists will have an option land at Gelephu airport as well. The Druk Air is only the national airline, which is operating the services to these points, whereas, the Buddha airlines of Nepal has permit to operate the airline services from Kathmandu.

Travel by land
Phuntsholing, Gelephu and Samdrup Jongkhar in the eastern Bhutan are only the land border areas opened for international travelers. Phuntsholing is located to the eastern part of India. Whereas, Gelephu is situated central Bhutan, nearly 250 km from Thimphu. Similarly, Samdrup Jongkhar is one another entry point in eastern Bhutan which is bordered by Indian district of Darranga, Assam and some 150 km away from Guwahat, the capital city of Assam.