Bhutan
The Kingdom of Bhutan
July 12th - 19th, 2025
This is my blog post about my trip to the "happiest country in the world", the Kingdom of Bhutan. I had booked a 6-day trip with G Adventures, my first time traveling with them.
There are only a limited number of flights you can take to reach Bhutan - from Delhi, Kathmandu and Bangkok. You have a choice between two domestic airlines, Druk Air, the national airlines, and the private Bhutan Airlines. I spent a night at the airport hotel in Bangkok, since my Druk Air flight took off at 7:30 am the next morning. The flight from Bangkok is not quite direct, since the plane lands at the small Bagdogra Airport in Northern India, but it's only a 20 minute stop-over and you don't get off the plane. Apparently the flights from Kathmandu or Delhi are particularly spectacular on clear days, since you fly right over Mount Everest. Coming from Bangkok, I did get a great view of Kangchenjunga, the third highest mountain in the world.
The reason no foreign airlines are allowed to fly into Bhutan is Paro airport's challenging landing. It requires special pilot skills and training to land there. And you realize why, after experiencing the spectacular and somewhat nerve-wrecking approach into Paro. The plane literally curves through the narrow valley while the mountains appear uncomfortably close to your window.
Paro airport is a very small airport and only has about 5 to 6 departures per day. Immigration was quick and easy. I exchanged some money and bought a local Sim card (as my E-Sim service provider does not offer any coverage in Bhutan.). Almost all visitors to Bhutan require a visa (unless you are a citizen of India, Bangladesh or the Maldives). You need to apply for an E-visa in advance. The approval process takes about 3 to 5 days. If you book an organized tour, the tour operators will typically do the visa application for you. Bhutan has a "high value, low volume" tourism policy. Even though there are no strict limits to the number of visas issued, they keep the numbers low, by making it rather expensive. Every visitor is charged 100 US Dollars per night. So for a one week trip you have an additional 700 Dollars just in visa fees.
Historically, Thimphu was a collection of small hamlets until the 1950s, when it was chosen by King Jigme Dorji Wangchuck to become the new capital of Bhutan, replacing the ancient seat of Punakha. Since then, Thimphu has gradually grown into the political and economic center of the country, but it has retained a very traditional feel. Strict building codes ensure that even new constructions follow the distinctive Bhutanese architectural style, with wooden windows, sloped overhanging roofs, and intricately hand-painted details.
Here is an interesting examples of how they fuse modern architecture of glass-fronted buildings with the traditional style:
The next day I had more time to myself to explore the city by foot. Thimphu has a population of just over 100,000 people. (Bhutan as a whole has only 800,000). There are no traffic lights in the city. Instead, on the main intersection this very elegant policemen in his painted gazebo directs traffic with very expressive gestures, that look more like performative dance than traffic control.
I also visited the small but interesting Folk Heritage Museum, which had a rebuilt traditional multi-story house to provide insight into how Bhutanese families lived and survived the harsh winters here in the mountains for centuries.
I met my group and guide in the evening. Thanks to July being low season, we were a small group of only 4 travelers. The others were from the US, Australia and Mexico. They already knew each other, since they had traveled through Nepal together before coming to Bhutan. We started our tour the next morning just outside of Thimphu at the Royal Takin Reserve. The Takin is the national animal of Bhutan. It is a funny-looking beast, sort of a mix between a goat, a cow, and an antelope. They are quite cute, but also big and powerful animals, which roam the Eastern Himalayas at altitudes of up to 4,000 meters. They only live in the wild or in reserves like these, since they have never been domesticated. The reserve had about 20 or 30 of these shaggy haired, gentle giants, including several calves.
The Takin Reserve has other interesting animals, like these Himalayan blue sheep, and a large herd of deer.
Our next stop was the big Buddha. Perched on the hillside overlooking the whole valley, Buddha Dordenma is a massive golden Buddha statue standing over 50 meters tall. Completed in 2015, this impressive construction was funded by a rich Singaporean donor. The inside is equally impressive, as the large interior temple is filled to the brim with around 100,000 small Buddha statues.
The base of the statue is surrounded by these elegant gold statues.
You get great views from up here over the city. We learned, that just as many other things here are well organized and efficient, even the colors of the roofs are strictly regulated. All government buildings have green roofs and private building have red ones.
Back down in the city, we went to see an archery competition. Archery is the national sport, and we happened to be there for the Bhutanese National Championships. They were incredibly impressive. The distance to the target is 140 meters, which is twice as far as in Olympic archery competitions. It's hard to imagine how they manage to hit a tiny target from that distance.
Our last stop for the morning was another prominent landmark in the city, the National Memorial Chorten. It is a large stupa, built in the 70s, and is considered one of the holiest places for the country's Buddhists. It is quite a busy place, people pray, walk around the stupa in circles, and spin the huge prayer wheels. You have to walk around the monument clockwise at least three times, but many worshippers keep walking around for hours.
When these three ladies saw me with my big camera, they waved me over to them and gestured for me to take their picture.
We had some free time to ourselves in the afternoon to walk around town or take a rest in the hotel, before we met up again in the late afternoon, to visit our first Dzong. Dzongs are the most iconic feature of Bhutan’s landscape. These huge and impressive fortress-monasteries were mostly built in the 17th century. Originally built to defend against invasions, they served both as religious and administrative centers. These massive structures are architectural masterpieces. Surrounded by towering white walls, their large inner court yards contain intricate and colorful woodworks, which traditionally were constructed without nails. Most of the dzongs are still actively used today as government offices as well as monasteries.
Tashichho Dzong just outside of Thimphu is the seat of the government and the winter residence of the highest monk in the country. Visitors can only enter after 5:00 pm, after the work day of the government is finished. We arrived just in time, to see the end of the lowering the flag ceremony.
Half of the structure is used for government offices and the other half is a monastery. The main temple is huge and richly decorated, but cameras are never allowed to be used inside of temples in Bhutan, so I don't have any photos of that.
We stopped by the food market before getting back to the hotel, where we ended our day with another lovely dinner. The next morning after breakfast in the hotel, which was again very extensive with porridge, cereal, eggs, bacon, toast, etc., we headed out for the drive to Punakha. Punakha is located in a different valley and to get there we had to cross over the 3,100 meter high Dochula Pass. The road is very good, but very curvy. We stopped for a short rest and coffee at the top of the pass, which boasts this impressive memorial with 108 stupas.
Bhutan is home to six peaks over 7,000 meters (with Gangkhar Puensum at 7,570 meters being the highest), but none of them have ever been climbed. The high mountains are considered sacred in Bhutan and no climbing permits are given out. On a clear day you can see all of the high Himalayan peaks of Bhutan from up here. We weren't that lucky, as the mountain was completely in the clouds, but this sign showed us what the view could have been like.
The way down continued on the curvy road for another hour. The Punakha valley is at a much lower altitude than Thimphu (1,300 meters instead of 2,300 meters). So it is quite a bit warmer and more humid, which are better conditions for rice farming. Most of the hill sides are covered in rice terraces.
We had a lovely lunch in a local restaurant and then embarked on a short hike through rice fields with great views over the valley and the Puna Tsang Chu River.
The destination of our hike was a small but very important temple. Chimi Lhakhang Temple was built in the honor of Drukpa Kunley, who is also known as the Crazy Monk or the Divine Madman. Drukpa Kunley (1455–1529) was a wandering Tibetan Buddhist monk, who became famous for his outrageous and unconventional teaching methods, and is revered as the most important saint in Bhutan's history. Rather than following the usual ascetic path of traditional Buddhism, he spread his spiritual teachings, by breaking all taboos with drinking, singing, public nudity, lewd jokes and wild sexual relations. He believed earthly pleasure were the most direct way towards enlightenment.
The temple is also known as the Fertility Temple, as it attracts couples from all over the world hoping to conceive. The blessing for these couples is delivered by the temple's monks using a wooden phallus. In fact, one of the more surprising sights in Bhutan is the multitude and range of carved, painted or knitted penises, which you see everywhere. In Bhutanese culture, the phallus has a deep religious and spiritual significance, and is a symbol of fertility and protection against evil spirits. People display penises in their houses, offices and cars. (Our driver had one hanging over the rear mirror.) We saw many shops, where you can buy your penis sculpture in any size or color you wish.
In the afternoon we visited what is considered the most beautiful Dzong in the country, the spectacular Punakha Dzong. It is located at the confluence of two rivers, the Pho Chhu (Father River) and Mo Chhu (Mother River).
The decorations and colorful woodworks inside are richer and more elaborate then any other dzong. With its intricately carved wooden windows, painted balconies and tiered golden roofs, it represents the heights of Bhutanese craftsmanship. Punakha dzong is the also winter residence of the chief monk.
Punakha Dzong was built in 1637, and it served as the seat of government for centuries. The first King of Bhutan was crowned here in 1907, marking the beginning of the dynasty that still rules the country today.
Bhutan has fairly strict dress codes for locals. This is the national dress for men in Bhutan. That for women looks similar, but with ankle-long instead of knee-long dresses. Locals are only allowed to enter temples or government buildings wearing this formal outfit (including the white wrap). Men are not be allowed to enter any official building wearing trousers and western shirts.
We had some time to visit the longest suspension bridge in the country. It is a pedestrian bridge supported by a couple of steel cables crossing the river. We walked over it. It is a bit scary, since the bridge sways quite a bit.
Afterwards we checked into our hotel, the beautiful Hotel River Valley. It is a large resort style hotel overlooking the river, and we were the only guests in the entire hotel. July is the lowest month of the tourist season. In fact every travel guide advises to avoid traveling to Bhutan in July, since it is Monsoon season, and you are likely to have to deal with heavy rains every day. We turned to be very lucky, as we had almost no rain during the day. We got rained at briefly maybe a couple of times, but we did hear a few big rain storms at night. In fact, July turned out to be a wonderful month to travel to Bhutan, because there were so few tourists here.
We left the next morning for the drive back to Paro, which took about 3.5 hours. We drove the same route, first back over the pass to Thimpu and then on to Paro, where we would spend the last two nights. Along the way we stopped at a weaving workshop just outside of Thimphu. Weaving is one of the most important art forms in the country. We observed several women, sitting on the ground weaving beautiful silk fabrics, all done by hand. The silk threads are very thing, and it can take them up to a year for some of the larger pieces. These large pieces are very expensive and are considered family treasures that are passed down through the generations.
When we reached the Paro, we first visited the Paro Dzong, which is another huge and impressive Dzong located on a hill overlooking the city.
The origins of Paro Dzong date back to the 15th century, but the current structure was built in the mid-17th century. The dzong has played an important role in Bhutan’s history, both as a defensive stronghold against Tibetan invasions and as a seat of power for local administration and the monastic community. The wooden carvings and colorful decorations of the inner courtyards are particularly exquisite at Paro Dzong.
We had lunch in town and then spend some time walking around Paro in the afternoon. On the way to the hotel, we stopped to visit a small but ancient temple. Kyichu Lhakhang is one of the oldest temples in Bhutan, originally founded in the 7th century. The temple was built to subdue a demoness. According to legend 108 temples built on the same day to subjugate her and ensure the propagation of Buddhism.
We stayed at the Rema Resort Hotel just outside town, a large and beautiful hotel, with beauitful views over the valley. And once again we were the only guests in the entire hotel.
On our last day in Bhutan we went to see the true highlight of the whole trip and one of the most iconic sites in all of Asia - the incredible Paro Taktsang (Tiger's Nest) Monastery. But to see this jewel, you have to earn it, because there is no other way to get there than a steep 2 to 3 hour hike. We got up very early and left the hotel at 7:00 am for the short drive to the trail head, and we were on the trail by 7:30 am. The hike start fairly steep through dense forests. We reached the halfway point a lovely restaurant after about an hour. From here we had the first glimpse of the monastery buildings high up on the cliff face:
The trail continues for about another hour, before you suddenly turn around a corner and see this. The clouds opened up just when I got there, and revealed it in all its glory.
Perched dramatically in the sheer cliff face 900 meters above Paro Valley, Paro Taktsang Monastery was built in 1692 around a sacred cave, where in the 8th century Guru Rinpoche was said to have meditated for three months and subdued evil spirits. Today, the monastery is a pilgrimage destination and one of the most revered sites in Himalayan Buddhism.
The monastery consists of several small temples and prayer rooms connected by narrow paths and stairways. In 1998, a fire (likely caused by an electrical fault) destroyed half of the main structure. But it was meticulously restored to its former glory by 2005.
To reach the monastery itself you first have to walk down a lot of stairs into the ravine, where you pass a waterfall, and then back up to the buildings.
We ended our fantastic trip with a very nice lunch at the hotel. The other people in my group left very early the next morning. Since my flight back to Bangkok wasn't until 6pm, I had the day to myself, which I spent writing my blog and editing pictures. While sitting on the balcony, I watched a plane curve around Paro, landing and restarting at least 12 times. They were clearly training a new pilot on how to land at this tricky airport.
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