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Are you tied with a day job? Peer or family pressure to exercise avarice. Are you tired of those daily hours being wasted that you couldn’t contribute anything meaningful to the world? Are you tired of sitting 2 hours in the traffic.? To toil till you die. Do you believe that’s the essence of life? To succeed.
What makes you happy? What’s fulfilling to you? What sets you free?
Are you the one’s downloading the wallpaper of beautiful places but never able to go and actually see them. Are you the one’s checking the ticket price in Makemytrip and Yatra for years and never actually took a trip? Or Is it because a plane ticket can actually take 2 years of your savings.
What if there are places so surreal, that you can visit without creating a hole in your pocket.
What about Bhutan?
And why not Bhutan.
Called as Druk yul “Land of thunder dragon ” the country has a lot to offer . A country practicing ancient Vajrayana buddhism where Gross National Happiness of the citizens is calculated. Situated in western Himalayas, It’s an unexplored paradise.
Is it expensive. Well I have seen people who have hiked Bhutan with 3000 RS/- in their hand. So it’s cheap?
Well not exactly, other than Indians , foreigners are expected to spend a whooping 15000 (250 USD) per day.
Perks of being an Indian. You can sponsor your entire trip with that money. And also you don’t need a visa to travel there. A passport or Voters Id can give a permit of 7 days to visit Bhutan. Spending more or less is based on how good are you in haggling and negotiating.
Traveling is a medicine to narrow mindedness and bigotry. Sun kissed farms, snow capped mountains, glacier filled lakes. Everything is so majestic to stand out in its glory. So pure as if they were existing only for you. You may find beauty in desolation.
Trust me It’s much beautiful than this picture.
Now the major picture comes. Even if you are ready to go and sail around the world, there will be many constraints waiting for you to stop.
Your parents, cousins, all uncles and nosy aunties trying to put in you in right track. They will try to talk you out from this. Even your milkman will advise you to go be a good boy/girl and exceed the society’s expectations.
It’s a choice actually, on what to do. Also it’s a choice to sit idle also.
How to travel hack Bhutan
By plane
There are flights from Guwahati and Kolkata. 2 times a week. That will reach Paro airport in Bhutan.
By road
Phuentosling to Paro is only 6 hours. You can reach Phuntsholing by reaching the border town Jaigaon in India. Jaigaon is 3 hours from Siliguri.
By Train
If you are coming by train the nearest stop in NJP(New jalpalguri). You can head to Siliguri and take a bus from there that will reach Hasimara. Then you can take a shared minivan to Jaigaon.
Getting permits
As an Indian citizen, you don’t need a Visa or a passport to enter Bhutan. You can cross the border town in Phuntsholing and the immigration office is just 5 minute away from the border. You don’t have to give any money to get your permit. But keep in mind to bring sufficient passport sized photographs and photocopies of your voters ID or passport or Driving license. It’s better to carry your passport also. Try to reach the immigration office in the morning, the officers get pretty laid back in the afternoon. Avoid much hassles as you can. You will get permits to Paro and Thimphu from here. The permits to Bumtang and Haa can be obtained from immigration office in Paro or Thimphu.
If you are traveling by air, you must possess 2 sufficient travel documents. (a) Valid Indian Passport having validity of minimum 6 months; (b) Voter Identity Card. No visa is required to visit Bhutan.
Rough Estimates
Bhutan offers hotels in every budget. Indian rupee is widely accepted. You can pre-book hotels in Makemytrip or by a travel agency. If you are going the backpacker way, google about hotels and the varied price ranges. You can get a decent A/C double bed room that costs 1200 or less. Although, we totally recommend not booking in advance and just looking around once you get there. You will not need an AC room to begin with, plus you can find lots of budget accommodations for about 750 – 900.
Classic Itinerary – Bhutan
How to entice your soul with the Bhutan experience
Day 1: Paro
Paro is the second biggest city of Bhutan, with the only International airport in Bhutan. You can spend the day savoring the local cuisine and visiting the dzongs (monasteries) and also the street market. Where ever you go you could see fluttering prayer flags all over the way. Rent a bike and start exploring. . The undulating expanse of green is a medicine for your soul.
Distance – Paro to Thimphu roughly 1.5 hrs
Day 2: Thimphu
The biggest city and also the capital of Bhutan. Famous for being the only city without any street lights.
Try to spot the national animals “Takin” in the takin reserve. Cheer up if you see any archers, they will be happy to show you their archery skills. Also take a hike to tang monastery.
Cow or goat? No It’s a Takin. The national animal of Bhutan.
Distance : Thimphu to Punakaha roughly 3 hours
Day3: Punakha
Cease your breathing when you see the snow capped mountains. Chill out in the Druk Pungthan Dechen Phodrang which literally means “Palace of great happiness”. Set your foot in the dochula pass. And if you get time, don’t forget to munch the fresh carrots grown in the valley. If you are more adventurous person, release your inner beast in the river rafting.
Pic: the Druk Pungthan Dechen Phodrang
Distance : Punakha to paro to haaa –Roughly 4-6 hours
Day 4 : Haa
Very near the Tibetan border, the place is exotic yet offbeat. Visit jungney drag hermitage site. If you reached there in time of “tshechu” which means festival, you are in for a treat. You can see moves where Beyonce meets bhangra and colors more than a rangoli.
Pic: Haa tsechu
Distance from Paro to Bumtang – breakdown at Trongsa
Paro-Trongsa-Bumtang
Paro to Trongsa-6 hours Trongsa to Bumtang – 4-5 hours
Day 5: Bumtang
Bumtang is rightly known as Switzerland of Bhutan.
Pic: Tang valley,Bumtang
Nested in between 4 valleys “Tang,Ura,Choekhor and Chume Bumtang” resides the spiritual kingdom of Bhutan. Different from other parts of the happiness kingdom, the area is a repository of spiritual artifacts and monasteries. Apples are widely grown here, you can pluck apples on the go and buy the extra colorful garment called “Yetra”
Distance : Bumtang to Paro – 10 hours
Day 6: Paro
Bhutan trip starts and ends with Paro if you choose to fly in.
Indulge your mind over body for a uphill hike to Taktsang monastery which is also known as “Tigers nest”. Stories passed on says that “Guru rimpoche ” rode on a tigers back to reach here.
Gist of Bhutan is happiness. When you come back, even if you haven’t got a check mark on every item on your bucket list. You will be having more memories that need not be photographed .
Still wondering if you should go to Bhutan, here are 9 things you do not know about Bhutan. Maybe these will convince you
This article was authored by Mary – Born and Bred in Kerala and not in an Aeroplane according to popular belief. She started crawling the biggest town of Thrissur which has beaches, elephants and yummy appams. Wanderer, and now an iOS developer in Banglore. If you see her giggling or jumping like a jumping jack, don’t forget to say ‘Hi”, or if you want to send her your kitties pic or your poem or absolutely anything under the sun, please leave a comment. You can find her on twitter @marybabba
Wonderful post on Bhutan. Makes me want to visit right away.
Bhutan is in my list from such a long time , need to put a check on it soon . :). This iternary is really good. would use for sure 🙂
You make me wanna visit Bhutan so much after reading this. I didn’t knew it was so easy to travel in the country.
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Great article – I visited last year and spent nearly three weeks and drove from Paro all the way through the country and out into India. It is an amazing country and I hope your post inspires others to visit.