The Himalayan Kingdom of Bhutan is fast emerging from centuries of self imposed isolation. First opened to tourists in 1974 in very regulated manner upon the coronation of present Bhutanese King, this mountain kingdom is still perhaps the world’s most exclusive tourists destination. Due to the Royal Government’s far-sighted policy to preserve the nation’s pristine environment and its culture, the harmful effects of industrialization and mass tourism, on the environment and the traditional lifestyle of Bhutanese have been carefully avoided. This makes Bhutan a truly unique destination. An unspoiled country with majestic mountains, a unique cultural heritage preserved for many centuries, an architectural style like no other, a landfill of warm hearted and friendly people, reveals a true paradise in the lost era of the present century.
The tiny kingdom of Bhutan, sparsely populated is also called “Druk-yul” or the land of the thunder dragon. Bhutan is the only country in the world devoted to the Tantric form of Mahayana Buddhism and the influence of the red-robed lamas is visible at every turn.
General Information:
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Access:
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Accommodation:
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Facts:
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Visa and Transport:
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Air: Druk Air, Bhutan’s airline, operates flights to Paro from Kathmandu, New Delhi,Bangkok, Calcutta & Dhaka. Land: From the Indian state of West Bengal into Phuntsholing in southwest Bhutan.
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Modern hotels are available in Thimpu. The outlying areas have comfortable resorts and lodges. |
Population: .7 million Capital: Thimpu Language: Dzongkha Time: 6hr.ahead of GMT, 15 minutes ahead of Nepal standard time. |
Foreign travelers must possess a visa for Bhutan which is granted initially for 14 days. While the actual visa is stamped on arrival in Bhutan upon payment of US$ 20, visitors need to obtain visa clearance from the Tourism Authority of Bhutan in advance. Visa can be extended in Thimpu for up to six months. |
Climate:
Nights can at times be very cool, and winter even below freezing. Monsoon showers occur in summer (heaviest in July and August), and sometimes even in spring and autumn.
The most visited months: March,-May, September -November.
Temperature:Max. 30- Min. 1.1 degrees Celsius.
What to bring:
Personal clothing: Strong, normal clothing (according to the season), preferably cotton for summer and woolen clothing for evening and winter. For trekking strong comfortable trekking boots, warm socks, sunglasses, headgear, raincoat, and warm clothing, including a down jacket for higher altitude treks and for the evenings. A sleeping bag is a most; medium too heavy is advised. Note: for trekking, a load of 25 kg is allowed)
Insurance:
The purchase of Medical, baggage and trip cancellation insurance is strongly recommended in your home country before the commencement of your journey. Besides reimbursement of non-refundable air tickets, it should also cover the cost of rescue operations by helicopter in the event of an evacuation.
A sense of Adventure:
*Prices are established by the Royal Government of Bhutan.
*The Royal Government’s policy is to preserve its culture and traditional values. One of the main methods of achieving this is Your cooperation. You are required not to buy antiques.
*Royal Government of Bhutan allows no more than 4000 tourists world wide to enter Bhutan.
*Bhutanese people are friendly and welcoming to visitors. They generally enjoy you taking their photo.
*Dzongkha is official language of Bhutan, but English is widely spoken.
Price include:
* Airport transfers in Bhutan.
* All means & accommodation. (single room are provided subject to availability, without surcharge)
* Surface transport with in Bhutan and between Phunsholing/Bagdora and sandrup jonkhar/Guhati for groups by land between Bhutan & India.
* Guides and guiding service.
* Sightseeing including entry to museum.
* Royalties and other taxes. Other than visa US$ 20 and departure tax US$ 10.
* Porterage, riding/pack ponies and yaks wherever required.
Not included are:
* Airfare.
* Visa fee and airport tax
* Personal items and alcoholic drinks etc.
* Insurance
Information on Visa:
All travelers (except for citizens of Bangladesh, India, and Maldives) must obtain a visa before visiting Bhutan, passport must have the validity of at least six months. Indian Nationals can use their voters ID card at the port of entry. For other nationalities, you will need to get visa clearance in advance. Visas are applied by and processed by licensed Bhutanese tour operator. tours should be booked month ahead through a foreign travel organizers. Upon receiving visa clearance letter from the authority of Bhutan you will be eligible to travel to Bhutan and the Visa stamp will be made at the immigration on the port of entry.
What do we need?
We require the color scanned copy of your passport size photograph, passport copy of your details on it. Visa will be processed by the Tourism Council of Bhutan. In order to have your visa processing to be done you will need to wire transfer amount of your holiday (including the visa fee of $40) to the account of Tourism Council of Bhutan. Once the payment is received the visa clearance process will take at least 72 working hours.
