How to get Bhutan from Nepal
Admin - Updated: November 12, 2020
A trip from
Nepal to Bhutan is a journey to two countries that offers you the best of both
worlds, and although Bhutan and Nepal are similar in many ways in terms of
landscapes and cultures, they could not be more different.
Located on
the southern edge of the Himalayas, Nepal and Bhutan, nestled between India and
China, are very close to each other. The most convenient way to travel is to
take the direct flight from Kathmandu to Paro International Airport in one
hour. If you are looking for an exciting adventure, then a round trip from
Nepal via India to Bhutan should be the best option. From Kathmandu, you will
travel via Kakarbhitta (border with Nepal) to Panitanki (border with India) and
via Darjeeling (central hub in West Bengal) to Phuentsholing (border with
Bhutan). Afterwards, the trip can be extended to Tibet.
Nepal to
Bhutan by Air:
By air from
Nepal to Bhutan, you can only fly with one of the two Bhutanese airlines.
Bhutan has only one international airport, in Paro, which is considered one of
the most difficult to land because of the high mountains that limit the
approach. The flights to Paro from Kathmandu cover a distance of almost 400
kilometres and take about 1 hour and 15 minutes.
To obtain a
ticket with Druk Air or Bhutan Airlines, the only two airlines allowed to fly
to Paro International Airport, a visit must be arranged in advance, as the
airlines obtain a visa permit without which tourists are not allowed to buy
airline tickets. The airlines offer only a few daily flights from Nepal's
Tribhuvan International Airport to Paro, which takes just over an hour.
However, if you fly on a Tuesday or Thursday, there is only one flight per day.
Flights to
Bhutan usually cost around US$200 per person for a one-way economy class
ticket, and you will be asked to book your return flight at the same time, as
you will not be allowed to enter Nepal without booking your departure ticket.
The average cost of a round-trip economy class ticket from Nepal to Bhutan and
vice versa is about US$390-400 per person. On economy flights from Nepal to
Bhutan, there is a free baggage allowance of 30 kg, food onboard, and free
drinks (non-alcoholic).
Nepal to
Bhutan By Road (distance: 787 km)
Travelling
by land from Nepal to Bhutan is a little more complicated than flying, as you
have to cross the Indian state of West Bengal to reach the main border crossing
between India and Bhutan in Phuentsholing. If you travel to Bhutan by land, the
main exit point from Nepal is in Kakarbhitta, in the far east of Nepal, on the
border with the Indian state of West Bengal. There are direct buses, which
cover the 457 kilometres from Kathmandu to Kakarbhitta daily and take about ten
hours to reach the border town.
Once they
have crossed the border, local buses from Panitanki to Darjeeling, the central
traffic hub of West Bengal, take about three hours. From Darjeeling, it is
possible to take a direct land bus to Phuentsholing in Bhutan, the main border
crossing, and most comfortable access to the kingdom by land. Buses take about
seven hours from Darjeeling to Phuentsholing, and once the immigration
requirements are met, a car to Thimphu, the capital of Bhutan, takes another
six hours. Therefore, you will need about 19 hours for the entire 787-kilometre
overland journey from Kathmandu to Thimphu.
If you plan
to travel by train from Nepal to Bhutan, you will see that neither Nepal nor
Bhutan has a rail network. You will need a bus or a car to reach the border at
Kakarbhitta/Panitanki, and the closest rail connection to Panitanki on the
Nepal-India border is in New Jalpaiguri, near Siliguri. Buses frequently run to
Siliguri, and from there you can get connecting train to New Jalpaiguri. From
there the trains go to Phuentsholing in Hasimara and pass through Nagrakata on
the way. The train ride from New Jalpaiguri to Hasimara takes approximately
four hours to cover the 138-kilometre route and goes directly into the city
without connection.
The journey
Phuentsholing is almost 19 kilometres and takes about 45 minutes by cab, as
there are no rail connections closer to Bhutan than Hasimara and, once in
Bhutan, there is no rail network to use. However, this can be a little
expensive as cabs cannot cross the border and will leave you at the roadside in
the small border town of Jaigaon. Local buses go to Jaigaon and Phuentsholing,
which cross the wall, but they start in Alipurduar, and you have to stop at the
roadside in front of the railroad station in Hasimara to stop them when they
cross the border. The advantage here is that they will walk to the immigration
office in Phuentsholing, and it will only cost a few dollars.
Visa
application procedure for Bhutan in Nepal
The
application for a visa for Bhutan is not made through an embassy, it cannot be
done online, and there is no visa service upon arrival. The only way to obtain
a visa for Bhutan is to have booked a trip with a tour operator or travel
agency that is registered with the Bhutan Tourist Board and the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs of Bhutan. Visas for Bhutan are obtained after booking the trip,
and it is the tour operator or travel agency that uses the visa on your behalf.
Once you
have booked your trip and paid the fees, the visa will be applied for at the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Bhutan through the Bhutan Tourism Office. The
information in your passport includes your full name, permanent address and
your nationality, occupation, passport number, date of issue and expiration of
the passport as well as your date and place of birth. An electronic copy of the
passport photo and scanned copies of the passport must also be sent to the tour
operator for use in the application.
The visa
must be applied for at least 30 days before the planned date of travel to
Bhutan. Once the application is approved, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will
issue a visa authorization number in the form of a letter. This authorization
number is sent to the tour operator through the Bhutan Tourist Board and to the
immigration terminals at Paro International Airport and Phuentsholing border
post, as well as to Bhutan's two national airlines, Druk Air and Bhutan
Airlines.
Only when
your visa is granted, you will be able to book your flight to Bhutan. Druk Air
and Bhutan Airlines require the registration number provided before booking,
and the number must match the number provided by the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs. Visa check-in usually takes about ten days, and you will generally
receive your tour operator's check-in number at least ten days before your
trip. The visa stamped in your passport upon arrival in Bhutan. You will also
need to carry two passport photographs when entering Bhutan.
Travel
and visa costs for Bhutan in Nepal
The standard
visa fee for travellers to Bhutan is approximately US$40 per person and must
pay at the time of booking the trip. Travel to Bhutan is calculating according
to Bhutan's guidelines on the minimum daily package, which is currently US$ 250
per day from March to May and September to November, and only US$ 200 per day
from June to August and December to February. The visa fee is the same whether
you apply from Nepal or any other country in the world if you are not an Indian
citizen. Please note that the tour operator will not submit the visa
application until the full cost of the trip including the visa fee has been
transferred to Bhutan's tourist office bank account or the tour operator's
account linked and monitored by the Bhutan Tourist Board.
Validity,
extension, and cancellation of the visa for Bhutan
You will get
15 days visa. However, if your journey through Bhutan is longer or shorter, the
duration of the visa is usually equal to the period of your trip. The validity
dates of the visa are declared in the visa clearing letter issued by the
Immigration Department of the Ministry of Interior and Cultural Affairs in
Thimphu.
You can
extend the visa paying an extra fee. Your tour operator must provide you with
the details of the extended itinerary, and you must transfer the additional
daily package fees to the required bank account before approval. Visa
extensions in Bhutan are requested by the tour operator as soon as you have
made the payment, and the fee for the visa extension is usually about US$8 per
person.
If it is
necessary to cancel your trip to Bhutan, the cancellation policy depends mostly
on the policy of the tour operator you are using. However, since most travel
bookings are made approximately 30 days before the actual date of travel, no
100% refund is ever given. For the visa itself, as well as for visas from any
other country in the world, no refunds are possible. Once the visa is approved,
it cannot be cancelled.