Bhutan Travel Forum

im planing my trip to india nepal and bhutan.

can anyone tell the cheapest way to get into bhutan from kathmandu?
how long does it take by land?
is it better to go from darjeeling? is there a bus or jeep from darjeeling to siliguri?
then from siliguri to phuentsholing how long does it take? by bus or jeep?
many thanks

leonor

Hi there!
The cheapest way to go to Bhutan from Kathmandu will be to follow these steps
1) take a bus from Kathmandu to . This city is the border point between Nepal and India. Crossover the border into India, after clearing the immigration formalities on both sides. At this place, you will find a lot of cabs (Share taxis/bus) available for Darjeeling/Siliguri.
2) Proceed to Siliguri
3) From Siliguri, there are lot of mini bus/taxi available for Jaigaon (last Indian city, before you enter Bhutan). There are also Bhutan Govt buses available from Siliguri (from Hill Cart Road at 7.30 am and 1.30 pm.)
4) Crossover to Phuntsoling, after completing the immigration formalities. As far as I know, there are no procedures for Visa on arrival. Hence you need to procees the visa in advance, unless you are an Indian Citizen. Indians do not require visa.
Crossing over from Jaigaon (last Indian Town) to Phuntsholing(first town in Bhutan) is easy. Just walk over. There is a big gate. Cross the gate and you are in Bhutan
Hope this helps.
5) Take a bus to Thimphu from Phuntsholing

I mean, take a bus from Kathmandu to Kakarbhitta.

I mean, take a bus from Kathmandu to Kakarbhitta.

came across ur blog on this website, so since i am planning to go to bhutan as well, can u please advise me on how to reah there, i am a citizen of india, also worth knowing is that do i need to take some tour package or i can go on my own, last thing i would like to know is that, which is a better place paro or thimpu, since i have at max 3 days for travel.
regards
rajat

Hi Rajat,

Welcome to Virtual Tourist! Guess you are one of the newest members on board.
You will find Virtual Tourist forum very useful.

I visited Bhutan 20 years back and I am sure things may have changed a lot now. I’ll still try to answer your question.
I am not very sure from which part of the India you will be traveling to Bhutan. Wherever you stay, you will have to come down to Siliguri. Siliguri (in northern part of West Bengal State) is the gateway to the North Eastern states of India as well as for visiting Darjeeling, Sikkim and Bhutan. If you are coming by train, you need to alight at New Jalpaiguri Station (near Siliguri town). New Jalpaiguri Station is connected to all major cities in India by train. Best connection is available from Kolkata. There are numerous trains between Kolkata and New Jalpaiguri. If you are flying, you need to take a domestic flight to Bagdogra (close to Siliguri town). Bagdogra is well connected to Kolkata and Delhi. Alternatively, you may take a direct flight to Bhutan (airport is at Paro) from Kolkata. It’s a short 1 hr flight and Bhutan state airlines ‘Druk air’ has a daily flight from Kolkata, If you are coming by road, there are numerous overnight bus service available from Kolkata. They are comfortable, cheap and fast. I am reminded of ‘Rocket’ bus service operated by North Bengal State Transport Corporation and they were very fast. Not sure if it is still there.

Once you are in Siliguri, take a bus to Jaigaon. There are lots of mini bus/taxi available for Jaigaon (last Indian city, before you enter Bhutan). There are also Bhutan Govt buses available from Siliguri (from Hill Cart Road at 7.30 am and 1.30 pm.)
Since you are an Indian citizen, you don’t need any visa. I am not very sure, whether they look for passports (for identification purpose only) from Indian Citizens these days. When I went there, I observed that they were not bothered about passports of Indian citizens. There is no need to go for a package. You can go about on your own.
If you just want to experience Bhutanese way of life, palace, and streets of city, you may wish to visit Thimphu. Paro is good for nature lovers. The landscape is good and there are few monasteries around Paro which are very famous and popular among Bhutanese. You can base yourself in Thimphu. From there, you can cover Paro in one day. Paro is not very far from Thimphu
Have a nice trip
Brajesh