Travel Information
The Royal Government requires that visitors travel to the country only on pre-paid, pre-planned itineraries booked through a Bhutanese tour company. The Royal government’s emphasis on “Low Volume High Value” tourism stems from its deep concern for negative impact of tourism on local culture and environment. Secondly, it addresses the tourism infrastructure such as hotel rooms, transport facilities, etc. that is lacking in the country. Although there are only handful of visitors to the country, the government has till date never imposed a limit on tourist visiting the country. Below under the main headings, we have provided the most common queries of visitors to Bhutan. Just in case, your question has not been covered below, just drop us a line at barmatours@druknet.bt .
In Bhutan
Barma Tours & Treks’ minimum tariff for tourist visiting in a group of 3 persons or more are as follows:
Tourist Tariff - US$ 200 per person per night halt
The minimum daily package rates shall be inclusive of the following:
a) Royalty
b) Charges for accommodation
c) Food and Beverages as per the ‘Minimum Meal Entitlements’
d) Service of Guides
e) Transport within Bhutan
f) Riding ponies and pack animals on treks
The rates given above are applicable per tourist per night halt in Bhutan. On the day of departure, the ‘local agents’ host obligation shall be limited to breakfast only and any extra requirements shall be payable on actual basis.
The rates shall apply uniformly irrespective of locations and the type of accommodation provided/asked for. List of hotels and lodges approved for international tourist accommodation updated from time to time shall be issued by DOT.
SURCHARGES
Individual tourists and smaller groups of less than three persons shall be subject to surcharge, over and above the minimum daily rates applicable, as follows:
Single individual US$ 40 per night
Group of 2 persons US$ 30 per person per night
The 10% agency commission payable to agents abroad shall not be deductible from the surcharge.
The surcharge will not be applicable to representatives of foreign travel agents on business study or promotional visit duly approved and cleared by Department of Tourism.
The tariff covers all costs of accommodation, food, transport, and guide fees within Bhutan. If the tour is a cultural one, it also covers fee for museum and cultural programmes. (Tariff doesn’t cover drinks and refreshments.)
To Bhutan
Other than Indian nationals, all visitors to Bhutan require a visa; all visas are issued from Thimphu; visas are only issued to tourists booked with a local licensed tour operator, directly or through a foreign travel agent. Applications for tourist visas are submitted by the tour operator. Visa clearance from Thimphu must be obtained before coming to Bhutan. Visa clearance takes at least 10 days to process. Air tickets to Bhutan cannot be purchased without visa clearance. At your point of entry the visa will be stamped in your passport on payment of US$20, two passport photos will also be required. Visas are issued for a 14day period; extensions can be obtained in Thimphu at a cost of Nu.510 - to be paid by the tourist.
Visa
Visa is not issued by Bhutanese Embassies abroad. Visa approval must be obtained prior to your entry into Bhutan. You must forward the following passport details to your travel agency to apply for visa approval on your behalf. The travel agency in Bhutan would process your visa approval in the foreign ministry in Bhutan.
The following information must be sent to us to process visa approval:-
1. Full name as in passport:
2. Permanent address:
3. Occupation:
4. Nationality:
5. Passport Number:
6. Date of Issue and Expiry date:
7. Date of birth and place:
8. Place of Issue:
9. Exact duration of visa required:
10. Date of entry and exit and sector:
The Foreign ministry would issue a number to us, which we will in turn send it to you. The number is needed in order to board Druk Air flights to Bhutan. The actual visas are issued on payment of US $ 20 upon arrival in Bhutan. You will also need two passport size photographs for visa processing.
Visas are also extended only in Thimphu by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs only.
Bhutan National Airline, Druk Air, flies to cities of neighbouring countries only. The cities include Bangkok in Thailand, Delhi and Kolkata in India, Kathmandu in Nepal, and Dhaka in Bangladesh. You would have to get a connection flight to one of these cities before you board Druk Air flight to Bhutan.
It is advisable to purchase plane tickets to one of these cities abroad because it is expensive to arrange from Bhutan. However, since Druk Air tickets are sold only in Bhutan, we would arrange for the Druk Air ticket once the visa has been approved. We would then arrange to either send by post to your address or forward it to Druk Air outstation in the above mentioned cities’ airport so you can collect it from there.
Note: The Tourist tariff in Bhutan doesn’t cover your home plane ticket or Druk Air ticket.
Druk Air is the only company operating in the country. It has recently bought two Airbus A319s, on top of the two British Aerospace BAe 146 jets. Druk Air fly to and from Paro airport in Bhutan, the country’s only airport. Druk Air has regular flights a week from Bangkok, New Delhi, Kolkata and Katmandu. Once a month, there is special stopovers in Dhaka, Bangladesh and Yangoon, Manmyyar.
Each of these routes offer views of some of the highest mountains in the world - Mt. Everest, Mt. Kanchenjunga, and Bhutan’s revered peaks of Jhomolhari and Kula Gangri.
Druk Air flights are sometimes delayed by unfavourable weather conditions. So visitors would do well to include an additional day in their itineraries for unexpected weather delays.
Druk Air tickets are issued only in Bhutan. We can book them for you and send them to you or to the Druk Air out stations in Bangkok, Delhi or Katmandu.
(For more Information click here to visit the Druk Air website)
Bhutan is accessible by road.
If you reach North East India, it is easy to come to Bhutan by road through the Bhutanese border town of Phuentsholing. You can fly till Bagdora airport West Bengal, India, from where it is only three hours drive to the border town. The Indian hill stations of Darjeeling, West Bengal and Gangtok, Sikkim are only 5 hours away by road from Phuentsholing.
You can exit the country via the Phuentsholing also. We would be glad to reach you till the airport at Bagdora or railway station in Siliguri, both in West Bengal at no extra charge.
Currency
The currency in Bhutan is Ngultrum (Symbol - Nu.). It is divided into 100 Cheltrum. Ngultrum is pegged to Indian Rupee on par, meaning 1 Ngultrum = 1 Indian Rupee. Indian Rupee is also widely accepted in Bhutan.
The foreign exchange rate as it stands as of January 2009 is 1 US$ = 48 Nu , 1 Euro = 64 Nu.
Visa and American Express credit cards are accepted in few places but have limited use. Travellers cheques, Euro, US Dollars, Pound Sterling, Swiss Francs, Singapore Dollar, Australian Dollar and Japanese Yen can be exchanged at banks and most of the hotels within the country.
Climate
Climate in Bhutan is Bhutan varies drastically from place to place with a short range. The land rises from the southern moist sub-tropical foothills at an altitude of about 200 meters above sea level to snow-capped peaks of over 8,000 meters in the north. The central temperate belt, which is the touristy valleys, ranges from about 900, to 4,500 meters above sea level. The capital city Thimphu, is situated at 2,400 meters above sea level.
The climate along this belt defies generalization but it can be safely said that spring (March to May) brings warm days and cool nights with the mercury averaging 15-20 oC at daytime. With June come occasional downpours and summer temperatures peak at over 20o C. The milder months of Autumn (September to November) are less wet and are the best time of the year for trekking. But in the trekking routes during Autumn, the temperature dips below 0o C at night. The winter months of December, January and February are the coldest and nighttime temperatures often plummet below - 10o C in higher altitude valleys. Once or twice there are snow fall in colder valleys of Thimphu, Paro, Trongsa, and Bumthang.
However, winter offers its own charm of crystal clear sunny blue skies and unhindered view of snow-capped mountains.
It maybe troublesome and expensive to carry much because Druk Air observes a baggage weight limit of 20 kg (44 lb) in economy class and 30 kg (66lb) in business class. You should come prepared for vast contrasts in weather. Casual clothes are generally most suitable. Warm clothes are a must in winter since the temperature drops below 0 C. Trekking shoes, rain gear, windbreakers, sun caps and sunglasses are important for trekking and outdoor activities. Revealing clothes are discouraged in public places and religious sites.
Sunblock cream and lip protection will be of help. On a sunny day, the sun can be scorching.
Bringing an earplug might help you to sleep at night. Bhutanese being Buddhist can’t bring ourselves to get rid of the dogs. So, barking dogs at night has been cited as disturbing their sleep by some tourists in the past.
Generally, it is very safe in Bhutan. But if you plan to trek or engage in adventure sports in Bhutan it is advisable that you draw a travel insurance policy in your home country since such service is not available in Bhutan.
Hotel
All guests are put up in government approved hotels, guest houses and lodges. The Department of Tourism has rated these hotels in three categories (See hotel section). While the quality of service, infrastructure and facilities differ in these hotels, tourist are kept in all hotels during the peak seasons because of the limited number of hotels in the country. The hotels accept bookings on a first come, first serve basis.
All tourists are housed in Department of Tourism (DoT) approved and classified hotels only. All tourist hotels are comfortable and clean. When you are out trekking, we have tents. Horsemen/porters would be pitching and dismantling the tents. Fires are built at camping site for warmth.
All guides are licensed by the Department of Tourism, Bhutan, and have undergone periodical examinations to upgrade their knowledge and services. The foreign travel agent’s commission is also covered under the minimum tariff.
You will be accompanied by an English-speaking tour guide throughout your stay. Our tour guides are licensed and trained in programs conducted by Tourism Authority of Bhutan. They have mountain guide training, including safety and first aid instructions. They are well versed in local history and local knowledge. Plus their extensive experience and knowledge of western culture would make you feel at home.
For other non-English speaking tourists (French, Japanese, German, etc.), we arrange guides on need basis.
Tour Guide fee is included in the tourist tariff.
Bhutanese cuisine is hot and spicy. Chilly is one of the main ingredients, blending with cheese and a variety of vegetables and meat. But our tour guides will take you to the restaurants and hotels where food more palatable to western taste like Continental, Chinese, Thai and Indian foods are on the menu. The chefs in these establishment are foreign trained. Of course, Bhutanese dishes are on the menu. You make the choice.
Beverages and foreign drinks are available in these hotels and restaurants.
For trekking, we have trained cooks accompanying you aside from porters. They would build fire, cook food and act as security from wild animals.
The cost for food and non-alcoholic drinks are already included in the tourist tariff. But for alcoholic drinks, you have to pay at the counter.
You will have a driver and a car at your disposal at all times. Barma Tours and Treks would organize your transport comfortably in Toyota and Hyundai cars, 4WD SUVs and deluxe coaches/buses depending on your group size and preference.
Every vehicle is well maintained and thoroughly checked before trips to ensure safety and comfort for the visitors. For trekking, we have horses and porter to carry personal luggage, tents, food stuffs and cooking utensils.
Transportation within the country is included in the tourist tariff.
