Travel style · Bhutan
Photography in Bhutan
Light, height and the right hour
Trips built around light: first sun on Khangchendzonga from Pelling, star skies over Chandratal and Hanle, prayer halls at dawn, apricot blossom in April. With notes on where photography is not allowed.
Photo: Bernard Gagnon · CC BY-SA 4.0 · CommonsMountain light changes fast. The best of it is the first and last hour, which means early starts and evenings without a long drive.
Bhutan is a Himalayan kingdom of about 38,394 sq km where every valley is run from a dzong and every tourist pays a nightly Sustainable Development Fee. Indians pay ₹1,200 a night and can drive in from Siliguri via Phuentsholing; most other visitors pay USD 100 and fly into Paro. Go March–May or late September–November.
Trips
Photography trips in Bhutan
No published photography trip in Bhutan yet
We plan them on request. Tell us your month and budget and a planner sends a route and an itemised price within one working day.
Plan a photography trip5 places
Where to go
Photo: Bernard Gagnon · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Dochu La
108 chortens on the pass between Thimphu and Punakha
Photo: Christopher J. Fynn · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Commons
Haa
Over Chele La to a quiet valley of white and black temples
Photo: xiquinhosilva · CC BY 4.0 · Commons
Paro
Bhutan's front door, with the Tiger's Nest on its cliff
Photo: Christopher J. Fynn · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Commons
Thimphu
A capital without traffic lights, run from a dzong
Photo: Thomas Wanhoff · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Commons
Trongsa
The dzong that could shut its gates and split the country
Experiences
Days that fit the style
Photo: Bernard Gagnon · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Sunrise over the chortens and high peaks
Reach the pass early on a clear winter morning to see sunlight move across Bhutan's highest peaks, then walk among the …
Photo: dhaag23 · CC BY 2.0 · Commons
Druk Wangyel Tshechu on 13 December
A modern festival held each 13 December on the ground in front of the Druk Wangyal Lhakhang, with dances performed by t…
Photo: Thomas Wanhoff · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Commons
Walk down the Lumitsawa ancient trail
Follow a 4.7 km stretch of the old Thimphu–Punakha footpath from Dochu La down through rhododendron, hemlock and oak fo…
Photo: Mario Biondi writer · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Chele La ridge walk at sunrise
Stop at Bhutan's highest road pass, 3,988 m, and walk along the prayer-flag ridge for views of Jomolhari and the Paro a…
Photo: Leovdvxxx · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Lhakhang Karpo, Nagpo and the three brother hills
Visit the White and Black temples at the foot of Miri Punsum, the three brother hills that guard Haa, and hear how a lo…
Photo: Bhutanese_hemadatsi_and_rice.JPG: ShashiBellam… · CC BY 2.0 · Commons
Make hoentoe in a Haa farmhouse
Spend an evening in a Haa farmhouse kitchen learning to fold hoentoe, buckwheat dumplings stuffed with turnip leaves, c…
Photo: Original: Nina R from Africa Derivative work: … · CC BY 2.0 · Commons
Hike to Taktsang, the Tiger's Nest
The classic Bhutan day: a steady climb of about 500 m from the car park to the cafeteria viewpoint, then on to the mona…
Photo: Bernard Gagnon · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Rinpung Dzong and the National Museum on foot
Walk from the town across the covered cantilever bridge, up through the dzong's courtyards and on to the round Ta Dzong…
Where to sleep
Stays in these places
Photo: Christopher J. Fynn · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Commons
Budget
Haa valley farmhouse homestays
Registered family homestays in the villages of the Haa valley, in traditional rammed-earth and timber farmhouses. …
Photo: Bernard Gagnon · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Mid
Hotel Druk, Thimphu
A long-running city hotel on Clock Tower Square in central Thimphu, open since 1985. Spacious rooms, a restaurant,…
Photo: Xiaojun Deng · CC BY 2.0 · Commons
Mid
Zhiwa Ling Heritage, Paro
A hand-built Bhutanese hotel at Satsam Chorten in the Paro valley, opened in 2005 after five years of work by Bhut…
Photo: xiquinhosilva · CC BY 4.0 · Commons
Luxury
Amankora
Aman's circuit of five lodges in Paro, Thimphu, Punakha, Gangtey and Bumthang, designed to be travelled in sequenc…
Photo: xiquinhosilva · CC BY 4.0 · Commons
Luxury
COMO Uma Paro
A 29-key resort on a pine-covered hill above Paro town, on a 37-acre estate a short drive from the airport. Rooms,…