Himalaya only · Saver trips from ₹7,500
Try "Spiti", "snow leopard", "Char Dham", "homestay", "Tiger's Nest"
Saver Bhutan · Active
Our second saver route adds what the classic circuit misses: two nights in a working farmhouse in the Phobjikha valley at about 3,000 m, home of wintering black-necked cranes. Shared guide and vehicle, simple hotels elsewhere, and the Tiger's Nest hike near the end, when you are best acclimatised.
Photo: Afifa Afrin · CC BY-SA 3.0 · CommonsBhutan's cost rules reward sharing and the road. Indian nationals pay ₹1,200 a night SDF, as we understand the rules, and every tourist needs a licensed guide beyond the first checkpoint. So we keep the group to five to eight people, share one guide and one vehicle, and enter overland from Siliguri through Phuentsholing. The farmhouse nights are cheaper than hotels too, and they are the part people remember.
The trade-offs are real. Two days are long drives of 7 hours or more on mountain roads. Farmhouse rooms have mattresses, heavy quilts and a wood stove, with shared or very simple bathrooms; at 3,000 m in December, nights fall well below freezing. In return you see Phobjikha's glacial valley, Gangtey Goenpa above it and, from late October to February, the cranes on the marsh.
Sleeping altitude, night by night
Red points are nights above 3,000 m. We pace those climbs by the usual advice of no more than 300–500 m of sleeping height a day. This is not medical advice: talk to your doctor before a high trip. Try the altitude planner.
Day by day
Meet the group in Siliguri and take a shared jeep or bus west through the Dooars tea gardens to Jaigaon, about ₹150–400 a seat. Walk through the Bhutan Gate into Phuentsholing and check in near the immigration office. If your entry permit was approved online, your guide checks it this afternoon; otherwise you queue at the Regional Immigration Office in the morning. Dinner of red rice and ema datshi in town.
About PhuentsholingFinish permit formalities and drive up from 300 m past the Rinchending checkpoint, where the guide joins. The road climbs through the fog belt at Gedu and down to the Chhuzom confluence before reaching Thimphu by mid-afternoon. If time allows, visit Tashichho Dzong at about 5 pm, when offices close and the flag is lowered. Walk Norzin Lam after dark and buy a local SIM with your guide's help.
About ThimphuEarly visit to the Memorial Chorten, where older residents circle the stupa and spin prayer wheels, and to Buddha Dordenma on the hill above the city. Then over Dochu La at about 3,100 m, with its 108 chortens and, on clear days, the high peaks to the north. Drop 1,900 m into warm Punakha for Punakha Dzong at the confluence of the Pho Chhu and Mo Chhu in the afternoon.
About PunakhaWalk the field path from Sopsokha to Chimi Lhakhang, the temple linked to the Divine Madman, Drukpa Kunley. Then drive past Wangdue and up through oak and rhododendron forest to Lawa La and down into Phobjikha, a wide glacial valley at about 3,000 m. Meet your host family, help with the evening jobs if you like, and eat whatever is cooked: often potatoes, red rice, ema datshi and buckwheat.
About Phobjikha (Gangtey)From late October to February, watch black-necked cranes feeding on the marsh at first light from the edge, never closer. Visit the Royal Society for Protection of Nature's crane centre, then walk up to Gangtey Goenpa, the Nyingma monastery above the valley. In the afternoon, walk the Gangtey nature trail, about 1.5 to 2 hours through pine and across the valley floor. In the evening, a hot stone bath at the farmhouse for those who want one.
About Phobjikha (Gangtey)A long day: back over Lawa La to Wangdue, up over Dochu La again and past Thimphu down the Wang Chhu to Chhuzom, then up the Paro valley. We stop for lunch and short breaks. Arrive in Paro in the late afternoon and walk the main street of painted shopfronts. Eat early and sleep well; tomorrow is the Tiger's Nest. Carry travel-sickness tablets if you need them.
About ParoStart at the trailhead, at about 2,600 m, by 7.30 am. Climb through blue pine to the cafeteria viewpoint in about 2 hours, then on to the monastery at 3,120 m. Cameras and phones go into lockers at the gate. Two farmhouse nights near 3,000 m help with the climb, but go slowly and turn back if you feel unwell. On the way back, visit Kyichu Lhakhang, one of Bhutan's oldest temples.
About ParoAn early start for the longest day: down the Paro valley to Chhuzom and down the highway to Phuentsholing in 5–6 hours. Your guide leaves you at the gate. Walk into Jaigaon and take a shared jeep or bus back to Siliguri, arriving in the evening. Book onward trains from New Jalpaiguri late, or flights from Bagdogra for the next day.
About PhuentsholingWhere you sleep
Photo: Phuentsho · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Budget
Registered farmhouse stays scattered around the Phobjikha valley floor and Gangtey village, a short walk from the …
Questions
More, because the SDF for most other nationalities is USD 100 per night, as we understand the current rate, against ₹1,200 for Indians. That adds about USD 700 per adult for 7 nights, plus a visa fee. Ask us for a quote in your currency and check current status before you travel.
You sleep in a registered family home, usually a two- or three-storey rammed-earth and timber house. Rooms have mattresses or beds, thick quilts and a stove. Bathrooms are shared or simple. Meals are what the family eats. It is clean and warm enough but not a hotel.
Usually from late October to February, when they winter in Phobjikha after flying over the Himalaya from the Tibetan plateau. Mornings and late afternoons are best. The Black-necked Crane Festival is held at Gangtey Goenpa in November. Keep your distance and follow the guide.
For most healthy people, no, but it is noticeable. Phobjikha sits at about 3,000 m, and you may feel short of breath or sleep lightly. Walk slowly, drink water and avoid alcohol on the first night. Talk to your doctor before the trip if you have heart or lung conditions.
Because the guide fee and vehicle hire are the biggest daily costs after the SDF, often ₹6,000–10,000 a day together, and they cost the same whether one person or six use them. Splitting them across five to eight people is what keeps this trip in the saver tier.
Yes, with older children used to long drives and simple rooms. As we understand the rules, under-6s pay no SDF and 6–12s pay half. The farmhouse nights are often a highlight for children. Check current status before you travel.
No. It costs about ₹800–1,500 and is arranged by the family. River stones are heated in a fire and dropped into a wooden tub of water, sometimes with herbs. It is a traditional Bhutanese bath and very welcome on cold nights.
About 200 km and 7–8 hours with stops, crossing Lawa La and Dochu La. It is long but scenic. We break it with lunch and short stops. In the monsoon, roadworks and landslides can add time, which is one reason we do not run this trip in July and August.
Thermal layers, a warm hat, wool socks, a down jacket, a head torch, a small towel, toilet paper and hand sanitiser. A hot water bottle helps from November to February. Bring slippers for inside the house; shoes come off at the door.
More from Bhutan
Photo: Christopher J. Fynn · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Commons
Comfort
Private car with driver
Photo: Christopher J. Fynn · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Commons
Comfort
Private car with driver
Photo: Afifa Afrin · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Commons
Saver
Shared jeep or bus to Jaigaon, then shared vehicle with licensed guide
Plan with a local planner
We reply within one working day with a route, a sleeping-altitude profile and an itemised price in your tier. Change anything. Pay nothing until you are sure.