Customized Bhutan tours from Bangladesh and India
Customized Bhutan tours from Bangladesh and India
Bhutan’s capital, and the one place to see how the country actually lives day to day — offices, cafes, weekend markets and a giant gold Buddha watching over all of it.
Thimphu is a capital city with no traffic lights — a policeman directs the main junction by hand, which tells you most of what you need to know about its scale. It sits about an hour’s drive from Paro along the river, and it is where government, business and a growing cafe culture all happen.
For travellers it works as a contrast rather than a highlight reel. After the dzongs and monasteries elsewhere, Thimphu shows you Bhutanese people at work, shopping and arguing about football. A day is usually right; two if your dates include a weekend market.
One full day covers the main sights comfortably. Add a second if your trip crosses a weekend and you want the market, or if you would like an unhurried afternoon in the cafes and craft shops.
It is one of the more genuinely local things you can do in Bhutan — produce, dried chillies, cheese, textiles and a lot of people simply catching up. It runs across the weekend, so it is worth telling us early if you want your dates to include it.
Usually the first stop after landing at Paro, about an hour away by road, and the gateway to Punakha over the Dochula Pass. Almost every western-Bhutan itinerary passes through it at least once.