Bhutan Travel in 2026, Our Road Trip Through the Country 🇧🇹

We arrived to Paro via Delhi after a tumultuous attempt at finding new business class seats last minute due to our original flights on Qatar being cancelled due to the war (read more about the flights and points side of things on points.credit).

Even though we were stuck in economy for a 24 hour journey to Delhi and then a 6 hour overnight layover at the Delhi airport, we were thrilled to finally land in Bhutan and start our trip – even if that meant immediately driving 7 hours West to Gangey Lodge.

We were hitting 4 main areas in Bhutan during our trip, in order: Phobjika Valley -> Punakha -> Thimphu -> Paro. It was definitely a very, very long travel day for us until we reached Gangtey Lodge in Phobjika Valley, but well worth it. I'll elaborate more on this place in another post, but we both agreed this might have been our best "hotel" stay ever, which is saying a lot.

We knew that there wasn't a ton "to do" in Phobjika Valley, which was fine. We were planning on taking a bit easy the first few days (relatively, we still did a lot of hiking and walking) while enjoying the Gangtey Lodge property. We stayed 3 nights here, which we felt was perfect to kick off the trip.

The first half day was a wash after our long journey, the second day we visited Gangtey Monastery and did the popular Gangtey Nature Trail, while on the third day our guide took us deeper south into the valley for a nice walk around, which was fairly impromptu but wound up being great. We stumbled upon a relatively new nunnery while getting some more "rare" views of the valley most don't see when visiting.

We were able to see a ceremony with the kids at Gangtey Monastery, then followed it up with a timely arrival of a lama from Taiwan, which the monastery residents greeted.

The only bummer of the time in the Gangtey area was the haze from fireplaces. While we visited in the beginning of Bhutan's high season, it was the tail end of winter, so just about everyone was burning wood to keep warm at night. Not uncommon in Bhutan (especially in the Phobjika valley where electric heating is basically nonexistent). The views were still great, but just a forewarning if you're looking for absolutely clear conditions in the valley.

After our stay at Gangtey Lodge, we started slowly working our way back east. Next we stayed a couple of nights in Punakha, one of the most popular areas in Bhutan, thanks to the famous Punakha Dzong. First, a stop at a couple notable areas, Lawala Pass (which is unavoidable when going to Phobjika Valley) and Pelela Chorten Lhakhang.

Our first day we stopped at Wangdue Phodrang Dzong, which beautifully sits high on ridge just south of Punakha. Interesting to learn how politics and religion are meshed together at Bhutan's Dzongs, which you'll be sure to see.

After this we drove north up into Punakha to see the famous fertility temple (Chimi Lhakhang). Penis imagery is just about everywhere in Bhutan, but especially here. You'll learn the significance of the phallus at this temple as well as of the "Divine Madman".

Our final day in Punakha started by doing the Khamsum Yulley Namgyal Chorten hike, which is a fantastic hike with great views of the valley and a chorten (a buddhist shrine, you'll see a ton of these in Bhutan) at the top. Highly recommend.

After, we quickly did the Punakha suspension bridge (ehh, it's ok), and then finally the amazing Punakha Dzong. The Dzong is absolutely stunning and probably the most recognizable in the country.

The Punakha valley is absolutely stunning. The views are fantastic and if it's relatively clear you can get some good views of the eastern Himalayas. Sadly, for much of our trip in this area there was some level of cloud coverage. It was still beautiful, but we couldn't see as far into the mountains as I would have liked.

We then made the relatively short drive to Thimphu, where we were staying for just one night. I wasn't sure if a singular night would be fine here, but I felt like it was perfect.

Thimphu is the only real "city" in Bhutan and you're free to walk around on your own. We are not used to structured travel with a guide, so frankly it was nice to do our own thing for an evening. There's not a ton to see in Thimphu but it's still great to get a more urban view of Bhutan. A must see, in my opinion, is the Bhutan Postal Museum. I love collecting stamps and in addition to the small museum there's a great shop with years and years of past stamps you can purchase, as well as even get a picture of yourself super imposed in front of the Tiger's Nest on valid Bhutanese stamps if you bring a photo on a thumb drive here. This stuff is admittedly very nerdy, but the history of the postal system and stamps in Bhutan is pretty fascinating.

Bhutan is known for having no traffic lights, even in Thimphu where there's actually a good amount of cars and traffic, but instead only roundabouts. At Thimphu's most busy intersection you can see the "dancing" traffic guards, which is another popular spot in Thimphu.

After an evening in the city, we started our journey to our final lodging in Paro, Bhutan Spirit Sanctuary. But first, we visited Thimphu Dzong, did another hike near the BBS Tower in Paro, the Wangditse hike (you will be hiking a lot in Bhutan), and the infamous Buddha Dordenma statue.

Thimphu Dzong is obviously less impressive than Punakha Dzong, but still worth visiting and currently acts as the main seat of government for the country of Bhutan.

The hike is relatively short with great views of Thimphu and Druk Wangditse Lhakhang at the end, which is one of Thimphu's oldest temples and the former site of government prior to Thimphu Dzong. Definitely recommend this one.

Buddha Dordenma was our final stop before heading out to Paro. You can't miss this statue while in Thimphu, and depending on where you're at in the city you can easily see it up on the mountain. Definitely impressive, but I still think the most impressive Buddhist statue I've seen is Wat Huay Pla Kang in Chiang Rai, Thailand (post coming soon, did this Thailand trip in October, 2025!)

Our final 3 nights before reluctantly heading home were going to be in Paro at Bhutan Spirit Sanctuary (also booked on points!), one of Bhutan's most popular cities and the location of the only international airport in the country (for now, Gelephu should be getting one at some point in the next handful of years).

The main attraction in Paro is the most popular sight in Bhutan, the Tiger's Nest. A semi-brutal hike essentially straight up that took us about 6 hours round trip with breaks. It is essential you wear good footwear here and eat/drink appropriately, the hike was fine but a bit tougher than we thought. There's a nice cafe about half way up.

There's not a whole lot to say about the Tiger's Nest, it's absolutely stunning and the most recognizable site in Bhutan. Take your time to soak the view in, as well as learning about the history with your guide while inside, really fascinating.

The day after the Tiger's Nest we opted to just hang out at the Spirit Sanctuary. The property is absolutely stunning with lots to do around relaxation. We were tired from the previous full-day of hiking and we made the right choice. Paro itself is a town that you could explore, but we felt like we already got that experience in Thipmhu. The trip to this point was intense with tons of hiking, driving, and very information-heavy, so it was nice to just enjoy our last night at one of Bhutan's best properties.

I really can't say enough about the Bhutan trip. The country itself is physically and geologically stunning, not to mention the architecture and history surrounding its religious beliefs and political systems.

While I don't think I would feel comfortable visiting Bhutan in a different way, it was admittedly a bit tiring having such a structured itinerary (despite our guide being absolutely amazing, ask for Yonten at Sakten Tours). We just aren't used to that and typically like to travel on our own with a relatively loose itinerary.

Having said all of that, this was probably one of our most memorable trips (if not the most) and I highly recommend anyone interested in more unique and less-traveled destinations visit Bhutan.