When a place has been envisioned in my head, it's then there... Last year December I wanted to travel to Bhutan. I tried solo trip on bike, solo trip in local buses and taxis , a trip with two of my friends but none of the options worked in my favour. Since then, it was there in my head like a worm chewing the grey cells in my head. Finally, I travelled to Bhutan last week.
The trip to Bhutan has left me with respect, love and gratitude for people and the place. Above all what it has given me is the peace in my heart. Every time I close my eyes and think of lush green place, I have a genuine smile on my face.
If I have to define Bhutan in a phrase, it's green, clean, safe and a traveller's paradise.
Trip itinerary
Bangalore- Bagdogra- Jaigaon- Jaldapara-Phuentsholing - Thimpu- Punakha-Paro-Chelela pass-Siliguri- Bagdogra -Bangalore
Bangalore - Bagdogra
After a stop over at Kolkata for 4 hours, my brain was already fried.Respite to this feeling was, my sister waiting outside Bagdogra airport for me. She was fully surrounded by taxi drivers. Her smile and a hug made me realise that we are set for a fun filled, full of love,hugs and talking trip.
Bagdogra- Jaigaon
If you want to feel as sweet as honey, Bagdogra airport is a perfect place because all the taxi drivers were hovering over (literally over) to take us to Jaigaon.
There are many options like
1) Go to Mittal bus stand by auto and then take a bus to Siliguri and then to Jaigaon
2) Go to railway station, take a 5 o'clock train to Hasimara from where there are frequent buses to Jaigaon
3) Take a shared taxi- Act upon this quickly because people come in, share taxis and leave. If you keep thinking like us, you will be at loss.
4) Take a reserved taxi to Jaigaon. We finally did so because we couldn't take any quick decision. The government charges are 2500 + taxes but you can bargain for 200-300 with taxi drivers around.
Finally we set out for Jaigaon. This was a 5 hour journey. Ravin Kumar 7602356285 , charged us 2200/- INR.
#Stay
Hotel Kasturi at the main road Jaigaon. 900 INR per night.
They also have a restaurant. The food was decent but I don't know why their table covers and chairs were very dirty. This gave a shabby look to the whole place.
They also have a restaurant. The food was decent but I don't know why their table covers and chairs were very dirty. This gave a shabby look to the whole place.
#Jaldapara
As the permit office was closed for the weekend ( Read the permit section below) , we left for Jaldapara from Jaigaon. First we took an auto to Jaigaon bus stand and then a bus from there to Madari hat.
#Stay
Hollong tourist lodge online booking : You will get very nice lodge for 2500 INR without taxes. Book your room at below link
http://www.wbtdc.gov.in/Protected_Pages/CTZ_Lodge_Availability_Check.aspx?stpg=1Jaldapara tourist lodge : per room 2600 with taxes. It has a nice lodge with garden to walk in.
Light and sound show for 50 rs per person. The staff is very nice and accommodating.
In the above link itself you can select the location as Jaldapara and then select Jaldapara tourist lodge.
Youth hostel: 200 meter from Jaldapara resort is the youth hostel with basic room for 900 INR. You have to book this online at www.youthhostelbooking.wb.govt.in
#Food
Annapurna hotel on the other side of road serves amazing thali with yummiest dal I have ever eaten for mere 70 INR.
Hotel in Jaldapara resort is open for outsiders also.
Hollong restaurant is not open for outsiders.
#Places to visit
Jeep safari
Tickets can be obtained from ticket counter for jeep safari which is there 5 times a day for 350 INR per person. Look around to share Jeep safari with others.
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| Jeep safari entering Jaldapara |
Elephant safari
There are 3 batches starting at 5:30 in morning. After Hollong and Jaldapara guests ( if you stay in these lodges, you will get the elephant safari tickets for sure), left overs are opened to public which are sometimes as less as 16 slots. The line starts by 6 pm but people come and write their name on a paper given by a forest department officer and that defines the line. The line through paper starts by 3:30 pm or so. The charges are 300 INR per person. You can get updated details at http://jaldaparacamp.com/tariff.html
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| Rhino at Jaldapara |
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| Elephant safari at Jaldapara |
Luckily in the night 2 people cancelled so we got 2 seats so better plan in advance
#Phuentsholing
Just a few meter walk from the hotel, one can see Welcome to Bhutan board and the Bhutan gate.
#Food
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| Bhutan gate
Permits for Bhutan.
Few meters away from the gate you can find the immigration office. THE PERMIT OFFICE IS CLOSED ON SATURDAY AND SUNDAY. We tried entering as a personal guest but that also didn't work. Also, unfortunately the servers were down on Friday so there was a huge crowd on Monday.
To avoid rush, we reached the permit office at 7:30 am and to our dismay there were already people before us. The office opens at 9 a.m. so suddenly at 8:30 am lots of agents with 100's of forms in their hand came in. They had no concept of queues. At 9 a.m. we realised , I didn't have to wake up at 6 a.m. to get permit. The only thing we needed was, be good at wrestling!!
Opposite to the gate on right side there is a window (in above picture the window on which something is written in red) , where a token is given. You have to stand there. When they speak your name , you take your form and go to the counter number which is written on your form. At that counter, they call your token number (actually they WHISPER your token number) and biometrics (finger prints and photo) are taken. After that as and when your permit is made, they yet again WHISPER your name.
In our case the whole thing happened in 10 minutes as we were lucky but if a person before you has given 100 applications then you can imagine the time taken for each one's biometric and photo and a permit made.At Phuentsholing you only get permit for Paro and thimpu.
In case they change policies, you can call numbers given at below link or mail them at email given in the below link. http://www.consulatephuentsholing.nic.in/?0624?000 |
Hotel peljorling : I fell in love with the thupka here
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| Veg cheese Thupka at Peljorling hotel |
Ema datchi: cheese gravy with sliced red or green chillies is a must have Bhutanese dish. This you can find anywhere.
Kewa datchi: potato cheese: I didn't like it much as it felt like potato halwa but you have options for mushroom, chicken datchi which are equally good.
Butter fried asparagus: You will find asparagus all over Bhutan. And just sautéed in butter with red chillies and salt makes them yummy to have!
Butter fried asparagus: You will find asparagus all over Bhutan. And just sautéed in butter with red chillies and salt makes them yummy to have!
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| Mushroom datchi and butter fried asparagus at Thimpu |
#Stay
You can either stay in Jaigaon or in Phuentsholing .
Hotel Kasturi was nice for 900 INR
Hotel Peljorling offered a room for 750 INR but it was not very good
You can find many options to stay in the range of 1400-1500 INR in Phuentsholing .
#Places to visit
Zangtho Pelri Lhakhang: Phuentsholing has a temple in the heart of the city: from the Bhutan gate this is walk able.
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| Zangthon outer view |
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| Wheels of life |
The view point: Just before the first check post, there is a view point from where you can see Indian villages. I would say eventually during the whole trip you are going to see much more beautiful views so you can let go of this one!
Richending Gompa: Its a nice monastery from where you can have a nice view of Phuentsholing
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| Richending Gompa |
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| Richending Gompa |
Monastery by the river: I don't recollect the name of this Monastery as the taxi driver told its a nadi monastery as its by the river. The timings are 8 am to 1 pm 5 pm to 8 pm. When we reached the monastery was closed.
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| Monastery |
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| Place where monks live |
Crocodile Breeding centre: When I first saw the crocodiles, I thought they are artificial but after noticing them for few minutes, I realized they were actually breathing. They were the laziest thing I have ever seen! The ticket to enter is 20 INR per person.
Local sightseeing charges in Phuentsholing :500 INR
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| The lazy crocodile |
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| This one opened the mouth and didnt close for next half an hour |
Local sightseeing charges in Phuentsholing :500 INR
After getting the permit, we kept contemplating about going to Paro first or to Thimpu. Finally we decided to first go to Thimpu considering that at the fag end of the trip we want to be closer to Phuentsholing. The buses from Phuentsholing to Paro are only in the morning. One at 8 a.m. and one at 8:30 a.m.but the buses to Thimpu are there every hour.
#Thimpu
So we took a bus from Phuentsholing to Thimpu for 240 INR per person. The bus passed from beautiful mountain and the roads were butter. As we went up, the chill in the air kept growing but we didn't keep a jacket handy and our luggages were tied up on the top of the bus.
The bus stops on Chukha for 15-20 minutes. Here one can grab a fresh lunch. In 5 hours we reached at Thimpu bus stand. We took a taxi for 80 INR to the town.
The bus stops on Chukha for 15-20 minutes. Here one can grab a fresh lunch. In 5 hours we reached at Thimpu bus stand. We took a taxi for 80 INR to the town.
#Permit at Thimpu
The office to get permit is located at the end of the town road. You can obtain the permits for Punakha, Bumthang and Haa from Thimpu. For the same, you have to give the photocopy of the permit obtained from Phuentsholing and fill the form. The things at this permit office were well planned unlike Phuentsholing permit office and we obtained our permit in half an hour.
#Stay
Hotel Tandin: Many of my friends recommended this hotel though it was on the expensive side. Their current price is 1495 INR for a night.
There are many other options available within similar range of 1300 to 1500 INR.
#Food
In the town there are many shops available. They offer pork, beef and vegetarian food also. Omlette, dal roti, rice and ema datchi are available in all hotels. A meal in Thimpu per person could come to around 200-300 INR per person.
Near Changangkha, on the opposite side, you will find a bakery Lhakhasang bakery: The eclairs, pastry and even the food here is very yummy and fresh. The owner did her B.com from Daulat ram college and is now an Entrepreneur. This trip definitely made us realize the world is a small place.
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| Red rice, dal and Ema datchi |
#Places to Visit
The standard taxi prices for local sightseeing at Thimpu is 1500-1800 INR. Our driver Ugyen +97517620826 took us around in the night. All the place in Thimpu have a completely different feel in the night and during the day. Hence we experienced both. The next day in the morning we hired taxi from Prem who took us around Thimpu again to have the day time experience. Get in touch with Prem at +97517552225.
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| Selfie with Prem |
Buddha point: The 169 feet tall Buddha statue is definitely not to be missed. As much the outside is exhilarating so is the inside of the monastery which is startlingly quiet and peaceful. The place is open from 8 am to 1 pm and 1 pm to 6 p.m. In the evening when we reached it was about to close. Hence next day morning, we went sat there and imbibed its peace within us.
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| Buddha point |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memorial_Chorten,_Thimphu
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| Outside view |
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| Front view |
Changangkha Lhakhang: Located few meters from Chorten is this temple in the heart of the city.
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| On the other side |
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| The wheel of life inside with my lovely sister |
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| Night view |
BBS tower: A little away from the city is the BBS tower which gives a breath taking view of Thimpu
Takin Zoo: You can visit this zoo just to see the National animal of Bhutan , Takin. The ticket to enter is 30 INR.
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| Takin National animal of Bhutan |
Before the zoo, you can find some weavers who were weaving some really nice mufflers. You can get them for 400 per piece.
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| Lady weaving - Mufflers |
King's palace and Dzong: The kings palace can be only seen from the far. The Dzong is the working administrative office hence you are allowed to visit inside only after 5 p.m.
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| Kimg's palace and Dzong |
From the bus stand we took a taxi for Punakha for 300 INR per person. We reached Punakha in 3 hours. As Punakha is a valley , it is much hotter than Thimpu.
#Stay
There are many small hotels available in Punakha in the range of 750 INR but they were not good.
Luckily, we got a person in our taxi who worked at Damchen resort in Punakha so we got a room in the resort for 1500 INR per night. Even though this was out of our budget, the river view of the resort and the masala chai there made it worth paying that money.
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| Entrance |
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| View from the resort |
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| The resort from the River |
#Food
Food in Damchen resort was quite expensive breakfast 360 INR per person, Lunch 500 INR per person and dinner 600 INR per person. Hence we chose to eat out most of the time as other places were walkable from the resort.
Center hotel : served below average noodles and fried rice but those were our saviour in the night.
A meal in any hotel could be 150 INR per person on an average.
#Places to visit
Dochu la pass: On the way to Punakha , you will find this amazing site of 108 stupas in a circular fashion.
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| 108 Stupas |
Dzong: The Dzong is open from 11 am to 1 pm and 3 pm to 5 pm. This is a beautifulDzong and a must visit. It is very big and hence keep ample of time in your hand to visit this Dzong. From the town , taxis charge 40 INR per person to go to the Dzong.
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| Beautiful Puunakha Dzong |
Suspension bridge: 15-20 minutes walk ahead of Dzong, you can find a suspension bridge. This is interesting as the walk to the bridge is quite fun and then the walk on the suspension bridge is definitely worth it. As the Dzong is made at the confluence of the male and female river, hence you can only go back from the side you came in at the suspension bridge else you will have to go all the way back to Punakha to get to the other side.
We actually had fun here as we took a hitch back to our resort on an insect looking vehicle and that made our ride back real fun! The best part was that the guy who was riding it didn't even expect any money from us :).
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| Selfie at the bridge |
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| The Bridge |
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| The guy who gave us the hitch |
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| The monster we rode in |
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| Our awesome ride back from suspension bridge |
Chimi L'hakhang Temple: In lieu of time we couldn't visit this temple but the taxi's charge 300 INR from Punakha to visit this temple.
Nunnery: From the town, Nunnery is located just 4-5 km. A contribution (mandatory) to enter here is 100 INR per person. The temple complex also houses a permanent higher learning and meditation centre for nuns where, apart from religious trainings, it provides life skill training such as tailoring, embroidery, statue making and thangka painting.
The taxi takes 200 INR per person to go to Nanari from Punakha
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| Nunnery outer view |
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| Breathtaking view at Nunnery |
Wangdue: 8-10 km in the other direction from Punakha is wangdue which is another valley. This valley had a Dzong which burnt in 2011. Currently, it's under construction. The taxi charges 300 INR per person from the town.
There are very few buses available from Punakha hence it's best to take taxi to go in and out of Punakha. For sightseeing within Punakha, until you have your own vehicle, you will have to hire a taxi as the places are a little far away.
#Paro
We took a taxi till Thimpu and another taxi from Thimpu to Paro.
Punakha to Thimpu: 300 INR
Thimpu to Paro: 200 INR
We reached Paro late in the night when the town was already closing. Inside to the main Paro road there are many hotels available.
#Stay
We stayed in hotel Jigmling which gave the room for 1800 INR. The charges for double bedroom are generally 1500-1800 INR. We chose this hotel because it was really nice and they had a bath tub and we found a friend who offered us some discount.
There is also a bigger hotel named City hotel where you can find rooms for 1500 to 1800 INR range. In this hotel we had the best Masala tea.
#Food
You will find many hotels on the main road where you can get good food.
The food in Sher ling hotel, city hotel , and even Jigmeling is nice.
#Places to visit
Taksang Monastery: When you plan your trip to Bhutan, it looks like, if you have not visited Tiger's nest, you have not completed your trip. Well it definitely is an interesting destination. The way the monastery has been made on the steep stone but in my opinion it definitely has been too commercialized.
1st from the main Paro town taxi will charge you 250 INR to get to the base of the hill. You can start your trek from there. Being a seasoned trekker, I didn't find trekking very difficult. For my sister who was trekking after many years, she completed it in 2 hours 15 minutes, so well I would say, If you put it in your mind, you body will do it! And I am proud of you sis!
The monastery is open from 8 to 5 pm. If you can start as early as 6 am, it would be best as you need not bother about the strong sun!
You will require your permits because an entry is made. You are not allowed to take your bags so better carry a lock and a key as they are always short of locks and keys and then you have to wait until someone comes back.
Also, a lot of people advised us to take water bottles as they suggested we wont get water anywhere. But we found lot of natural sources of water. And to be honest, that water was very clean, chilled and yummy! It refreshed us everytime we had it.
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| Starting point |
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| On the way |
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| Short cut taken |
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| The Tiger's nest |
Paro National Museum : Located at the end of the Paro town road. We gave it a miss as it was closes at 5 p.m.
Paro Dzong: This Dzong is also located in the heart of the city
Drukgeyl Dzong: This Dzong is around 13-15 km from Paro.
Chelela pass: In lieu of time, we gave a pass to every place I have mentioned above except Tiger's nest and instead went to Chelela pass. We left in the morning at 6 am and were they by 7:30- 8 am. I trekked two mountains there.
Well I enjoyed this trek much more because the view was amazing, there was less crowd and the flags all around made it mesmerizing! I think no one should give this place a miss. There are around 4 mountains but I trekked up only 2 of them. In the morning at 8 am it was very cold and there was heavy wind. According to our driver, it becomes more windy as the day passes. Apparently, this is the highest point on Dantak road
The taxi charged us 2000 INR for the same. Contact Jamyang +97517554230.
Ha valley
Located around 70 km from Paro , this is a small valley. Chelela pass comes on the way to Ha valley. We missed this and rather spent all our time at Chelela pass as all the locals suggested that if we have seen Punakha valley then Ha valley is similar but If I had time , I would have definitely gone there.
Bumthang :Called as the Switzerland of Bhutan. As we missed 2 days for permit, we couldn't go to Bumthang at all. The permit for it is given at Thimpu. Its down further from Punakha.
And then we took a taxi back to Phuentsholing/Jaigaon from Paro for 650 INR per person.
The buses from Jaigaon to Siliguri are not there after 3-4 pm so we took a bus to Birbara and then from there took a bus to Siliguri. There was a huge traffic jam because of trucks spanning over many kilometres. We finally reached Siliguri by 10 pm instead of reaching at 8 pm. We quickly got into a hotel named Hotel Sathi for 1000 INR, just opposite to the bus stand. Next day, we took an auto for 350 INR to Bagdogra airport and reached the end of our lovely trip.
The buses from Jaigaon to Siliguri are not there after 3-4 pm so we took a bus to Birbara and then from there took a bus to Siliguri. There was a huge traffic jam because of trucks spanning over many kilometres. We finally reached Siliguri by 10 pm instead of reaching at 8 pm. We quickly got into a hotel named Hotel Sathi for 1000 INR, just opposite to the bus stand. Next day, we took an auto for 350 INR to Bagdogra airport and reached the end of our lovely trip.
At the airport, I said bye to my lovely sister with a heavy heart, tears in my eyes and I will miss you on my lips! Thank you for being part of this trip! Love you sis!
