bhutan travel places

Backpacking Bhutan: Is It Possible To Backpack There?

Are you planning for backpacking in Bhutan? Is it possible to travel alone in Bhutan? Let’s find out in this blog.

If you look at the world now, Bhutan is the only remaining Buddhist Himalayan Kingdom in the entire world, making it an alluring destination for tourists. What makes it even more alluring is the fact that it has only opened its borders to tourists only in 1974.

Perhaps that’s why I decided to make Bhutan my first travel destination after I decided to quit my job to travel the world. I knew I was in store for a travel experience unlike any other.

I wanted to backpack in Bhutan. But the question was since Bhutan has a daily royalty fee that gives you an all-inclusive trip, is it possible to do backpacking in Bhutan? Could I wander around the country as a real backpacker does? Was it possible to travel to Bhutan alone at all?

Well, let’s find out…

people of bhutan

Backpacking In Bhutan

Where many want to experience Bhutan’s culture and learn about the unique sentiments attached to it, travelling to this Unknown Shangri-la is no easy job.

The country requires you to pay $ 250 a day in Royalty, against which you will get pre-booked accommodation and a complete end-to-end itinerary — right from the morning tea to the late evening snacks. You will moreover be accompanied by a tour guide, during your entire period of stay there, making it very clear that travelling in Bhutan alone or backpacking in Bhutan is next to impossible.

What’s worse is that even if you’re ready to pay $250-a day and are ready to compromise with your movement, by getting pre-booked travel arrangements, it’s not guaranteed that your application will be selected. The country allows only a limited number of tourists per season, on first come first serve basis. And if you just happened to be unlucky enough to not make it in the first few thousand people, your application will be put on hold and will only be processed in the upcoming season. So forget the idea of backpacking in Bhutan and start thinking if you can, at all, be there.

But the $250-a-day royalty doesn’t apply to Indians. And I thank the gods for that and consider myself lucky. We can cross the border pretty much anytime we want – with only a permit, which can be obtained from the immigration department, at one of the borders. Getting a permit is easy and can be obtained with any photo ID card with address proof. I used my Election Card.

Indians were allowed to travel alone in Bhutan and do backpacking. But in 2020, Bhutan passed legislation to charge Indians, Bangladeshi and Maldivians a 1,200 fee for entering the country. According to the news, the fee will implement in April 2020. How the new rule affects Indians, Bangladeshi and Maldivians to travel to Bhutan as a backpacker is yet unknown. Also, owing to the coronavirus, the ruling is currently put on hold. Keep checking the Royal Bhutanese Embassy website for a recent update on this.

backpacking bhutan alone

thimpu streets

Indians Travelling Alone In Bhutan

For non-Indians/Bangladeshis, as I said, the true sense of backpacking in Bhutan is not possible.

Because the $250 daily tariff includes your food, your accommodation and your tour guide, you cannot travel alone in Bhutan and cannot do your own thing. You’re pretty much restrained in an orderly executed travel plan. And there is no other option unless you want to take the adventure to the next level, and go, vigilante.

Though you can travel solo (by paying a US$40 surcharge) you’re still bound by a predefined itinerary and your tour guide. So backpacking in Bhutan and wandering as you wish is practically impossible!

My Bhutan Backpacking Experience

I did travel along in Bhutan in 2016 (Check my Bhutan travel guide for more tips on what to see and do there). But as I said, it might have changed now.

Now, speaking of my trip, I travelled to Bhutan solo.

I started at Phuentsholing and my Route Permit, which I’d obtained from Phuentsholing, was limited to Thimpu and Paro only, with a validity of only 1 week. To get it extended, I was required to visit the immigration headquarters in Thimpu, and indulge in long, annoying – often half-understood – talks, with the immigration officers.

Rejecting my ‘one-month-long extension request’, they offered me another 15-day extension to four more cities (Bhumtang, Mongar, T/Gang and exit via S/Jongkhar).

Bhutan BRO

Though the process was easy and wasn’t much of a hassle – by Indian standards – I was pretty much restrained to go anywhere but the mentioned 4 cities and had to leave the country in a 15-day period. Looking at this, I can say that IN A WAY I could manage to backpack in Bhutan and travel on my will, and IN A WAY I couldn’t.

Don’t Travel Solo Or Alone In Bhutan

Though until 2929 Bhutan gave Indians freedom to roam around a few limited cities without a royalty fee – the idea of allowing tourists to go solo never struck the country.

The minute you enter their immigration office solo, wearing your untidy backpacking garb, and tell the immigration officers you want to see their country like a local, they go baffled. “Why would anyone want to do that,” they ask themselves, before asking you.

When I was at the immigration office in Thimpu, travelling to Bhutan alone, I had a similar experience. The immigration officer I was fixed an appointment with, never understood my fascination with solo travelling and ended up asking me – with an indirect order, they call Immigration Letter – to leave the country in the next 15 days, following a defined route.

Here’s the solo Bhutan backpacking route map I followed:

travel itinerary bhutan

If you could not go to Bhutan but are still interested in going somewhere similar, I can recommend you go to Tawang Monastery in Arunachal Pradesh, India.

Tawang is probably the most culturally and scenically similar to Bhutan, out of anywhere in India. And it has the world’s second-largest monastery, after the Potala Palace in Lhasa.

Moreover, Tawang is only 15 kilometres away from the nearest town of Bhutan called Trashigang, making you feel that you’re almost there except for a border diving between the two countries. You will moreover realise that about a quarter of the population in Tawang is actually Bhutanese, uniting either side of the border into a seamless cultural scene.

If you are planning to do backpacking in Bhutan or are following my advice and travelling Bhutan alone as an India traveller, you can always write me a comment below for suggestions.

Categories Bhutan

About

I am Dev, and I've been travelling full-time since 2016. I was a journalism student & started my corporate career as a documentary film-maker in England, before moving to India & becoming a full-time nomad. 25+countries. 50+ Brand Partnerships. And the adventure continues...

  1. I didn’t know much about Bhutan but after reading this post I must say tempting me to visit Bhutan ASAP.

    Thanks for this wonderful post.

  2. please appreciate the fact that you and your fellow mates are traveling to Bhutan without having to pay like others.

    • I am appreciating it Jigme. And do you know why is that? Actually, no let’s not get there it will take the debate to a political level. Let’s just thank India Border Road Organisation and say WE MAKE ROADS FOR YOU AND WE TRAVEL ON THEM. Any complaints?

  3. Anonymous

    Hii Dev thank you for visiting bhutan and writing a detailed blog but $250 from other international(excluding India,Bangladesh and Maldives)tourist is not because Bhutan is very poor its just that we follow ‘ high vale, low impact’ policy to protect our nation from over exploitations…
    Bhutan is poor but facilities we get are more than many rich nation dont provide..
    Paying $250 is helping Bhutan..Your money is never wasted…with $250 the service you get ll be like a kings life…

    Btw, a great piece of article. Thanks for writing it.

  4. Do they allow solo travel for Indian males ? I hear that they allow only solo female travelers not men ? Is it true ?

  5. Hello everyone and Dev. ….quite interesting! I just wanted to clear the point here that you stated that the tarrif visiting Bhutan is very high just because our country is poor. Yeah, I agree but there’s another greater significant reason behind, our country aims to preserve it’s threatened unique culture and custom for all the times to come. …so the influence of the outer world is greatly restricted. …thank you! And if you all still wish to visit Bhutan, welcome!

  6. Virendra

    Hello Dev,
    Is it possible to stay at various places between Phuentshilling to Park so that there is no continuous car travel for more than an hour. (This is because of my wife’s motion sickness problem).
    Thanks and regards.
    Virendra Gupta
    viregupta@hotmail.com

  7. Hello, Dev. Could you, pls, explain what do the $250 mean ? I mean, to whom do you pay it , and when, upon arrival or …? It’s really funny that you can just go backpacking and organize your accommodation, food, etc. as you please . Thanks.

  8. Anonymous

    R u sure. Voter ID is enough?

  9. Interesting post but I’m disappointed that only Indians can backpack Bhutan – $250 a day is just crazy! I did go to Tawang though so I feel like at least I saw something similar without the big price tag – India is amazingly diverse 🙂

    • Yes this $250 a day fee disappoints many. But since Bhutan is a very poor country, the government uses a significant part of this money to provide free education and healthcare in the country… And glad to know you’ve visited Tawang, the Buddhist culture around that area is not too different from that of Bhutan.

      • Patriot

        Yes Bhutan is a poor country and tourism is one of the highest income generating industry. But No, $250 a day isn’t just to make the best of what we can from tourists wanting to visit our county. There are bigger and greater things to consider than just dollar. We have our tradition, culture and our environment which is at stake when considering to open our country to the outside world. We just don’t want to let any other influences dilute our uniqueness. Sometimes, it’s always better to rise and look beyond the horizon. We have the next generation into whom we can proudly hand down our nation just as it has been handed down to us by our ancestors.

    • Tshewang Dhendup

      Our tourism policy is aimed for low volume and high quality. It’s not that our country is poor so that restrictions but due to our small size and small population, we dont want our country over crowded and our resources over exploited, hence only a limited tourist are being permited. The daily tariff includes your hotel, meals , car , your guides and local vistor fees. So do visit Bhutan, you will leave back happy.

  10. Whoa, that’s a steep visa fee! I’m an American and there isn’t too many places we will owe that big of a fee (unless we’re trying to expedite). Counting myself lucky here.

    • Yes, American passport is strong and offer much freedom to those holding it. As far as the Bhutanese VISA fee is concerned, the country has kept it so high because it goes straight to provide free education and healthcare to its people.

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