Travelling to Bhutan from India: What You Actually Need
India is one of the few countries whose citizens can travel to Bhutan without a visa, but no visa is not the same as no process. Here is what actually happens between deciding to come and arriving in the country.
What you do not need
A visa. Indian nationals, along with citizens of Bangladesh and the Maldives, are exempt from Bhutan’s visa requirement, which applies to every other nationality.
What you do need
An entry permit, arranged in advance through a licensed operator such as Thunphel, using either a valid Indian passport or a voter identification card for adults. Children travelling on a parent’s documents need their own passport, a voter ID is not accepted for minors. The permit is issued electronically ahead of your arrival and confirmed on entry.
The Guardian Contribution, at the Indian rate
Every guest in Bhutan contributes to the Sustainable Development Fee, the mechanism that keeps the kingdom’s tourism in scale with its size and funds free healthcare, free education, and the protected forests that keep Bhutan carbon negative. For Indian nationals, this is set at a reduced rate, 1200 Ngultrum per person per night, roughly equivalent to the Indian rupee since the two currencies are pegged one to one. It is arranged as part of your itinerary, not paid separately at the border.
How you enter
By air, into Paro International Airport, on Drukair or IndiGo from Delhi, Kolkata, Guwahati, Bagdogra, or Mumbai, depending on the season’s active routes. By road, Bhutan has three official land crossings from India: Phuentsholing in the west, the most commonly used and closest to Paro and Thimphu; Gelephu in the south, connecting to Assam; and Samdrup Jongkhar in the east, the route for guests combining Bhutan with a wider Northeast India itinerary. Each crossing has its own immigration office where your permit is confirmed on arrival.
Once you are inside
An Indian national’s journey through Bhutan runs exactly as any other guest’s does from this point: a licensed guide once you travel beyond Thimphu and Paro, a private vehicle and driver for the length of your trip, and full access to every stay, journey, and experience on the site. The visa exemption changes how you arrive, not what your journey looks like once you are here.
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