Southern Bhutan

Chhukha

The kingdom's front door by land, where the Himalaya drops to the Indian plain in an afternoon.

Altitude 300 m at Phuentsholing, rising past 2,000 m Best season October to March Worth 1 night in passing Getting there The border gateway; five hours from Thimphu

Cross the Bhutan Gate at Phuentsholing and the change is immediate and total. The traffic of India gives way, within a street, to prayer wheels and mountain time..

Chhukha is the district most overland journeys pass through, and the engine room of the kingdom besides: its rivers power the hydroelectric plants whose clean energy keeps Bhutan carbon negative. The old road north climbs through cloud forest where the plain’s heat fades kilometre by kilometre.

Few stay long, but the border town has its own fascination. Two worlds negotiate a single street.

Chhukha is five hours from Thimphu by road, and most guests pass through on the way in or out. One night in Phuentsholing is enough for the Bhutan Gate and Kharbandi Gompa. October to March is the best time. Leave the drive up to Thimphu for daylight.

While You Are Here

Things worth your time

01 The Bhutan Gate Stand at the line where the subcontinent's rush becomes the kingdom's calm.
02 Kharbandi Gompa The monastery garden above Phuentsholing, with the plains of Bengal on one side and the foothills on the other.
03 The old road north The climb to Thimphu is one of the great transitions in Himalayan travel. Take it in daylight.

Festival Season

Festivals in Chhukha

The district's communities hold their tshechus through autumn and winter. Ask us for this year's dates.

Fold Chhukha into your journey.

Tell us when you would like to come and what matters to you. Our team in Thimphu will shape the route around it.

Plan your private journey