Bhutan, or the Kingdom of Bhutan is a landlocked country located at the eastern end of the Himalayas bordered by China to the north and India to the south, east and west. In 2008, Bhutan made the transition from absolute monarchy to constitutional monarchy and held its first general election.
As well as being a member of the United Nations, Bhutan is a member of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) and hosted SAARC’s sixteenth summit in April 2010.
Many people planning a trip to Bhutan ask, “When is the best time of year to visit?” It’s a common misconception that there is a high season in which travelers should see Bhutan. While seasons and weather conditions affect travel to many countries throughout the world, Bhutan is a year-round destination.
The first road ever to be built in Bhutan was constructed in the 1960s and went from the border of India to Thimphu, the capital of Bhutan. No other roads existed in Bhutan, and the country was navigated mostly on foot. When tourism to Bhutan began in 1974, that singular road was the only access into the country, and Thimphu and Paro were the only places you could reach by it.
While numerous annual festivals (known as Tshechu) occur throughout the country, Paro in the spring and Thimphu in the fall were the only two accessible. Thus, seasonality was built around these two festivals. To this day, people often believe that these travel seasons were determined due to weather, when in fact they were based on festival occurrences and road access.
Now that Bhutan has more paved roads throughout the country to reach many more towns and villages, visitors can experience smaller, more unique ancient festivals, and can visit Bhutan at any time throughout the year.
In spring, the weather is warm and stable but it’s still cold especially in the morning and
night, so please prepare clothes to warm yourself. Mountains are filled with beautiful flowers such as Rhododendrons, Apples and Pears. Beautiful Jakaranta purple flowers in Punakha start blooming in early May.
Activities in spring:
Trekking, Bird watching, Hiking, Cultural sight seeing
Festivals:
Paro Tsechu, Rhododendron Festival
Summer in Bhutan is known as rainy season but it would rain only few hours during the day. The maximum temperature in August is around 25℃ in Thimphu, so it’s not too hot and very comfortable. Mountains are covered by deep green and Blue poppy, the national flower of Bhutan is also available in this season in some mountain passes such as Chele-la. You can enjoy plenty of fresh Matsutake mushrooms in reasonable price from mid August for around one month.
Recommended activities:
Rafting, Bird watching, Hiking, Cultural sight seeing
Festivals:
Kujey Tsechu, Haa Summer Festival, Matsutake Festival
Autumn is the best season for all the trekking courses in Bhutan and most crowded season especially during the Thimphu Tsechu Festival. The color of paddy fields turn into very beautiful golden yellow and people dry their favorite daily foodstuff, chilies on the roofs. Most of the days would be sunny and you don’t need to wear jackets by the end of October.
Recommended activities:
Trekking, Bird watching, Hiking, Cultural sight seeing
Festivals:
Tour of Dragon (bike race), Wangdue Tshechu, Thimphu Tshechu,
Jambey Lhakang Tshechu, Black Necked Crane Festival
Winter in Bhutan becomes very cold but it is very rare to pile snow in towns. Beautiful Himalayan mountain ranges covered by snow would appear in the clear sky. Please prepare thick jackets and muffler and gloves to protect yourself from cold. Black necked cranes, worldwide protected species, fly from Tibet to Phobjikha and Bomdeling valley to spend their winter season.
Recommended activities:
Bird watching, Hiking, Cultural sight seeing
Festivals:
Punakha Tshechu