Bhutan Tours and Trekking Adventures

You'll need to fly into Nepal for the start of our Bhutan trips.

Our preferred Travel Partner Fuzion Travel can assist with you with flights and other travel arrangements. Let them know your preferred travel plans, including any stopovers or extra nights’ accommodation, and they’ll put everything in place for you. They offer a total travel solution and five star service that you’ll want to tell your friends about!

There are so many great stories to come out of the Himalayas, probably because the landscape and the people inspire such creativity and adventure. Here is a list, gathered from across the Active Adventures family, of recommended reads:

• Seven Years in Tibet and the sequel Return to Tibet. Two autobiographical travel books written by Austrian mountaineer Heinrich Harrer. Seven Years in Tibet is based on Harrer's real life experiences in Tibet between 1944 and 1951 during the second world war and the time before the Chinese People's Liberation Army invaded. The book quickly became a best seller and has now sold millions of copies and been made into a movie twice - most recently in 1997, starring Brad Pitt!
• The Snow Leopard is an account by Peter Mathiessen, of his and George Schaller's 1973 journey to Crystal Mountain, in the Dolpo region on the Tibetan Plateau. They went in search of the extremely rare Snow Leopard that exists only in the high parts of Asia. Published in 1978, The Snow Leopard is regarded as a classic of modern nature writing.
• A more recent book, Michael Palin's Himalaya accompanies the successful 2004 BBC series. If you're looking for a great coffee table book to help get you inspired, this is it! There are some awesome images by Basil Pao interspersed regularly with Palin's fantastic sense of humour and easy-reading stories.
• You can't go past Into Thin Air, by best selling author Jon Krakauer. This is a hair-raising tale of the 1996 Mount Everest disaster when eight climbers were killed and several others were stranded during a rogue storm. Whilst a little more 'extreme' than our Everest Base Camp trek, this book definitely portrays another element to mountaineering in the Himalayas! Since it was published it has raised many questions surrounding the morality and competitive nature of summiting Mt Everest.
• For those interested in Tibetan Buddhism, The Path to Enlightenment by the 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso is a must read. In 1959 the Communist Chinese Government forced the non-violent Tibetan Buddhist Government into exile. Having spent the majority of his life in India, the Dalai Lama, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, has spent this time advocating for Tibetan's inside and outside of Tibet. Along with defining the Lam Ram, which are the stages on the spiritual path, the Dalai Lama describes the difficulty of attaining Nirvana (full Buddhahood), but urges determination.
• Sherpas: Reflections on Change in Himalayan Nepal by James F Fisher is a fascinating snapshot of how tourism and modernisation have affected the traditional way of life of the Sherpa people - both positively and negatively. Fisher first visited the Sherpas of Nepal when he accompanied Sir Edmund Hillary in 1964, to help build school houses. One of the by-products of this new school building was a small airstrip, which dramatically increased tourism to the area.
• Touching My Father's Soul by Jamling Tensing Norgay offers a great insight into the Sherpa world. Jamling Norgay was a mountaineer in his own right, who was a climbing leader on the ill-fated 1996 Everest IMAX expedition. As well as a first-hand account of the 96' tragedy, this book also tells little known stories of Tenzing's historic climb.

We recommend you bring a variety of payment options with you to Bhutan. US dollars are most easily exchanged, and a Visa Debit ATM card and a credit card should be carried in case of emergency.

Cash is the easiest option and most widely accepted form of payment in Bhutan. Visa and MasterCard are accepted in some places, with additional transactions fees. Be sure to let your credit card company know you are travelling to these countries. If bringing US dollars to Bhutan, bring brand new & good quality notes, the bigger the denomination the better.

We recommend bringing about US$300 in total for our Comfort-focused trips. It should be plenty for extra food or drinks, bottled drinking water, as well as any souvenirs you would like to buy.

The food in Bhutan is healthy and nutritious, with rice being the staple in the Bhutanese diet. It’s usually accompanied by one or two side dishes consisting of meat or vegetables. Pork, beef and chicken are consumed most often. Chillies are an essential part of nearly every dish and are considered so important that most Bhutanese people wouldn’t enjoy a meal that’s not spicy.

Yes, you are required to procure a visa and pay the mandatory Sustainable Development Fee (SDF) to enter the Kingdom of Bhutan. The SDF is enforced by the Tourism Council of Bhutan and contributes to activities which promote carbon-neutral tourism and building a more sustainable tourism sector.  This includes offsetting the carbon footprint of tourists and upskilling workers in the sector.

You can facilitate the procurement of your visa and payment of the SDF via this website: https://immi.gov.bt/home/

For Kathmandu Valley & Bhutan Adventure - Please be sure to enter the specific dates of arrival and departure for the Bhutan portion of your trip. Your date of arrival is the 5th day of your Kathmandu Valley & Bhutan Adventure, and the date of departure is the 11th day of your trip – a total of 6 nights.

For Bhutan Adventure  - Please be sure to enter the specific dates of arrival and departure for the Bhutan portion of your trip. Your date of arrival is the 2nd day of your Bhutan Adventure, and the date of departure is the 8th day of your trip – a total of 6 nights.

Please use the CIBT entry tracker on our website as a guideline or visit the relevant immigration webpage for more information regarding this.

WiFi is available at all hotels if bringing a smart phone or iPad, though the connection can sometimes be a bit sporadic.

Bhutan operates on a 220 volt / 50Hz syetem with round two- and three-pin plugs (C, D and M).

Bhutan Standard Time (BST) is the time zone for Bhutan. It is +6 hours ahead of Greenwich Mean Time (GMT).

Our Bhutan trips will take you to high altitudes, so it’s important to be aware of the causes and risks of altitude sickness, and how we manage them. You’ll be accompanied on your trip by a very experienced guide. Altitude sickness is something that can occur above 2,400m or 8,000ft and affects everybody differently regardless of fitness (after all no-body is the same). Unless you live somewhere with high elevation, it's difficult to predict how your body will react to the higher altitudes, though there are some things you can do along the way to help you acclimatise.

One of the most important of these is to walk slowly and drink plenty of water – it’s really important that your body stay well hydrated at all times and you never over-exert yourself. Also, eat light meals to make it easy for your body to digest food, avoid coffee and alcohol which dehydrate you and slow your breathing down, take plenty of rests and keep yourself warm at all times. If you are concerned or have any problems, then tell your guide straight away. If you are concerned, chat to your doctor about a prescription for Diamox which is proven to help with altitude. If you need any other information please get in touch – we know the place well and we can give you plenty more specific advice.

Learn more here about dealing with altitude

Bhutan’s currency is the Bhutanese Ngultrum - US$1 is worth about 67 Bhutanese Ngultrum.

You will need proper hiking boots - trail shoes are not good enough. We'll be taking you to some awesome places where you'll be hiking over a variety of terrain, therefore your boots should have full ankle support and a stiff sole with a high profile tread. It's also important that whichever footwear you decide to bring that it's well broken-in and waterproofed before you come down. If you have good ankles that will be able to cope pretty well with varied terrain, then good hiking shoes should be fine, but if not then hiking boots will give you better support.

As an Active Adventures traveller, It’s essential you take out travel insurance to cover the likes of personal injury, medical expenses, trip cancellation for your travel with us. Please head to our Travel Insurance page for more in-depth information and insurance provider options. It’s also important to check your insurance covers all the activities you’ll be partaking in, in case you’re travelling to altitude or looking at extreme sports.

Bhutan does not officially require any vaccinations for entry into the country, but the further off the beaten track you go, the more necessary it is to take precautions. For the most up-to-date recommendations please check with your doctor or travel clinic, and always go with their recommendations, as these can often change. We strongly recommend that you see a doctor, preferably one with experience in travel medicine, at least 8 weeks before your trip starts to discuss appropriate vaccinations.