Bhutan - Lindsay Brown [209]
NEPAL
Visas for Nepal are available on arrival at Kathmandu airport or at land border crossings, including Kakarbhitta, the road crossing nearest to Bhutan. Normal visas are valid for 60 days. If you are making a side trip to Bhutan from Kathmandu, get a double-entry visa the first time you arrive in Nepal. You can obtain a visa for Nepal in advance from embassies abroad or from the Nepali embassy or consulate in the gateway cities of Bangkok, Delhi, Dhaka or Kolkata.
Travel Permits
RESTRICTED-AREA PERMITS
All of Bhutan outside of the Paro and Thimphu valleys is classified as a restricted area. Tour operators obtain a permit for the places on your itinerary, and this permit is checked and endorsed by the police at immigration checkpoints strategically located at important road junctions. The tour operator must return the permit to the government at the completion of the tour, and it is scrutinised for major deviations from the authorised program.
There are immigration checkpoints in Hongtsho (east of Thimphu), Chhukha (between Thimphu and Phuentsholing), Rinchending (above Phuentsholing), Wangdue Phodrang, Chazam (near Trashigang), Wamrong (between Trashigang and Samdrup Jongkhar), and in Samdrup Jongkhar. All are open from 5am to 9pm daily.
PERMITS TO ENTER TEMPLES
Tourists are allowed to visit the courtyards of dzongs and, where feasible, the tshokhang (assembly hall) and one designated lhakhang in each dzong, but only when accompanied by a licensed Bhutanese guide. This provision is subject to certain restrictions, including visiting hours, dress standards and other rules that vary by district. Permits are issued by the National Commission for Cultural Affairs and all the necessary paperwork will be negotiated by your tour company. If you wish to know which dzongs and goembas are included in your itinerary, or you wish to make specific requests, contact your tour company well in advance. If you are a practising Buddhist, you may apply for a permit to visit certain dzongs and religious institutions usually off limits. The credibility of your application will be enhanced if you include a letter of reference from a recognised Buddhist organisation in your home country.
Dzongs are open to all during the time of a tsechu, when you may visit the courtyard, but not the lhakhangs.
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VOLUNTEERING
Bhutan is selective about the type of projects it wants in the country and disdains indiscriminate assistance. Each donor or charitable agency is limited to specified projects or activities, and is allowed only a certain number of volunteers. The opportunities for volunteer work in Bhutan are therefore limited. Americans will find it difficult to get a position because the US Peace Corps does not have a Bhutan programme.
The UN has numerous programmes in Bhutan, all coordinated through the UN Development Programme (UNDP). Different agencies feed into the programme.
UN Capital Development Fund (UNCDF)
UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF)
UN Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (Unesco)
UN Volunteers (UNV)
World Food Program (WFP)
Other agencies that operate programmes in Bhutan include the following:
ACB (Austria)
Danida (Denmark)
GTZ (Germany)
Helvetas (Switzerland)
JOCV & JICA (Japan)
Save the Children
SNV (Netherlands)
VSA (New Zealand)
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WOMEN TRAVELLERS
Women, both foreign and Bhutanese, are not usually subject to harassment and do not need to take any special precautions. Men have a reasonably liberated attitude towards their relations with women. There are several opportunities for misunderstanding if you don’t make your intentions clear from the very outset. Female travellers should be aware that romantic liaisons between tourists and Bhutanese guides are quite common. You might also be invited to a ‘party’ at the home of a Bhutanese male, and discover too late that you are the only guest.
For information on women’s groups and the status of Bhutanese women, Click here.
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