Bhutan - Lindsay Brown [213]
When you pass Kanchenjunga, look for the dome-shaped peak on the western skyline. That is Jannu (7710m), which some French climbers have described as a ‘peak of terror’; the Nepalis have renamed it Khumbakarna. Once past Kanchenjunga, the peaks are more distant. This is the Sikkim Himalaya; the major peaks, from west to east, are Chomoyummo (6829m), Pauhunri (7125m) and Shudu Tsenpa (7032m).
As the plane approaches Paro you may be able to spot the beautiful snow peak of Jhomolhari (7314m) and the grey ridge-shaped peak of Jichu Drakye (6989m). The plane then descends, often through clouds, into the wooded valleys of Bhutan.
The captain may announce that you are about to see the mountains closer than you have ever seen them before. He’s not joking. Depending on the approach pattern that day, you may drop into the Paro valley and weave through the hills, with goembas and prayer flags on the hillsides above. If you are on the left side of the plane, look for Taktshang Goemba and Paro Dzong as you descend towards the airport, before using almost the entire 1830m of the runway to stop. On other occasions you may overfly the airport, then bank, skim over a few tree-covered ridges and the roofs of houses, and make a gut-wrenching plunge into the valley before turning for the final approach to the runway.
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Airfare (Netherlands; 020 620 5121; www.airfare.nl)
Anyway (France; 0892 893 892; www.anyway.fr)
CTS Viaggi (Italy; 06 462 0431; www.cts.it)
Just Travel (Germany; 089 747 3330; www.justtravel.de)
New Zealand
STA Travel ( 0508 782 872; www.statravel.co.nz) and Flight Centre ( 0508 782 872; www.flightcentre.co.nz) have many branches throughout the country.
UK
As for continental Europe the cheapest fares are usually with Middle Eastern or Eastern European airlines, though Thai International always seems to have competitive fares. Various excursion fares are available from London to both India and Thailand, but you can get better prices through London’s many cheap-ticket specialists.
Discount air travel is big business in London. Advertisements for many travel agencies appear in the travel pages of the weekend broadsheet newspapers, in Time Out, the Evening Standard and in the free magazine TNT.
ebookers ( 0870 010 7000; www.ebookers.com)
Flight Centre ( 0870 890 8099; www.flightcentre.co.uk)
STA Travel ( 0870 160 0599; www.statravel.co.uk)
Trailfinders (www.trailfinders.co.uk)
USA
The best connections from the US west coast to Bhutan are via Bangkok. Discount travel agencies in the USA are known as consolidators (although you won’t see a sign on the door saying ‘Consolidator’). San Francisco is the ticket consolidator capital of America, although some good deals can be found in Los Angeles, New York and other big cities.
American Express Travel (www.itn.net)
Expedia (www.expedia.com)
STA Travel ( 800 781 4040; www.statravel.com)
Travelocity (www.travelocity.com)
Return to beginning of chapter
LAND
Unless you are an Indian national, the Department of Tourism (DOT) rules require that you either enter or exit Bhutan on a Druk Air flight. This limits the overland option to travelling one direction by air and the other by land, perhaps visiting Darjeeling and Sikkim en route.
Border Crossings
The two border crossings from India into Bhutan that are permitted to foreigners are at Phuentsholing, on the border with the Indian state of West Bengal, and at Samdrup Jongkhar, on the border with the state of Assam. At the time of research, foreigners could only use the Phuentsholing border crossing for entering Bhutan. Foreigners could depart but not enter via Samdrup