How to Reach Thimphu From Delhi

Being one of the largest tourist hubs in the world, Delhi offers numerous options to reach out to any of the tourist destinations in the world. Be it any corner of the globe, you will surely find one or the other means of transportation from India’s capital city. And in case, you are thinking about how to reach Thimphu from Delhi, you will be offered with exciting options.

Let’s not waste much time, and give away a detailed list on how you can reach Bhutan’s capital city from the Indian capital city.

How to Reach Thimphu From Delhi by Air

If you are worried about how to reach Thimphu from Delhi by air, you have the good news of your life! The Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi has both direct and connecting flights (via Kathmandu in Nepal) to Paro International Airport in Bhutan. You can easily book flights operated by Druk Air and Bhutan Airlines from Delhi in order to reach Paro.

Once you reach Paro Airport, you can take the regular Bhutanese buses or hire local cabs to reach Thimphu, which is around 48km (1.5 hours’ drive) from the airport.

In addition to India, there are several other international destinations that offer flights to Paro International Airport. Singapore, Kathmandu in Nepal, Bangkok in Thailand, and Dhaka in Bangladesh also has regular flights to Paro.

How to Reach Thimphu from Delhi by Train

Visitors planning to reach Thimphu from Delhi by train, can embark on a train journey to Kolkata, Siliguri, New Jalpaiguri, New Alipurduar, and Hasimara in West Bengal (India). From these stations, they can reach the Jaigaon-Phuentsholing entry point by road, and finally take the local buses or hire private taxis to make their way to Thimphu. This part of the road journey would take around 4 hours; total distance being 147km.

In addition to these stations, visitors can also board trains to Guwahati or Bongaigaon in Assam (India). From these two railways stations, they can make an entry to Bhutan through Bongaigaon-Gelephu Point (50km / 1 hours’ drive) or Guwahati-Samdrup Jongkhar Point (419km / 11 hours’ drive). Bhutan’s capital city is located around 243km (7 hours’ drive) from Gelepu and 419km (11 hours’ drive) from Samdrup Jongkhar.

You can reach West Bengal and Assam through these trains from Delhi:

New Delhi-Howrah Rajdhani Express (12302)

New Delhi-Sealdah AC Duronto Express (12260)

New Delhi-Sealdah Rajdhani (12314)

New Delhi-Howrah Duronto Express (12274)

Guwahati Rajdhani (22424)

Dibrugarh Town Rajdhani (12424)

New Delhi Kamakhya Superfast Special (05619)

New Delhi Guwahati Superfast Special (02236)

New Delhi Dibrugarh Rajdhani (12236)

New Delhi Dibrugarh Town Rajdhani (12436)

How to Reach Thimphu form Delhi by Road

To travel to Thimphu from Delhi by road, one should first plan a Delhi-Kolkata road trip. Since Kolkata is the closest Indian metropolitan city to Bhutan, it serves as an ideal base to the road trippers to Bhutan. This road trip can be completed by following the New Delhi – Kanpur – Varanasi – Gaya – Kolkata route.

Once in Kolkata, visitors can select from two options to complete their road journey to Thimphu. First, they can board the direct buses operated by Royal Bhutanese Government that plies form the Esplanade Bus Stand in Kolkata, and takes around 18 hours to reach Thimphu.

Second option would be a road trip from Kolkata to Jaigaon in the Alipurduar district of West Bengal. On reaching Jaigaon, visitors can make their way to Bhutan’s Phuentsholing town, and continue with another segment of their road trip to reach Thimphu. This trip can be completed by following the Thimphu-Phuentsholing Highway, and would take around 4 hours (147km) to complete.

Road journeys from Assam are also good options to reach Thimphu. These journeys include a drive from Bongaigaon town to Gelephu in Bhutan. Continuing with this journey, visitors should again drive 243km (7 hours’ drive) from Gelepu to reach Thimphu.

The other option to reach Thimphu would be a drive from Guwahati to Samdrup Jongkhar; total distance would be 150km (or 3 hours’ drive). Upon reaching Samdrup Jongkhar, visitors should again undertake another 419km (11 hours’) drive to reach Thimphu by road.