How to Reach Bhutan From Surat

Surat – the Diamond City of India, a city with a flamboyant skyline, is a major commercial centre in India. Known to be the exporter of finest quality diamonds, this once a seaport is famed for many reasons. Located in the Surat district of Gujarat, this city is also a thriving centre for textile and IT industry.

Owing to the geographic location and economic importance, Surat is strategically placed as a communication hub in Gujarat. Be it by air, train, or road, one can reach this metropolis without any hassles. Well, that’s not it! Visitors from any corner of India and some of the major international destinations can reach this city without any such efforts.

For travellers wondering about how to reach Bhutan from Surat, they can also plan their trip at an ease as this city has a firm network of roadways, railway tracks, and regular flights connectivity. Let’s explore more and check how to reach the Land of Thunder Dragons from Surat.

How to Reach Bhutan from Surat by Air

Even though Surat has a very good air connectivity with most of the Indian cities and other foreign destinations, the city still doesn’t have any connectivity with Bhutan. Hence, anyone thinking about how to reach Bhutan from Surat by air, should book a flight to any of these airports: Indira Gandhi International Airport (Delhi), Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport (Kolkata), Bodhgaya Airport (Gaya), Bagdogra Airport (West Bengal) or Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport (Guwahati).

Upon reaching any of these airports, they can book a direct or connecting flight to Paro International Airport in Bhutan. Both Druk Air and Bhutan Airlines have direct as well as connecting flights between the above-mentioned airports and Paro. To note here, the connecting flights to Bhutan usually flies via Kathmandu in Nepal.

How to Reach Bhutan from Surat by Train

Surat is well-connected with the rest of India via railway network. However, as this city doesn’t have any direct railway connectivity with Bhutan, one can first take a train journey to some of the railway stations or junctions in the Indian state of West Bengal or Assam.

However, since West Bengal is the closest Indian state to Bhutan, visitors can book their train journey to Kolkata, New Jalpaiguri, New Alipurduar or Hasimara railway stations. From any of these railway stations, they can complete the remaining part of their Bhutan journey through road by driving to Jaigaon, a town that shares boundaries with Bhutan’s Phuentsholing town. With arrival in Jaigaon, they can complete all the legalities to acquire a Bhutanese Visa and enter into the Land of Thunder Dragon through Phuentsholing.

On the other hand, for those, yearning to take a train journey to Assam, they should deboard the train at Bongaigaon or can travel up to Guwahati. Upon reaching either of these destinations, they can select the Gelephu-Bongaigaon entry point which would be around 50km (or 1 hours’ drive) away from Bongaigaon town. Visitors travelling to Guwahati, they can take a drive to the Samdrup Jongkhar entry point, which is around 150km (or 3 hours’ journey) from Guwhati.

How to Reach Bhutan from Surat by Road

Wanderlusts planning to embark on a road trip from Surat to Bhutan, should first drive to Kolkata. Since Kolkata is the nearest Indian metropolitan city to Bhutan – the Last Himalayan Kingdom, driving to Kolkata would be a better choice. Upon reaching Kolkata, visitors should embark on the second half of the road trip that would comprise a drive to a town called Jaigaon in West Bengal’s Alipurduar district.

Jaigaon is the town that shares its boundaries with Bhutanese town called Phuentsholing. Upon arriving this town, visitors can get their Bhutanese visa and make their entry in to the country.
For the road trip, here is one of the most popular route maps: Surat – Kota – Varanasi – Bodh Gaya – Bishnupur – Kolkata.