How to Reach Paro From Chennai

One of the major landmark cities in India, Chennai is undoubtedly a hub among the globetrotters. Be it national or international tourists, this metropolitan city has its own charm and appeal, and has been appealing visitors since ages now. This glorious city has an excellent communication system in place, and this serves as another reason of Chennai’s fan following within or away from the country.

If you are in this city, you can probably reach out to any corner of the world. And in case, if you are thinking about how to reach Paro from Chennai, let us tell you that you need not to worry at all! This metropolitan city offers a number of options to reach Paro in Bhutan. Let’s explore these options and help you plan a Bhutan trip soon!

How to Reach Paro from Chennai by Air

Though Chennai is a hub among the flyers, this city doesn’t have any direct flight to the Paro International Airport in Bhutan. Flyers, who are wondering about how to reach Paro from Chennai by air, should first take a flight to either Delhi, Kolkata, Siliguri, Gaya, or Guwahati as these cities offer both direct and connecting flights to the only international airport in Bhutan.

Indira Gandhi International Airport (Delhi), Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport (Kolkata), Bodhgaya Airport (Gaya), Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport (Guwahati), and Bagdogra Airport (Siliguri, West Bengal) offer regular flights operated by Druk Air and Bhutan Airlines. Visitors can either fly directly from these airports to Paro International Airport in Bhutan, or fly via Kathmandu in Nepal to reach Paro.

In case, you are a foreign national, and looking for other options to fly to Paro, you can opt for air journeys from Singapore, Bangkok (Thailand), Kathmandu (Nepal), and Dhaka (Bangladesh) to Paro International Airport. Druk Air has daily flights from all these destinations.

How to Reach Paro from Chennai by Train

For the visitors who are planning to reach Paro from Chennai by train, they should know that Bhutan doesn’t have any railway connectivity with India or any other foreign countries. However, this doesn’t mean that one cannot enjoy a train journey while traversing from Chennai to Paro. If not directly to Paro, visitors can take a train ride to any of closest Indian railway station, and finally reach Paro by driving through Bhutanese land.

In this case; form Chennai, visitors can board any of the trains that travels to West Bengal or at least passes through some of the popular railway stations in West Bengal. Kolkata, Siliguri Town, New Jalpaiguri, New Alipurduar, and Hasimara railway stations would be the best options here.

From any of these railway stations in West Bengal, visitors can take a drive to Jaigaon, a small town on the Indo-Bhutan border. From this town, visitors can make their way into Bhutan through Phuentsholing town, and finally reach Paro by driving 143km (4 hours) along the Thimphu-Phuentsholing Highway.

Here are some of the popular trains plying between Chennai-Kolkata and Chennai-Guwahati:

Chennai Central Howrah Junction Premium (02842)

Coromandel Express (12842)

Bangalore Express (06029)

Howrah Mail (12840)

Chennai Central Shalimar Express (22826)

Guwahati Express (12507, 12509, 12515)

Dibrugarh Express (15901)

Yesvantpur Junction Dibrugarh Express (05901)

Dibrugarh Express (05905)

NOTE: Visitors can also book trains from Chennai to Guwahati or Bongaigaon in Assam to reach Paro from Chennai by train; details discussed in below section.

How to Reach Paro from Chennai by Road

Reaching Paro from Chennai by roadways could be one of the most exciting thing one can do in life! Starting from the southern tip of India, this journey will take the visitors through a mix of terrains, cities, towns, villages, and lot more.

To start with this enthralling road journey, one should first plan a road trip from Chennai to Kolkata. Since Kolkata – the City of Joy, is the nearest Indian metropolitan city to Bhutan, it serves as an ideal destination for the enthusiasts of the ‘Land of Thunder Dragons’. Visitors can follow this route map to complete the first part of this amazing journey: Chennai – Gudur – Nellore – Guntur – Vijayawada – Eluru – Rajamundry – Vishakhapatnam – Kolkata.

Upon reaching Kolkata, visitors can either opt for direct buses to Thimphu in Bhutan, that are run by the Royal Bhutanese Government, or start with the second phase of their road trip to a town called Jaigaon in Alipurduar district of West Bengal.

Those, who plans to take the direct buses, they can board the buses from Esplanade Bus Stand in Kolkata to reach Bhutan’s capital city Thimphu; journey is of around 18 hours. From Thimphu, they can again board the local buses, or hire private cabs to reach Paro, which is only 50km (1.5 hours’ drive) away from Thimphu.

For the visitors, who are not so much inclined towards bus journeys, they can embark on the second phase of their road trip from Kolkata to reach Jaigaon town in Alipurduar district of West Bengal. Upon reaching this town, they can make an easy entry to Bhutan through the Phuentsholing town. From Phuentsholing, they can again drive along the Thimphu-Phunetsholing Highway, and cover around 143km (4 hours’ drive) to reach their favourite destination Paro.

Again, visitors who prefer flying or take a train ride to Assam, they can also embark on exciting road trips to find the answers to the question: how to reach Paro from Chennai by road! From Assam, visitors can either plan a road trip from Bongaigaon Town or directly from Guwahati city.

From Bongaigaon, one can enter Bhutan through Gelephu point, which is around 50km (1 hours’ drive) away from Bongaigaon. Upon reaching Gelephu, visitors should continue driving along Wangdue-Tsirang Highway, and traverse around 250km (8 hours’ drive) to reach Paro. On the other hand, if planning a road trip from Guwahati, visitors can enter Bhutan through the Samdrup Jongkhar point, which is around 150km (3 hours’ drive) away from Guwahati. From this point, one should follow the NH-27, and drive another 459km (10 hours) to finally reach Paro.