How to Reach Paro From Lucknow

An acclaimed tourist destination in India, Lucknow or the ‘City of Nawabs’ boast of its golden past and rich heritage. Dotted with gaudy palaces, gorgeous havelis, this elegant city in the state of Uttar Pradesh is also known for its affable locals, their heart-warming gestures, and its wide range of culinary delights.

A mix of heritage and modernity, Lucknow is well-connected with the rest of India via air, railway and roadway networks. Visitors from this city can reach out to almost all the other metro cities in India, and vice versa. Having such a well-laid communication system in place, visitors from this city, can also plan a trip to the gorgeous Paro Valley in Bhutan at an ease.

In case, you too wish for a Paro trip form this city, but not sure about how to reach Paro from Lucknow, here is a detailed travel guide for you to complete this tour.

How to Reach Paro from Lucknow

Chaudhary Charan Singh International Airport, the only international airport in Lucknow, unfortunately don’t have any flight connectivity with the Paro International Airport in Paro, Bhutan. However, if you wish to find answers to how to reach Paro from Lucknow by air, you can fly to some of the designated airports in India, and take a flight to Paro from there.

Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport in Guwahati (Assam), Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi, Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport in Kolkata (West Bengal), Bodhgaya Airport in Gaya (Bihar), are Bagdogra Airport in Siliguri (West Bengal) are the only Indian airports that offers both direct and connecting flights to Paro International Airport.

From Chaudhary Charan Singh International Airport in Lucknow, you should first book flight tickets to any of the above-mentioned airports. Upon reaching these airports, you can book your air tickets to Paro either with Druk Air or Bhutan Airlines to reach Paro by air.

For international tourists who want to fly directly to Paro, but not from any of the Indian airports, they can book direct flights offered by Druk Air from several international points. Singapore, Dhaka in Bangladesh, Bangkok in Thailand, and Kathmandu in Nepal also offers regular flights to Paro.

How to Reach Paro from Lucknow by Train

Neither Paro nor any other destinations in Bhutan have any railway connectivity with any foreign land; India also comes within this list. However, if you want to find out how to reach Paro from Lucknow by train, you have to tweak you plan a bit, and book your train tickets to either West Bengal or Assam.

If you plan to take a train journey to West Bengal, you can book tickets to either Kolkata, New Jalpaiguri, Siliguri Town, New Alipurduar, or Hasimara railway stations. Upon reaching any of these railway stations, you should hit the roads to gain entry to Bhutan through a town called Jaigaon in the Alipurduar district of West Bengal. Once you are in Bhutan, you need to take another road journey through the Bhutanese land to reach Paro.
Other option to reach Paro from West Bengal is by taking a direct bus journey from Kolkata to Thimphu, the capital city of Bhutan. On arrival in Thimphu, you can embark on another road trip to reach Paro.

In case, you wish to visit Paro via Assam, you should book train tickets either to Bongaigaon Railway Junction in Bongaigaon town, or Guwahati Railway Station in Guwahati. From both these Assamese destinations, you can take an exciting road journey to Bhutan. Once you make your entry into the Land of Thunder Dragons, you should take another road trip to reach your final destination – Paro.

Here is a list of train to reach West Bengal and Assam from Lucknow city:

Amritsar Junction Kolkata Superfast Express (12358)

Haridwar Junction Kolkata Superfast Special (03116)

Jaisalmer Howrah Junction Superfast Express (12372)

Haridwar Junction Howrah Junction Special (03016)

Lal Kuan Howrah Junction Express (12354)

Upasana Express (12328)

Doon Express (13010)

Delhi Sealdah Express (13120)

New Jalpaiguri Sealdah Express (02504)

New Delhi Guwahati Superfast Special (02236)

New Delhi Dibrugarh Rajdhani (12236)

Chandigarh Dibrugarh Express (15904)

Jammu Guwahati Express (15654)

Guwahati Express (15635)

Note: Details of the road journey are discussed in the next section.

How to Reach Paro from Lucknow by Road

In order to reach Paro from Lucknow by road, you should first plan a road journey from Lucknow to Kolkata. Since Kolkata is the nearest Indian metropolitan city to Bhutan, this city serves as an ideal hub to continue with your road trip to reach any of the tourist destinations in Bhutan. You can follow this route to complete a road trip between Lucknow-Kolkata: Lucknow – Sultanpur – Allahabad – Varanasi – Kolkata.

Once you reach Kolkata, you can either opt for a bus ride to Bhutan’s capital city Thimphu, or plan another road trip to reach Jaigaon town on the Indo-Bhutan border. If you wish to take a bus ride, you should head towards the Esplanade Bus Stand within the city limits to take an 18 hours’ bus ride to Thimphu. Upon reaching Thimphu, you can board any of the local buses or hire private taxis to reach to traverse another 50km (1.5 hours’ drive) to reach the scenic Paro Valley.

Another amazing option to reach Paro by road would be by embarking on a road trip from Kolkata to Jaigaon, a quaint town located on the Indo-Bhutan border; in Alipurduar district of West Bengal. This roadway journey would cover almost 705km and should require almost 17 hours of driving. Once you reach Jaigaon, you can make your Bhutan entry through the Phuentsholing town. Here onwards, you should drive along the Thimphu-Phuentsholing Highway for another 143km (4 hours) to reach Paro.

Also, if you choose for a flight or train journey to Assam, you can reach Paro from either Bongaigaon or Guwahati. Starting with a road trip form Bongaigaon, you can step into the Bhutanese land via Gelephu point; distance would be 50km (1 hours’ drive). Upon reaching Gelephu, you should continue driving along the Wangdue-Tsirang Highway for another 250km (8 hours’ drive) to reach Paro.

From Guwahati, you should plan your road trip through the Samdrup Jongkhar point, which would be almost 150km (3 hours’ drive) away from Guwahati city. As you reach Samdrup Jongkhar point, you should follow the NH-27; another 459km (10 hours’) drive would take you to the gorgeous valley of Paro in Bhutan.