How to Reach Paro From Mumbai

Do you have a Mumbai-Paro (Bhutan) trip in your mind, but not sure about how to reach Paro from Mumbai? If your answer is ‘yes’, you would find all your answers here; keep reading!

Mumbai, the ‘Film Capital of India’ is a wonderful destination to embark on both national and international trips. Owing to the excellent connectivity of this Indian metropolitan city with other nooks and corners of India, and a plethora of international destinations, visitors find this city as an ideal point to start their trips.

Be it air connectivity, railway network or the mesh of roadways, Mumbai is a befitting point to reach out to any other tourist destinations within or outside India. And while talking about Paro in Bhutan, this city would add some extra amount of fun to your Bhutan trip. Let’s find out how you can reach the scenic Paro Valley in the Land of Thunder Dragons from Mumbai.

Well, if not from any of the Indian airports or destinations, international tourists can also take direct flights to Paro International Airport from Singapore, Dhaka in Bangladesh, and Bangkok in Thailand. Bhutan’s official air carrier: Druk Air, offers regular flights from these destinations flying on a daily basis.

How to Reach Paro from Mumbai by Air

Being one of the busiest metropolitan cities in the world, Mumbai allows visitors to take a flight to almost all the corners of the world. However, this city doesn’t have any direct or connecting flights to Bhutan. Hence, if you are thinking about how to reach Paro from Mumbai by air, you should first fly to some of the other cities or airports in India that offers flights to Paro International Airport in Paro, Bhutan.

If you too are planning for an air journey to the beautiful Paro Valley, you can choose from the below mentioned Indian airports:

Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi

Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport in Kolkata

Bodhgaya Airport in Gaya

Bagdogra Airport in Siliguri (West Bengal)

Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport in Guwahati (Assam)

All these five airports have flights offered by Druk Air and Bhutan Airlines that are the official air carriers of Royal Bhutanese Government. Both the airlines have frequent fights that either flies directly to Paro International Airport or flies via Kathmandu in Nepal.

How to Reach Paro from Mumbai by Train

Bhutan, the Last Himalayan Kingdom doesn’t have any railway connectivity with India. Thus, if you are planning for a train journey to Paro from Mumbai, you need to bring in a small twist to your travel plans!

In order to reach Paro by train, you should board a train from Mumbai to wither West Bengal or Assam. Kolkata, New Jalpaiguri, New Alipurduar, and Hasimara railway stations in West Bengal are some of the nearest Indian railway stations to Bhutan. From any of these railway stations, you can embark on a roadway journey to reach Jaigaon, a small town on the Indo-Bhutan border. Located in Alipurduar district of West Bengal, Jaigaon is located just beside Phuentsholing town of Bhutan.

From Jaigaon, you can step into the Lan fog Thunder Dragons, and finally continue driving along the Thimphu-Phuentsholing Highway to reach Paro. From Phuentsholing, you need to drive around 143km (4 hours’ drive) to reach the magnificent valley of Paro in Bhutan.

In case, you yearn to take a train ride to the Indian state of Assam, you should book your tickets either to Bongaigaon Railway Junction or to Guwahati Railway Station. From Bongaigaon, you can make your entry to Bhutan through the Gelephu entry point, which is around 50km (1 hours’ drive) away from the railway junction. From Gelephu, you should continue driving along the Wangdue-Tsirang Highway, and cover around 250km (8 hours’ drive) to reach your dream destination of Paro.

If you plan to continue your train journey to Guwahati, you can enter the Bhutanese land through Samdrup Jongkhar entry point; around 150km or 3 hours’ drive from Guwahati. From Samdrup Jongkhar, you must continue driving along the NH-27 to reach Paro, which would be around 459km (10 hours’ drive) from Samdrup Jongkhar.

Starting from Mumbai, you can reach West Bengal and Assam via these trains:

Gitanjali Express (12859)

Jnaneswari Delx (12101)

Howrah Superfast Express (12869)

Howrah Mail (12809)

Lokmanyatilak Terminus Kamakhya Special (05611)

Guwahati Express (15645)

Karmabhoomi Express (15611)

Guwahati Express (15647)

Lokmanyatilak Terminus Kamakhya Superfast Special (22519)

Lokmanyatilak Terminus Kamakhya Ac Express (12519)

How to Reach Paro from Mumbai by Road

Road journey are in fact one of the most exciting as well as enthralling ways to reach Paro from Mumbai. And in case, you want to be a part of this amazing experience, you should first plan a road trip from Mumbai to Kolkata. You can complete this road trip by following this route: Bombay – Nashik – Dhulia – Jalgaon – Khamgaon – Akola – Amaravati – Nagpur – Raipur – Sambalpur – Keonjhar – Baharogara – Kharagpur – Kolkata.

Once you reach Kolkata, the ‘City of Joy’, you can wither head directly to Esplanade Bus Stand within the heart of the city or continue with the second leg of your road trip.

From Esplanade Bus Stand, you can board direct buses that plies between Kolkata and Thimphu, Bhutan’s capital city. These buses are run by the Royal Bhutanese Government, and are available on regular basis. Bus journeys usually takes around 18 hours to take you to Thimphu. Once you arrive in Thimphu, you can take the local Bhutanese buses or hire local cabs to reach Paro, which is located around 50km (1.5 hours’) away from the capital city of the Happiest Himalayan Kingdom.

If you are the adventurer type, you can add some more fun and excitement to your road trip by driving from Kolkata to Jaigaon (in Alipurduar district) in West Bengal. This journey will take you almost 17 hours and would cover a total distance of 705km while taking you through a mix of terrains. On this part of your road trip, you will be driving through rugged trails, verdant tea gardens, lush thickets, remote villages, bustling towns, and lot more. On reaching Jaigaon, you should hit the Thimphu-Phuentsholing Highway to cover another 143km (4 hours’ drive) to reach Paro Valley.