How to Reach Thimphu From Bangalore

Want to know how to reach Thimphu from Bangalore? Here is a detailed guide to how you can reach Bhutan’s capital city Thimphu from Bangalore – the IT Capital of India.

Famed as the ‘Garden City of India’, Bangalore or ‘Bengaluru’ is a major tourist hub in the southern part of India. Be it the pleasant climate or the ample of tourism options, this city boasts of being one of the hotspots among the globetrotters. This city is in fact listed as one of such cities that has the highest number of weekend vacationers, road trippers, bikers, and locals going for international tours.

Be it the Middle East or the European destinations, Asian tourism spots to anywhere in the world, you would always find a number of options while in Bangalore. And while talking about the holiday destinations in Bhutan – the Land of Thunder Dragons, this garden city offers excellent tourism options too. Let’s see how you can reach Thimphu in Bhutan from Bangalore by air, train and road this season.

How to Reach Thimphu from Bangalore by Air

The Kempegowda International Airport in Bangalore is one of the busiest airports in India. You can probably reach out to any destinations; both national and international, from this airport. But unfortunately, this airport doesn’t have any flight connectivity with Bhutan.

If you are in Bangalore, and still wish to take a flight from Bhutan, you won’t be able to fly directly, but can plan a break journey via some of the designated Indian airports that have direct flights to Paro International Airport in Bhutan. The Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi, Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport in Kolkata, Bodhgaya Airport in Gaya (Bihar), Bagdogra Airport in Siliguri (West Bengal), and Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport in Guwahati (Assam) are some of the airports that have regular flight connectivity with Paro.

From Bangalore, you can fly to these airports, and later take another flight from there to reach Paro International Airport as it is the only international airport in Bhutan. Upon arrival at the airport, you can take a drive to Thimphu via roadways.

For foreign nationals, they can fly directly to Paro from several other international destinations. Dhaka in Bangladesh, Bangkok in Thailand, Kathmandu in Nepal, and Singapore also have direct flight connectivity with Paro International Airport.

How to Reach Thimphu from Bangalore by Train

Bangalore has a well-laid railway connectivity with the rest of the country. However, since Bhutan doesn’t have any railway connectivity with any of the foreign destinations, you won’t be able to enjoy a train journey from Bangalore to Thimphu.

Well, this doesn’t mean that you cannot enjoy a train journey while travelling to Thimphu! From Bangalore, you can always book train tickets to either West Bengal and Assam, which are the two closest Indian states to Bhutan, and take a quick road journey from either of these states to reach Thimphu.

If you wish to enjoy your train ride till West Bengal, you should book your tickets to either Kolkata, New Jalpaiguri, New Alipurduar, Siliguri, or Hasimara. From these railway stations, you can further take a road journey via Jaigaon; a small Indian town on the Indo-Bhutan border, and drive to Thimphu via Phuentsholing.

If you book your train tickets till Assam, you should deboard the train either at Bongaigaon Railway Junction or Guwahati Railway Station. If your tickets are till Bongaigaon, you can embark on a road journey to Gelephu to enter Bhutan, and finally reach Thimphu. And from Guwahati, you can enter Bhutan through Samdrup Jongkhar point to reach Thimphu by road.

Here are some of the best train to reach Assam and West Bengal from Bangalore:

Yesvantpur Junction Howrah Junction Premium (02864)

Anga Express (12253)

Guwahati Express (12509)

Yesvantpur Junction Dibrugarh Express (05901)

Dibrugarh Express (15901)

Muzaffarpur Express (15227)

Duronto Express (12246)

Mysore Junction Howrah Express (22818)

How to Reach Thimphu from Bangalore by Road

Kolkata would serve as the best city for a road trip from Bangalore to Thimphu. And to plan this trip, you should first plan a Bangalore-Kolkata road trip by following either of these two routes:

Route 01 (1875 km): Bangalore – Tirupathi – Nellore – Vijaywada – Vishakapatnam – Bhubaneshwar – Kolkata

Route 02 (2060 km): Bangalore – Kurnool – Hyderabad – Vijaywada – Vishakapatnam – Bhubaneshwar – Kolkata

Upon reaching Kolkata, you can either take a direct bus ride to Thimphu form Esplanade Bus Stand, or plan another road trip to Jaigaon in Alipurduar district of West Bengal. Royal Bhutanese Government has buses plying between Kolkata and Thimphu; these buses take around 18 hours to complete this journey.

For a road trip from Kolkata-Jaigaon, it will take you around 17 hours to cover a total distance of 705km. Upon reaching Jaigaon, you can enter Bhutan through Phuentsholing town, and follow the Thimphu-Phuentsholing Highway to finally reach Thimphu, which is almost 147km (4 hours’ drive) away from Phuentsholing.

You can also fly from Bangalore to Assam, and later plan a road trip to reach Thimphu. Bongaigaon town and Guwahati city are the two best places to embark on a road trip to reach Thimphu. From Bongaigaon, you should drive only 50km (1 hours) to reach Gelephu, which is around 243km (7 hours’ drive) away from Thimphu.

On the other hand, from Guwahati, you should enter Bhutan through Samdrup Jongkhar point. The drive will cover 150km (3 hours’ drive), and on arrival at Samdrup Jongkhar, you should traverse another 419km (11 hours) to reach Thimphu.