Druk Air (KB) (website: www.drukair.com.bt), the national airline of Bhutan, is the only airline serving Bhutan and has two 72-seater planes, plus a new fleet of two 114-seater Airbus 319 planes. It is compulsory for all visitors to Bhutan to travel at least one-way by Druk Air. Owing to the changeable Himalayan weather, travellers may experience delays.
Druk Air operates flights from New Delhi and Kolkata (India), Dhaka (Bangladesh), Bangkok (Thailand) and Khathmandu (Nepal). The airline flies two to five times a week to each of the above destinations. Additional flights are offered during the high seasons (from March to April and from September to October).

Paro (PBH), Bhutan’s only airport, is located in a deep valley, some 2190m (7300ft) above sea level, surrounded by hills and high mountains. Operating conditions are fairly difficult and the approach into Paro airport is entirely by visual flight rules. To/from the airport: Buses and taxis are available to the city centre (travel time – 90 minutes).

BTN300.

The nearest railhead is Siliguri (India).

The road from Bagdogra (West Bengal) enters Bhutan at the border town of Phuentsholing, which is 179km (111 miles) from Thimphu, and borders West Bengal, India. The border crossing at Samdrup Jongkhar in eastern Bhutan has recently opened, allowing tour operators to take travellers across Bhutan on a single-lane road crossing into Assam, India.

Druk Air operates an hour-long scenic mountain flight – the so-called ‘Kingdom of the Sky’ – which offers visitors spectacular views of the mountains, lakes and waterfalls that are part of Bhutan’s beautiful scenery. The plane’s seating capacity is 72, with 32 window seats. However, there are no domestic airline routes within Bhutan.

Traffic drives on the left. The country has a fairly good internal road network with 3100km (1926 miles) of surfaced road. The average speed is less than 40 kph (25 mph). The main routes run north from Phuentsholing to the western and central regions of Paro and Thimphu, and east–west, across the Pele La Pass linking the valleys of the eastern region. The northern regions of the High Himalayas have no roads. Bus: Those services which were formerly Government-owned are now privately run, though yaks, ponies and mules are the chief forms of transportation. The main routes are from Phuentsholing to Thimphu, Thimphu to Bumthang, Bumthang to Tashigang, Tashigang to Samdrup Jongkar and from Tongsa to Gaylegphug. Documentation: An International Driving Permit is required.

The following chart gives approximate travel times (in hours and minutes) from Thimphu to other major towns in the country.

	Road
Paro	1.30
P’sholing	6.00
Punakha	2.30
Bumthang	8.45