Bhutan – China Road

Bhutan to Lhasa: How to Travel from Bhutan to Tibet?

High up in the Himalayas, Bhutan and Tibet share a border across the world’s highest mountain range. However, this shared border is not one that can be traveled over. Lying to the south of the Tibet Autonomous Region, Bhutan is one of the smallest countries in the world, and has the second smallest population on the planet. However, this unique Himalayan kingdom is one of the most exclusive places to visit, with a national ideology of Gross National Happiness.

While it is not possible to travel direct between Tibet and Bhutan, it is not very hard to get from one place to the other. Lying on Tibet’s western border, and just a short distance from the western edge of Bhutan, Nepal is the connecting gateway for both of these Himalayan lands.

Entry to Tibet can be done easily from Nepal, either overland across the border at Gyirong Port or by flight from Kathmandu’s Tribhuvan International Airport, the only airport outside China with direct flights to Lhasa. Similarly, Nepal is one of only five countries that has permitted flights to Bhutan, which makes it a very unique country in the Himalayan region.

Insider Tips : Traveling to Bhutan requires that you have a pre-booked tour, in much the same way as traveling to Tibet, except that the cost of the tour is all-inclusive within the Minimum Daily Fee. You will need a valid passport as well as a pre-booked tour to even get a visa for the kingdom, and without the visa, you cannot even book a flight.

Easiest Way to Travel from Bhutan to Lhasa

One of the most popular and easiest ways to get to Tibet from Bhutan is to travel through Nepal, flying from Paro International Airport to Tribhuvan and then changing to fly on the Lhasa Gonggar International Airport, in Shannan Prefecture of Tibet. As one of only five countries that have regular scheduled flights to Bhutan, Nepal is in a unique position when it comes to touring Bhutan and Tibet together. Flights from Paro International Airport, however, are not as busy as other airlines flying to Nepal. There are normally only around three flights per week from Paro to Tribhuvan, which are run by the two Bhutanese carriers, Druk Air and Bhutan Airlines.