destination guide: bhutan

✈️ gross national happiness? yes please

Hello friend and kuzuzangpo la! Greetings from Punakha, Bhutan.

Maman and I just landed in the kingdom yesterday. It was quite the trek over:

• LAX > Singapore (18 hour flight)

• Singapore > Bangkok (2 hour flight)

• Bangkok > Paro (4.5 hour flight featuring a 45-minute pit stop in India)

We’re a bit wiped from the journey but are absolutely stoked to be here.

Read on for more deets on this magical country.

clockwise from top: traditional bhutanese boots, the takin (national animal which is a mix between a goat and cow), the Punakha Dzong archway, Punakha Dzong lit at night, Maman & I hiking, Tiger's Nest + moi

where

Bhutan is a Buddhist kingdom in the Eastern Himalayas, bordered by China and India. The population is just under 800,000.

This is the very first country to measure its national progress using the Gross National Happiness (GNH) index in lieu of the standard, capitalistic measure of gross domestic product (GDP).

This concept was coined by the country’s fourth king, Jigme Singye Wangchuck, who said that happiness is a greater indicator of a country’s success than the traditional index of economic output. Hear hear!

when

The best times to visit are in the spring or the fall. Spring is beautiful as the countryside is in bloom. Fall is lovely as the weather is usually bright and clear, giving you a prime view of the Himalayas.

how to get there

This isn’t a country you randomly decide to pop into. Preparations must be made. Visas must be secured.

Bhutan is a small country with only one international airport in Paro. You can fly in via Bangkok, Singapore, Dhaka, Kathmandu, or New Delhi. As of last month there’s a new direct flight from Dubai too.

We chose to fly in via BKK so we could slurp some tom kha gai en route. (Maman has never been to Thailand and wanted to stop over for a little tour of Bangkok.)

existing within the context

If you’re visiting Bhutan from the U.S. or Europe, you have no choice but to make it a multi-destination itinerary given the inbound flight options.

Choose your adventure: you can pair your trip with a few days in Thailand, Singapore, Bangladesh, Nepal, India, or Dubai. What you choose depends on your aspirational vibe, as well as how much time you have.

itinerary