Bhutan Travel Guide | Letsa Atlas

The story

A country that keeps its forests and limits its visitors

Bhutan covers 38,395 km² in the eastern Himalayas, between China’s Tibet Autonomous Region and India. It had about 727,145 residents at the 2022 census. The capital Thimphu holds close to 15 percent of the population.

Forests covered about 71 percent of the land in 2020. The constitution requires the country to keep at least 60 percent of its land under forest, and the forests absorb more CO₂ than the country produces, which makes Bhutan net carbon negative.

Most visitors pay a Sustainable Development Fee of US$100 per day. Indian, Maldivian and Bangladeshi nationals are exempt from that fee, and Indian visitors pay a permit of 1,200 rupees per day instead.

Paro is the only international airport, and the national carrier is Drukair. The national language is Dzongkha, the currency is the ngultrum, pegged to the Indian rupee, and television and the internet were only allowed in 1999.

71%forest cover in 2020

US$100daily Sustainable Development Fee for most visitors

7,570 mGangkhar Puensum, the highest unclimbed mountain

From our Letsa Atlas Short · Watch on YouTube

Practical guide

Plan your Bhutan trip

Check before you go: Rules on fees, permits and how to book have changed in recent years, so check the Department of Tourism before you plan. Our video says per night, but the fee is charged per day.

Getting there

Paro is the only international airport.
Drukair is the national carrier, with flights between Paro and domestic airports.
Elevation ranges from about 200 m in the southern foothills to over 7,000 m in the Himalayas.

The daily fee

Most visitors pay a Sustainable Development Fee of US$100 per day.
Indian, Maldivian and Bangladeshi nationals are exempt, and Indian visitors pay a 1,200 rupee daily permit.
Check the current rules and any rates for children.

Forests and carbon

Forest cover was about 71 percent in 2020.
At least 60 percent of land must stay forested under the constitution.
Bhutan has net negative greenhouse gas emissions.

Happiness, not GDP

Gross National Happiness guided national development.
The GNH commission was dissolved in 2022.
The idea still shapes how the country describes itself.

Language and money

The national language is Dzongkha, and English is the medium of instruction in schools.
The currency is the ngultrum, pegged to the Indian rupee.
Television and the internet were only allowed in 1999.

Mountains

Gangkhar Puensum, at 7,570 m, is the highest unclimbed mountain in the world.
The lowest point is 98 m.
Thimphu is the capital and largest city.

Details come from Wikipedia and Bhutan’s official tourism pages, which may not show the latest fees or rules. We checked on November 1, 2026. Entry rules, fees and prices change, so confirm them with official sources before you reserve.

Where to stay

Bhutan sets its own rules for how visitors book and pay, and they have changed in recent years, so we do not list a Booking.com search here. Check the Department of Tourism pages for the current process, and note that most visitors pay a Sustainable Development Fee of US$100 per day on top of their accommodation.