19-05-2025
Bhutan is known for its festivals and hiking. Here's how to plan a trip around both.
Considered by some to be the real-life location of the elusive Shangri La, Bhutan is a small Himalayan enclave that also happens to be the last remaining Buddhist Kingdom in the world. Here, there are many more Buddhist temples and monasteries than days of the year, and just about as many festivals.
Add in rolling hills, dense forests, and countless never-to-be-named mountains in areas so remote that it takes a week's worth of hiking to reach the nearest village, and you have yourself a culture-loving trekker's dream. From two-mile treks up to hilltop temples and sacred sites to the newly established 250-mile Trans Bhutan Trail, Bhutan has routes for all skill levels.
Freshly opened to tourism in 1974, Bhutan has a number of regulations in place for visiting. And, having watched neighboring countries like India and Nepal face significant overcrowding and pollution problems as a result of rapid commercialization, Bhutan decided to take a different approach.
Intent on preserving its culture and pristine natural habitat, Bhutan requires guides and federal workers to wear traditional dress while on duty; it requires three trees to be planted for every one cut down; and its constitution sets aside 64 percent of land as permanent forest.
To prevent overcrowding, Bhutan also introduced one of the highest tourist taxes in the world. Dubbed the Sustainable Development Fee (SDF), this $100/day charge is required to obtain a visa, and it is in addition to the accommodations, airfare, activities, guides, and other trip costs.
(Our ancestors walked these trails hundreds of years ago. Now you can too.)
Each festival has its own focus: Increasing prosperity, improving health and wellbeing, or warding off evil spirits. They also, particularly in remote regions, provide a rare opportunity for locals to socialize with extended family and friends they rarely see otherwise. Celebrations often last three-to-five days and many locals attend every day to be blessed by the dances.
Filled with elaborate costumes and intricate performances, these festivals welcome dozens of masked dancers representing demons, spirits, animals, and deities that perform for three or four hours at a time. Most attendees sit on the ground (often outdoors in the sun), but some bring mats and small stools to pass the time more comfortably.
For the past 25 years, Kinley Gyeltshen has been leading hiking, heritage, camping, and festival tours for Wilderness Travel, one of Bhutan's first international tour operators. According to him, festivals are a fun addition to a trip, but shouldn't be the focus. Instead, he suggests travelers spend about half-a-day at a festival and spend the rest of the time exploring other aspects of the country and culture.
Gyeltshen also encourages travelers to consider smaller, lesser-known festivals. 'Not only will there be fewer tourists, but you'll have a better chance to really get a feel for the people and be able to interact with locals on a personal level,' he says.
There's no bad time to go to Bhutan. In fact, numerous festivals take place every month across the country, and there are excellent hikes available year-round. When planning your trip, consider that most festivals follow the lunar calendar, so the dates are not fixed. Here's a breakdown of what to expect each season.
November – January
The weather is cooler and potentially snowy during these months, but Gyeltshen says the hiking is good and skies tend to be clear. 'It's the best time for photography, particularly if you want clear pictures of bright blue skies and snow-capped mountains,' he says.
Winter is also the best time to witness the 700 black neck cranes that roost in the Phobjikha Valley ('Crane Valley'). The Black Neck Crane Festival is held in November, when the cranes begin arriving, but Gyeltshen suggests visiting in December or January to witness the largest numbers. Aside from the Black Neck Crane Festival in central Bhutan, all other winter festivals are in the far east, requiring several days of driving or a likely-to-be-canceled domestic flight.
February – March
Late winter and early spring offer cool but pleasant weather and you still have a chance to spot black neck cranes in Phobjikha. The landscape is still fairly brown (and you may experience light snow in some areas), but the hiking trails, festivals, and attractions are much less crowded. The Punakha Festival is an excellent choice, as it is lively, easy to get to, and a short drive from many other attractions.
(Related: A photo journey into the remote communities of eastern Bhutan)
April – May
Though the black neck cranes have returned to Tibet, Gyeltshen says late spring is the best time for birdwatchers who want to see the large number of migrating river birds returning to Bhutan from northern India. The weather is warm and pleasant, valleys are bursting with wildflowers, and hikers can enjoy less snowy and muddy trails. The Paro Tshechu Festival is a popular festival that is very easy to get to because it's held near the airport that virtually all travelers arrive through. The drawback of visiting in late spring is that trails, attractions, and festivals are much more crowded.
June – August
Summer monsoons have become less intense in recent years, but these months remain the wettest. Hiking is certainly an option, but you'll face a much greater chance of encountering sloppy, muddy trails. Gyeltshen notes that the upside is that in summer, flowers are brilliant and bountiful, including the national flower, the high alpine blue poppy, and the critically endangered pink poppy. Sonam Dorji, a tour guide with MyBhutan, adds that summer festivals are plentiful, they go on rain or shine, and that the country is less crowded because of the higher chance of rain.
September – October
Though summer monsoons can extend into September, the weather tends to be pleasant. According to Dorji, September is the best month to tackle long treks like the 216-mile Snowman Trek (which he's done three times). Thought to be the hardest trek in the world, this harsh Himalayan hike typically takes 24-30 days to complete, includes several passes over 17,000 feet, and requires wilderness camping every night.
Because October is less prone to rain and has so many easy-to-reach festivals (like Thimphu and Jakar), October is a bit more crowded than September. If visiting in October, Gyeltshen suggests also considering the Highland Festival. Held each October 23-25, this high-elevation festival attracts few foreigners since it takes place in the remote highland town of Laya, a two-hour trek from the nearest road.
(Related: See the relentless beauty of Bhutan—a kingdom that takes happiness seriously)
Cassandra Brooklyn is a New York City-based travel writer who specializes in sustainability, accessibility and the outdoors. She is a former international tour leader with EscapingNY and is the author of the guidebook Cuba by Bike.
