The Best Time to Visit Bhutan

There is no bad month to visit Bhutan, only months that suit different things. Spring and autumn have the gentlest weather and the big festivals, and are the busiest. Winter is cold, dry and clear. Summer is the monsoon, when the country is green and quiet.

Season	Months	Weather	Good for
Spring	March to May	Dry at first, with showers from mid-April	Rhododendrons, trekking, the Paro Tshechu
Summer	June to August	The monsoon: warm, wet and often cloudy	Green valleys and few visitors
Autumn	September to November	Bright and sunny once the rain ends	Mountain views, trekking, the Thimphu Tshechu
Winter	December to February	Crisp, clear and sunny, with frost at night	Clear skies, cranes in Phobjikha, the Punakha festivals

Spring: March to May

Spring begins dry. From mid-April there are occasional showers, which become more frequent as the monsoon approaches. The hillsides are in flower, and this is the first of the two trekking seasons.

The Paro Tshechu, the best known of Bhutan's festivals, falls in spring; in 2027 it is listed for 18 to 22 March. It is also the busiest time of the year in Paro, so book early.

Summer: June to August

The monsoon arrives in late June or July and lasts until late September. The south of the country takes the heaviest rain. In Thimphu, July is the wettest month, with about 150 mm on average.

It does not rain all day. But cloud often hides the mountains, the high treks are out of season, and a landslide can close a road for a time. In return the valleys are at their greenest and you will have the dzongs almost to yourself.

Autumn: September to November

The rain ends in late September, and from then until late November the days are bright and sunny, with the first snow on the high ground. This is the best season for mountain views and the main season for trekking.

The Thimphu Tshechu is in early autumn, listed for 10 to 12 October in 2027. November brings the Jambay Lhakhang Drup in Bumthang and, on the 11th, the Black-Necked Crane Festival in Phobjikha.

Winter: December to February

Winter is crisp, clear and sunny, with frost at night and snow common above 3,000 m. In Thimphu an average January day reaches about 15°C and the night falls to about minus 2°C. Punakha, more than 1,000 m lower, is mild.

Snow sometimes closes a high pass on the road east for a day, and the high treks are out of season. But the skies are at their clearest, the black-necked cranes are in Phobjikha, and Punakha holds its two festivals in February: in 2027, the Drubchen on 13 to 15 February and the Tshechu on 16 to 18 February.

Thimphu, month by month

Average figures for the capital, at about 2,300 m, for the years 1996 to 2017.

Month	Day	Night	Rain
January	15°C	-2°C	6 mm
February	17°C	0°C	9 mm
March	19°C	4°C	20 mm
April	22°C	8°C	30 mm
May	25°C	12°C	50 mm
June	27°C	15°C	98 mm
July	27°C	17°C	153 mm
August	27°C	16°C	121 mm
September	26°C	15°C	74 mm
October	24°C	9°C	43 mm
November	20°C	3°C	1 mm
December	17°C	-1°C	4 mm

Height changes everything. Paro is much like Thimphu. Punakha, at 1,242 m, is several degrees warmer all year. Bumthang, at about 2,600 m, and Phobjikha, at about 3,000 m, are colder, and in winter they are cold by any standard.

By what you want to do

• Trekking: March to May and September to November. The Bumdra trek has a longer season, and the Snowman a much shorter one.
• Festivals: all year, with the largest in spring and autumn. See festivals and dates.
• Black-necked cranes: about November to March, in Phobjikha.
• Mountain views: October to December, and the early mornings of any clear day.
• Fewer visitors: June to August, and December to February outside the festivals.