Bhutan Travel Guide
Health, Altitude and Safety in Bhutan
How high the places you visit are, how to avoid altitude sickness and how to recognise it, and how safe Bhutan is for visitors.
This page is general information, not medical advice. If you have a heart or lung condition, are pregnant, or are travelling with a very young child, speak to your doctor before you book.
How high you will be
| Place | Height |
|---|---|
| Punakha | 1,242 m |
| Paro | About 2,250 m |
| Thimphu | 2,334 m |
| Bumthang (Jakar) | About 2,600 m |
| Phobjikha | About 3,000 m |
| Dochu La, the pass to Punakha | 3,100 m |
| Taktsang, the Tiger's Nest | 3,120 m |
| Chele La, the pass to Haa | 3,988 m |
On a cultural tour you sleep between 1,200 and 3,000 m, and cross the high passes by road without stopping long. Most people notice the height only as shortness of breath on stairs for the first day or two.
Altitude sickness
Altitude sickness usually begins above about 2,500 m. Symptoms tend to appear six to ten hours after you arrive at height: a headache, loss of appetite, feeling or being sick, tiredness, dizziness and poor sleep.
What helps:
- Go up slowly, and spend a few days below 2,500 m before going higher.
- Above 3,000 m, do not sleep more than 500 m higher than the night before, and take a rest day every three or four days.
- Drink plenty of water.
- Leave alcohol alone while you are climbing.
Our itineraries are arranged on these lines. Tours begin in Paro or Thimphu and keep the Tiger's Nest for the end. Treks start with two or three nights in the valleys, and the high ones have rest days built in.
When it is serious
If you have symptoms, tell your guide, rest, and do not go any higher until they have gone. If they get worse, go down. Tell your guide at once about confusion, clumsiness or loss of balance, breathlessness while resting, a cough that brings up frothy spit, or lips that turn blue. These are signs of an emergency, and mean descending immediately and getting medical help.
On a trek, your guide decides when someone must go down, and that decision is not open to argument.
Before you travel
- See your doctor or a travel clinic some weeks ahead, about vaccinations and about altitude if you are trekking.
- Bring enough of any medicine you take, in its original packaging.
- Take out travel insurance. It has not been compulsory since 23 April 2024, but it is strongly recommended. For a trek, check that it covers the height you will reach and rescue by helicopter.
While you are there
- Drink bottled or boiled water.
- The sun is strong at altitude. Use sunscreen and wear a hat.
- The roads wind without rest. If you suffer from travel sickness, bring what you usually take, and ask the driver to stop whenever you need.
Is Bhutan safe?
The Department of Tourism describes Bhutan as "a very safe place to visit", with very little crime. The risks worth knowing about are of other kinds:
- Stray dogs. They are not pets. Do not feed or stroke them, and keep children away from them.
- The monsoon. From June to September, heavy rain can cause floods and landslides, and can close a road for some hours.
- The mountains. Never go into wild country without an accredited guide.
Emergency numbers
| Service | Number |
|---|---|
| Ambulance | 112 |
| Police | 113 |
| Fire | 110 |
| Department of Tourism help line | +975 17661974 |
Questions
Is altitude a problem in Bhutan?
On a cultural tour, rarely. Paro and Thimphu are at 2,200 to 2,350 m, where most visitors notice only shortness of breath on stairs for a day or two. The road passes are higher, at 3,100 to almost 4,000 m, but you cross them by vehicle and do not stay.
Treks are different. Camps on the Druk Path are above 3,500 m and the northern treks cross passes near 5,000 m. Our trek itineraries build in days to adjust, and your guide will take you down if you show signs of altitude sickness. If you have a heart or lung condition, speak to your doctor before booking any trip to Bhutan.
Do I need travel insurance?
It has not been compulsory since 23 April 2024, but the Department of Tourism strongly recommends it and so do we. Make sure it covers medical treatment and evacuation.
For a trek, check that the policy covers the altitude you will reach and rescue by helicopter.
How hard is the walk to the Tiger’s Nest?
It is a steady uphill walk on a wide path, not a climb, and most people in ordinary health manage it. Allow four to five hours there and back. The monastery is at about 3,120 m, so you will feel the altitude; go slowly and drink plenty of water.
That is why our itineraries keep it for the end, after several days in the country. A teahouse halfway makes a good turning point for anyone who would rather not go on. See hiking to the Tiger's Nest.
Tell us how you like to travel
A few lines are enough: when, how long, and what draws you to Bhutan. We answer with a suggested route and what it would cost.
We reply ["within 24 hours"].