Identity card
Formalities
There are no direct flights from Paris to Bhutan. You must therefore travel via Singapore, Bangkok or India. In this case, a transit visa for India is required. For Bhutan, the agency can take care of all the formalities and pay the relatively high fee. This is because the country practises what is known as selective tourism. A minimum of 250 US $ per day is required for an all-inclusive visa, which includes accommodation, meals, transport and visits.
Area code
+975, followed by the number.
Currency
Ngultrum (BTN). 1 E = 74 BTN (September 2015).
Best seasons
Spring and autumn. In winter, however, the sky is blue and the temperatures very acceptable, even allowing for the altitude. And summer, when the sun plays hide-and-seek with the clouds and the monsoon rains fall heavily, is the favourite time of year for some travellers because of the romanticism it exudes.
Group size
Bhutan is a very upmarket destination, so it's reserved for exclusive corporate groups, ideally of around ten participants.
How to get there
Jet Airways links Paris to Calcutta via Mumbai, with two daily flights, including one night flight, in code-share with Air France. The international section (Paris-Mumbai) is operated on A 330s in two classes, economy and business. In business, the seats recline 180°, which is particularly pleasant for night flights. The meals, which are served at the seat rather than on a tray, are created by two-starred chef Yves Mattagne. Then, from Calcutta, the Bhutanese company Drukair will take you to Paro international airport, 45 minutes from Thimphu, the capital of Bhutan. The flight takes just over an hour on the A 319. The flight, which is particularly unforgettable on arrival, is undoubtedly one of the most spectacular in the world. The crew are specially trained for this. For connections with Paris, note that Drukair also flies to Mumbai, Delhi, Singapore and Bangkok.
Jet Airways : Tel : 01 49 52 41 15 - Email : paris@jetairways.com - Internet : www.jetairways.com - Drukair: Tel: +975 8 271856 - Email: enquiry@drukair.com.bt - Internet : www.drukair.com.bt
Paro
Hotels
Uma by Como Paro
Hidden in the forest, the hotel is perched on a mountain overlooking the town of Paro and its sublime valley. Its strength lies in its location, so far from everything yet so close to the city and its international airport. In the image of this pocket-sized hub, the Uma Paro is built on the model of a small dzong, with cascading roofs, a stylish front door and an inner courtyard where dance performances are given, which are very popular in Bhutan. Another highlight is the gigantic size of its suites and villas! The rest of the decor is contemporary, with tasteful local touches here and there. The restaurant, which combines Bhutanese and international cuisine, is truly excellent. As well as an indoor swimming pool, the Uma Paro has a spa and offers introductory courses in yoga and meditation. Nine villas and 20 rooms and suites.
P.O. Box 222, Paro - Tel : +975 8 271 597 - Email : res.uma.bhutan@comohotels.com - Internet: www.comohotels.com/uma/bhutan
Amankora Paro
This is an Aman Resort hotel. In other words, it's a signature, a guarantee of luxury elegantly offered in a chic way; it's also an assurance that you'll be rubbing shoulders with a discreet clientele, very well behaved you might say. Amankora Paro is no exception to the rule, offering 24 suites in various bungalows scattered around a wooded park. The 24 rooms, with their remarkably refined design, surround a central unit housing a library, bar, lounge and restaurants, as well as an equally sophisticated spa. The whole is inspired by the Bhutanese style, with high walls mostly made of dry stone. In the evening, as an extension of the terrace, large fires are lit to sparkle into the night. The service is, of course, just as good: discreet, charming and particularly efficient. For corporate groups who still feel brave enough to tackle the world of business, Amankora Paro offers a meeting room for 25 people, equipped with the latest technology. The hotel, in the heart of the Paro valley and just 30 minutes from the airport, also offers a host of cultural excursions. From a tour of the capital to the discovery of neighbouring villages, from lectures on the mysteries of Buddhism to archery exercises. Just to name a few.
Near Kuenga Chhoeling Palace, Upper Notithang. PO Box 831. Thimphu - Tel : +975 8 272 333 - Email : amankora@amanresorts.com - Internet : www.amankora.com
Thimphu
Hotel
Taj Tashi
This is not a hotel, this is a dzong. An imposing fortress castle recently built in the local style. Everything is there: the high walls, the corbelled bow-windows, the pagoda roofs... But inside, even if the Bhutanese aesthetic serves as a common thread, it's a completely different story that's being told; it's the story of the 21st century, with its taste for purity, for detail, but with enough emphasis to capture the spirit of a country in its own right. A box with a patina here, ornate screens there, a set of large bells hanging in the lobby, and that's all there is to it. As for the rest, the Taj Tashi perfectly meets the requirements of contemporary luxury tourism. 66 vast rooms and suites, lounges and restaurants, indoor swimming pool, Jiva spa, conference rooms... A real bonus: the lobby and some suites display the excellent paintings of Bhutan's most famous artist, Asha Karma.
P.O. Box 524, Samten Lam, Chubachu. Thimphu - Tel : + 975 2 33 66 99 Email : tajtashi.thimphu@tajhotels.com - Internet : www.tajhotels.com
Restaurant
Chh'A Bistrot & Bar
Just outside the town, which doesn't have that many restaurants, it's the place to be for the golden youth, with an indoor dining room and, above all, a terrace under the festive lanterns. Apart from the big hotels, this is something very rare in Bhutan. Local, Indian and Italian specialities. It's also an opportunity to rub shoulders with the locals.
ChangZamtok. Below Tsendenshing. Thimphu - Tel : + 975 2 330 055 Email : dawa9dorji@yahoo.com
Punakha
Hotels
Uma by Como Punakha
Never before have rooms been so deserving of the label 'with a view'. Oh, the view. It's breathtaking from the moment you open the bedroom door, facing a wall of glass. Behind it, the valley, green mountains and, in the background, a river. To better appreciate this setting, the design of the room is very sober, made of blond Scandinavian wood. The rest of the hotel, a country boutique lost in nature, is in the same vein: straight lines, squared volumes, soothing colours. It's very contemporary, almost urban. Eight rooms and two villas. Restaurant serving refined international cuisine as well as a Bhutanese menu adapted to Western palates. An extraordinary spa on the outskirts.
Botokha Kabesa. Punakha - Tel: +975 2 584 688 -
Email : res.uma.bhutan@comohotels.com - Internet : www.comohotels.com/uma/bhutan
Amankora Punakha
Once a farmhouse, it is now one of the most chic boutique hotels in Bhutan. But it's real chic, with attentive and discreet service, 24 hours a day of course; with private areas where you can feel alone in the world; with a restaurant offering a very refined menu under the leadership of a young Argentinian chef; with a terrace occupying the old courtyard and overlooking subtropical vegetation; with a tea room set up in the old kitchens, and with a small spa offering traditional baths. The rooms? There are eight large suites spread out away from the central unit. They are all identical, clad from floor to ceiling in restful brown wood and minimally decorated. This gives them a Zen atmosphere. The hotel offers a wide range of activities: a market with the chef followed by cookery classes, hiking, mountain biking, rafting, archery... Habisa.
P.O. Box 333. Punakha. Tel: + 975 2 584 222 - Email: amankora@amanresorts.com Internet : www.amankora.com
Restaurant
Chimi Lhakhang Cafeteria
On the way to the temple of Chimey Lhakhang, a pornographic yogi who was reputed to cure women of sterility, we stop off in the small village below. As a reference to the yogi, the houses have gigantic phalluses on their walls to ward off evil spirits. We'll then have lunch in this cafeteria overlooking the rice paddies. A buffet of Bhutanese specialities, in other words ema datsi, the national dish, chillies, potatoes, cheese and rice... And it's only at the end of the meal, after a local Druk beer, that you realise that your table is next to a wooden sculpture of... a phallus! We don't know if this protects against evil spirits, but it's very funny.
Lobesa, Punakha - Tel: + 975 1 76 30 609 - Email : dorjicoh@yahoo.com
Phobjikha
Hotel
Gangtey Goenpa Lodge
First, there's the lobby-loungerestaurant. Dark colours, refined decor and glass walls overlooking a wide passageway and, beyond, an immense valley where black-necked cranes frolic in season. Long vantage points are available for observation. The hotel also overlooks the very active Gangtey monastery, a marvel perched high on a hill. No doubt it was the deeply mystical spirit of the region that inspired the lodge's architect. Almost obscure, the long corridor leading to the dozen rooms is almost reminiscent of a monastery. The very spacious rooms are elegantly decorated in the vernacular style. A real delight.
Wangduc, Phodrang - Tel: +975 1 716 0666 - Email : gm@gglbhutan.com
Agency and incoming
New Horizons
Rue de Médran 6. Case Postale 196, 1936 Verbier. Switzerland. Phone: +41 27 761 71 71/73
Email : nj@horizonsnouveaux.com Internet : www.horizonsnouveaux.com
Practical guides
Lonely Planet (in English), Petit Fûté (Nepal, Bhutan).
