How to Reach Paro From Surat

A bustling commercial centre in the Indian state of Gujarat, Surat boasts of its flashy skyline and connectivity with other parts of the country. Known for its world-class diamond trade, this city has an amazing all-round connectivity with other states and some of the busiest international destinations in the world. Even if you consider reaching the scenic Paro Valley in Bhutan, the city of Surat would give you a number of options to plan an exciting trip.

And in case, you are searching for how to reach Paro form Surat by air, train, and road, here is how you can plan this trip and visit the most beautiful valley in Bhutan. Keep reading till the last to know how easily you can traverse from Surat to Paro!

How to Reach Paro from Surat by Air

Since the Paro International Airport in Paro doesn’t have any direct connectivity with Surat International Airport, you may not be able to fly directly from Surat to Paro. However, to find a solution to the question: how to reach Paro from Surat by air, you can take a flight to some of the Indian airports that have direct as well as connecting flights to Paro. These airports are – Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi, Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport in Kolkata, Bodhgaya Airport in Gaya, Bagdogra Airport in Siliguri (West Bengal), and Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport in Guwahati (Assam).

The above-mentioned airports have regular flight connectivity with Surat. Also, as both the official air carriers of Bhutan – Druk Air and Bhutan Airlines have regular connectivity with these airports, you can easily reach Paro from any of them.

A good to know point – international visitors can also fly to Paro International Airport without touching any of the Indian airports. They can book direct flights to Paro from international destinations like Bangkok (Thailand), Kathmandu (Nepal), Singapore, and Dhaka (Bangladesh).

How to Reach Paro from Surat by Train

Though Surat has a very good railway connectivity within the country, Bhutan do not have any railways access with India. Thus, if you won’t be able to enjoy a direct train ride from Surat to Paro. However, you can always take a train ride to West Bengal or Assam in India to enjoy this experience.

Starting from Surat, you can book your train tickets to reach either Kolkata, New Jalpaiguri, Siliguri, New Alipurduar, or Hasimara railway station in West Bengal. From any of these railway stations, you can further take a drive to reach Jaigaon town on the Indo-Bhutan border to make your Bhutan entry through Phuentsholing town. From Phuentsholing, you can drive another 143km (4 hours) along the Thimphu-Phuentsholing Highway to reach Paro.

Taking a train ride to Assam would also help you to reach Paro from Surat by train. In this case, you can either deboard the train at Bongaigaon Railway Station or Guwahati Railway Station, and take a road trip through Gelephu or Samdrup Jongkhar entry points to reach Paro. Details of this journey is discussed in the next segment.

How to Reach Paro from Surat by Road

In order to reach Paro by road, you should first plan a road trip from Surat to Kolkata. Since Kolkata is the nearest Indian metropolitan to Bhutan, the city serves as an ideal pitstop to enjoy road journeys to reach Paro. To complete the journey between Surat-Kolkata, you can follow this route map: Surat – Kota – Varanasi – Bodh Gaya – Bishnupur – Kolkata.

Once in Kolkata, you can either take an 18 hours’ bus journey form Kolkata’s Esplanade Bus Stand reach Bhutan’s capital city Thimphu. From Thimphu, you can either board the local Bhutanese buses or hire private taxis to reach Paro; the distance would be around 50km and should take 1.5 hours to complete.

The other option to reach Paro from Kolkata would be by taking a road trip form Kolkata to Jaigaon (705km / 17 hours) in the Alipurduar district of West Bengal. Located on the India-Bhutan border, this town gives an easy access to enter Bhutan through the Phuentsholing town. As you make your entry to Phuentsholing, you should again take a drive along the Thimphu-Phuentsholing Highway, and drive for another 143km (4 hours’ drive) to finally reach Paro.

In case, you have already flown or have completed a train ride to Assam form Surat, you can either choose Bongaigaon or Guwahati as the base for your road journey to Paro. If you opt for Bongaigaon, you can enter Bhutan through the Gelephu point located around 50km (1 hours’ drive) from Bongaigaon. From Gelephu, you can drive another 250km (8 hours’ drive) through the Wangdue-Tsirang Highway to reach Paro.

If you go with Guwahati, you can enter Bhutan through the Samdrup Jongkhar point, which is located around 150km (3 hours’ drive) away from the city. From Samdrup Jongkhar point, you should embark on another road journey of 459km (10 hours’ drive) along the NH-27 to reach your dream destination of Paro.