How to Reach Thimphu From Surat

Surat, the ‘Diamond City’ of India, is an important economic centre and fastest growing city in the country. Located in the state of Gujarat, this city is mostly known for its wealth, flamboyant skyline, and well-sorted connectivity with the rest of the country.

If you are planning for a trip to Bhutan or its amazing tourist places, Surat could be an ideal spot for you to embark on this trip. As the city offers you a wide range of travel options, you can either fly, take a train ride, or hit the roads from Surat to reach Thimphu in Bhutan.

How to Reach Thimphu from Surat by Air

Paro International Airport is the only international airport in Bhutan. Located strategically amidst towering peaks, only a handful of pilots form some of the designated airports are allowed to fly to this airport. Unfortunately, the Surat International Airport doesn’t offer any direct flights to Paro.

However, you need not to worry as you still can find answers to how to reach Thimphu from Surat by air! Though you cannot fly directly from Surat to Paro, you do have the options to fly to some other Indian airports that have direct as well as connecting flights to Paro.

Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi, Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport in Kolkata, Bodhgaya Airport in Gaya (Bihar), Bagdogra Airport in Siliguri (West Bengal), and Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport in Guwahati (Assam) are some of the Indian airports that has flights operated by Druk Air and Bhutan Airlines.

From Surat, you can book a flight to any of these airports, and then book your Paro flight from these airports. Upon reaching Paro, you can avail the local buses or hire private taxis to reach Thimphu, which is around 51km (1 hours’ drive) away from Paro Valley in Bhutan.

NOTE: For the foreign nationals, they too can fly directly to Paro International Airport from some of the international destinations like Singapore, Dhaka (Bangladesh), Bangkok (Thailand), and Kathmandu (Nepal).

How to Reach Thimphu from Surat by Train

The city of Surat has a remarkable railway connectivity with almost all the corners of India. You can reach this city or travel to it from almost all other major cities and towns in the country. However, as Bhutan doesn’t have any railway connectivity with India, you won’t find any direct trains to travel to Thimphu from Surat.

Thus, you should first book your train tickets from Surat to any of the closest Indian railway stations to Bhutan. In this case, the Kolkata, Siliguri, New Jalpaiguri, New Alipurduar, and Hasimara railway stations in West Bengal would be best options. Upon reaching any of these railway stations, you take a road trip to Jaigaon town, which is located adjacent to Phuentsholing town of Bhutan. Upon reaching Jaigaon, you can continue driving through Thimphu-Phuentsholing Highway to finally reach Thimphu.

How to Reach Thimphu from Surat by Road

It would be tough for you to plan a direct road journey from Surat to Thimphu. To make this trip easier, you should first hit the roads leading to Kolkata as it is the nearest Indian metropolitan city to Bhutan. You should follow this route map to reach Kolkata from Surat: Surat – Kota – Varanasi – Bodh Gaya – Bishnupur – Kolkata.

Following your arrival in Kolkata, you can either take a direct bus plying between Esplanade Bus Stand or embark on another road trip from Kolkata to Jaigaon in West Bengal’s Alipurduar district. The buses form Esplanade Bus Stand are operated by Royal Bhutanese Government, and they take around 18 hours to complete this journey.

For the road trip from Kolkata-Jaigaon, it would cover around 705km (or 17 hours) to complete. As you reach Jaigaon after 17 hours’ drive, you can enter Bhutan through the Phuentsholing town, and continue driving along the Thimphu-Phuentsholing Highway to finally reach Thimphu.

Let’s say you have already booked your flights or train tickets from Surat to Assam. In such scenarios, you can plan a road trip to Thimphu from either Bongaigaon or Guwahati. From Bongaigaon, you can first drive towards Gelephu point, which is located merely 50km away from Bongaigaon. Here onwards, you can drive another 243km (7 hours) to reach Thimphu city.

If planning a road trip from Guwahati, you should first drive towards Samdrup Jongkhar (150km / 3 hours). Upon reaching Samdrup Jongkhar, you can take local Bhutanese buses or hire taxis to reach Thimphu by traversing another 419km (11 hours) by road.