Druk Air recently updated airfare rates for their High Season Flight Schedule, in effect for March, April, May, September, October & November. The Bhutanese national carrier retains monopoly on flights to Bhutan and offers discounts for individual travelers as well as group bookings in the off season, the so called Low Season, currently in effect from 15th May – 31st August, 2009.
Bangkok continues to be the most frequented point of access to Paro for North American travelers with flights daily. New Delhi to Paro flights operate generally three-time per week and are favored by European tourists. With the Delhi – Paro customary brief flight stopover in Kathmandu, the sector Kathmandu to Paro offers the best views of the principal chain of the high Himalayas, with Mount Everest massif, Makalu and Kanchenjunga as the highlights if you happen to sit on the left-side of the plane.
Tourist arrivals with pre-booked tours in Bhutan can also access Bhutan on Druk Air flights by boarding in Kolkata and Dhaka. Relatively still new are access flights from Gaya near Patna, India, which Druk Airways created most of all to serve the need of Buddhist pilgrims visiting sites auspicious to Buddhism, including Sarnath, with Gaya being the place where Buddha preached his first sermon and Bodh Gaya, only some 16 km from Gaya, where Buddha attained enlightenment. Boarding flights in Gaya thus constitutes another opportunity for tourists to combine trips to Bhutan with travel to India and visit of greater Ganges region and the ancient cultures and temples of Varanasi, Khajuraho and Gwalior.
Most recent addition to Druk air sectors has been the establishment of flights from/to Bagdogra in West Bengal. These flights offer the Bhutan visiting tourist an option to add a tour extension to visit Darjeeling and Sikkim, and with ample time available to combine their Bhutan journey with a trip to Kathmandu and Nepal.
Click here for the current Druk airfares and Bhutan Travel information.