Mountains of Bhutan
After a dramatic multi-day journey, visitors will finally be able to go to one of the most difficult to reach destinations in the world, the last Buddhist kingdom and one of the wildest places on the planet. But it won’t be cheap.
On a warm morning early this year, the king of BhutanJigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck, headed to a clearing, in the middle of the jungle, in the city of Gelephu, near the border with India.
Alongside 12,000 volunteers, he cut down palm trees and cleared vegetation to help make way for a new airport which promises to change the way tourists visit this remote kingdom.
Scheduled to open in 2029, Gelephu International Airport has already received the award at the 2025 World Architecture Festival. Its wooden terminal, with a lace structure, will be built with Bhutanese wood, designed to naturally regulate humidity and evoke the mountainous landscapes over which it rises. The space will also have areas for gong bathing, yoga and meditation.
But, with a planned capacity for 123 flights per daythe airport’s main objective is to serve as a gateway to the ambitious Gelephu Mindfulness City, a project that aims to transform the country and make it much more accessible to foreign tourists one of the most difficult destinations to reach in the world.
A remote, exclusive, controlled and luxurious kingdom
Hidden among the mountainous valleys of the highest mountain range on the planet, the last buddhist kingdom in the world spent much of its history practically isolated.
For centuries, the country remained closed to the outside world and only started allowing tourists to enter in 1974, when it adopted the “High Value, Low Volume” policy, created to protect its cultural heritage and avoid the effects of excessive tourism.
Until the pandemic, most foreign tourists were required to book their trip through a tour operator licensed in Bhutan and pay a minimum daily rate of between US$200 and US$250 per day, an amount that included accommodation, food, guide, internal transport and the country’s sustainable development fee.
Since 2022, the single fare system has been replaced by a Sustainable Development Fee of $100 per adult per night, while remaining travel costs are now arranged separately.
Even with the new airport, Bhutan is determined to maintain its unique model of controlled, high-value tourism.
A dramatic journey
As a result, Bhutan has historically built a reputation as a remote and exclusive destination — and getting there has always been part of its allure.
Paro, in western Bhutan, is the country’s only international airport. But as it is served by just two airlines — Drukair and Bhutan Airlines — and typically receives around eight flights a day, tourists from North America and Europe often pass through several days on the roadwith stops in cities such as Bangkok, Kathmandu and Delhi.
Tickets aren’t cheap either: round-trip flights from these hubs can cost more than 890 pounds, or $1,200. And arriving in Paro is, in itself, a dramatic experience.
Located at 2243 meters altitude and surrounded by mountains that reach 5500 meters, Paro airport is considered one of the most challenging in the world.
Because it is in a narrow, winding mountain valley, landings and takeoffs require several sharp turns, forcing pilots to make the entire approach visually, without radar support or computerized systems.
Fewer than 50 pilots worldwide are qualified to land there, and the airport received just 88,546 visitors in 2025.
Most tourists who disembark in Paro follow a well-known route through Thimphu, the Punakha Valley, the Phobjikha Valley and Bumthang, all of which have five-star luxury hotels.
Visitors to the country rarely explore the biodiversity of southern Bhutan. The new airport is expected to open up this wilder, less-visited region to a new generation of spiritually-seeking tourists, as well as serving Gelephu Mindfulness City — a special administrative region that King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck hopes will welcome one million Bhutanese and foreign residents by 2060.
Gelephu is also expected to gain a 69-kilometer rail link to Assam, India, helping to create the first railway in the country’s history.
A new way to get to know Bhutan
The idea of transforming Gelephu into a major economic and tourist center was conceived by the king Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck more than a decade ago, but Covid-19 ended up acting as a catalyst for the project.
During the pandemic, the country practically closed its doors until September 2022, which caused the tourism industry to decline and worsened the exodus of young people that was already underway.
By developing an independent city within the kingdom, combining favorable incentives for international companies with a commitment to sustainability and spirituality, the country — famous for its Gross National Happiness — hopes that the new city will not only generate jobs and attract investors, but also take tourists beyond the traditional circuit of western Bhutan, boosting the country’s less visited south.
“Gelephu Mindfulness City will create many employment and investment opportunities,” said Lotay Tshering, who led the Government of Bhutan during the pandemic and is now governor of the city, in an interview with BBC Travel. “But we need flights coming… we need passengers.”
When completed, the new airport is expected to become the country’s main aviation hub. “Our vision is for Gelephu to act as a stopover for foreign tourists,” said Tshering Dolkar. “Instead of connecting through Hong Kong or Bangkok, tourists can choose to pass through Gelephu and stay for a few days on a jungle safari or meditation retreat.”
Wildlife, trails, family accommodation
The Bhutan that tourists will find in Gelephu is far from the monastery-covered cliffs or wind-blown prayer flags that made the kingdom famous. The landscape there is lush, fragrant and subtropical — with cardamom plantations and orange groves, agricultural areas crossed by rivers, palm trees and hot springs frequented by Bhutanese for generations.
Gelephu is surrounded by two national parks, including the Royal Manas National Park — the first in the country — where tourists will soon be able to see elephants, tigers, rhinos, leopards and more than 360 species of birds up close. Among them is the white-bellied heron, a critically endangered species, half of whose global population lives in Bhutan.
“Southern Bhutan, where mountains give way to jungle, is a hidden sanctuary for nature,” said Matthew DeSantis, founder of Thimphu-based luxury tour operator MyBhutan. “The south has become a refuge for endangered species. one of the wildest places on the planet.”
As with most of Bhutan’s projects, the country is developing Gelephu’s tourism infrastructure with a focus on spirituality. Buddhist masters have been invited to submit proposals for retreat centers and temples to be built in Gelephu Mindfulness City.
At the same time, Bhutan’s central monastic body proposed the construction of a dzong — typical monastic and administrative fortress of the country — with accommodation for guests and spaces dedicated to dance and sacred Buddhist studies.
Authorities also hope that the new airport will attract trekkers. The recently announced Lotus-Born Trail, a 168-kilometer trail scheduled to open in 2028 near Gelephu, will connect subtropical southern Bhutan with the country’s spiritual heart.
Starting from low-altitude forests inhabited by golden langurs and Indian rhinos, the eight-day route climbs almost 3,500 meters, passes through rhododendron forests until reaching the alpine ridges of central Bhutan and follows in the footsteps of Guru Rinpoche, responsible for bringing Buddhism to the country.
In other areas of the region, instead of the traditional trails through the mountains of Bhutan, visitors will find activities such as rafting, bird watching and a recently opened tiger-watching trail within the Royal Manas National Park.
Instead of luxury hotels, there are family accommodations and eco-camps. In 2024, Bhutan’s first high-end sport fishing lodge was also opened in Manas.
According to Tshering Dolkar, the revitalization of the historic center of Gelephu is also underway, including a gastronomic project inspired by the cultural diversity of southern Bhutan.
According to the official, travelers will be able to try dishes such as thali and dal, typical of lhotshampas — ethnic group that lives in the south of the country —, as well as spicier recipes, such as ema datshi, a traditional chilli and cheese stew considered the national dish of Bhutan.
Nearby, art-filled streets will feature Bhutanese murals produced by the VAST collective, while a Cultural Heritage Village will highlight the country’s 13 traditional arts and crafts, from basket weaving to thangka painting.
Southern Bhutan has not always been an easily accessible region for foreigners — or even for the Bhutanese themselves. Malaria, monsoons, wild elephants and tigers have caused the country’s population to concentrate in the central valleys and highlands.
When the British attempted to control the region in the 1860s, they were repelled after five months of conflict against the Bhutanese in what was called Guerra Duarputting an end to his ambitions over the territory. As a result, the south remained largely untouched.
“There aren’t many truly preserved jungles left in the world,” said Lotay Tshering. “There is still a raw jungle here, with tigers roaming freely in the wild. This is our treasure.”
Back in Gelephu, work on the country’s new airport and futuristic city designed by King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck continues. When the project finally opens, it is expected to not only transform the way the world knows Bhutan, but also the way the country sees itself.
“We have the opportunity to try new things,” the king told BBC Travel. “I hope this work will bring benefits to future generations.”
