Bhutan: good to know
The general-information half of trip planning: how expensive Bhutan feels, what is considered polite, what is not, and the everyday practicalities - alongside our 71 written places.
Gentle, devout and unhurried; tradition is worn daily, not performed for visitors.
✓ Considered polite
- Walk clockwise around temples, stupas and prayer wheels, keeping them on your right
- Dress for dzongs - long sleeves, long trousers or skirts and closed shoes are required
- Remove shoes and hats before entering temples and homes
- Accept tea and snacks when offered - a polite first refusal followed by acceptance is the local rhythm
✗ Better avoided
- Take photos inside temples, and ask before photographing monks anywhere
- Touch religious statues, artefacts or anyone's head
- Point with a single finger - Bhutanese gesture with an open hand
- Point your feet at altars or step over people when seated on temple floors
Worth knowing
- Most visitors pay a Sustainable Development Fee of 100 US dollars per person per night, arranged with the visa
- Cards work in Thimphu and Paro hotels, but cash ngultrum is needed elsewhere; small Indian rupee notes are widely taken
- Traffic runs on the left and Thimphu famously has no traffic lights - police direct it from a booth
- Archery is the national sport - weekend matches are open, sociable and worth watching
Plugs and voltage: Wikipedia, «Mains electricity by country» (after the IEC World Plugs list), read 15 October 2026.
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Keep planning
Customs are living things - regions differ, cities relax, generations shift. Take these notes as a friendly head start, watch what locals do, and when in doubt a smile and a greeting in the local language cover almost everything.