India to Bhutan (Tashigang) from Guwahati/Tawang road advice

Hey,

Me and my friends (4 riders) are planning a trip to Bhutan from Tawang/Guwahati. Can anyone give us a first hand info on the highways/roads as when we researched on google maps, they showed the only way to enter Bhutan is through phuentsholing.. We were wondering if there was a way to Tashigong from Samrud jonghkhar (NH 152) or directly from Tawang.

Also, what kind of permits would we need to explore eastern Bhutan and north Bhutan. We are planning the trip somewhere around Sep'10

Cheers!!

Mod Note:
I have shifted this query to the Crossing The Border forum.


As far as I am aware, there is no possibility of crossing into Bhutan from Tawang. It would be great if it were possible, but I think you have to go down to the "official" crossing at Phuentsholing. Good luck with your planning.

I'm sure that other IndiaMikers who have done a similar route by bike will be along shortly to help you.


In the meantime, please take a good look at this excellent thread:

Bhutan - The Lost Shangri-La

Do check this thread :

Bhutan - The Lost Shangri-La

As rightly said by Theyyam you cannot enter from Tawang. You can go to Trashigang from Samdrup jonghkar however for that you'll need to acquire permit first, unfortunately which is hard to get at Samdrup Jonghkar border.

Other option is to travel till Phuntsholing border there you can get permit for visiting Thimphu/Paro. On reaching Thimphu you can extend this permit for visiting eastern Bhutan. While extending this permit do remember to mention from which border you planning exit.You can travel eastern Bhutan & can exit from Samdrup Jonghkar.

If you going by bike then you'll need to get permit for yourself first & later permit for your bike.

Are you sure there is a way from Samdrup Jongkhar? if you see google maps, the NH152 doesn't go beyond a point. If that is possible, then it will be great for us as we will go towards thimpu exploring eastern Bhutan (which we actually want to do in this trip). We will be coming out from the other side (phunseotling) into Sikkim and then will enter Nepal from there. ut we needed some info on traveling in Bhutan. So as i see it, entering Bhutan from Tawang is a strict no!!

Yes, there's a way from Samdrup Jonghkar (I've traveled myself in Jan 2009) but you need to get permit to enter from Samdrup Jonghkar which is hard thing... comparatively getting permit from Phuntsholing is much easier & straightforward process.

Hey, thanks a lot guys for the info..will def keep you posted regarding the trip..We are actually planning to go to Bhutan, then into Nepal, Tibet, Leh and then back to Del.. Can anyone suggest how many days should we keep aside for the whole trip..and what other permissions we would need for the whole trip??

did u do this trip ? can u pls share the blog ?