I went on a 6-day Bhutan motorcycle tour with the Dream Riders group. I flew from Kochi to Bagdogra, where they picked me up along with the other riders from the airport and took us to Phuentsholing. This is where the India-Bhutan border is situated. Bhutan is visa-free for Indians, after immigration we checked in to the hotel.

On the morning of the first ride day, eight Royal Enfield Himalayan bikes were ready and waiting for us. Each of us was assigned a bike and received the necessary papers from the RTO. We started our first ride towards Paro, which was about 170 km away. The roads were good, twisty and uphill. We reached Paro by evening after taking breaks for coffee and lunch.

At 6:00 AM on the second day, we started towards Tiger’s Nest. We parked our bikes at the base and started our hike. It’s about a 4.5 km trek and takes about 2.5 hours to reach the top. Needless to say, it was tiring, but the place is worth the effort. There is a coffee shop exactly midway. Coming down took about 2 hours, and we reached back at our bikes around 2:00 PM.

On the morning of the third day, we started our ride from Paro towards Punakha via Thimphu. We saw the famous Paro Airport, which is considered as the world’s third most difficult airport for takeoffs and landings. We rode further and reached Punakha around 3:00 PM, crossing the Dochula Pass. We could catch glimpses of the ice-covered Himalayas far away from the pass. We checked in to the Punatshangchhu Cottages near the banks of the Punatshangchhu River.

On the fourth day, we started off from our hotel towards Phobjikha Valley. This was around a 75 km ride one way and contained about 10 km of mild off-roading. We enjoyed the ride, and the valley was beautiful. By evening, we reached back at the hotel. While we were about to finish our dinner, we heard news of a glacial lake outburst and were warned about a potential flash flood in the Punatshangchhu River. As a precaution, we evacuated the resort taking only necessary items and drove around 5 km to a higher elevation. Though water level raised on the river, fortunately conditions did not get bad at the resort, and we returned after about 3 hours. Still, it was a scary experience.

On the fifth day, we started our return journey by riding towards Thimphu. It was drizzling throughout and very cold when we passed Dochula Pass. We stayed in a hotel in Thimphu town that day and explored the local market in the evening.

On the sixth day, we continued our return journey to Phuentsholing. Again, it was drizzling throughout the day. By evening, we reached the same hotel where we stayed on the first day. It was a joyful end to six days of exploring Bhutan in a motorcycle.

Some videos can be seen here: https://www.instagram.com/a.g.k.photography/