posted by Catherine on Mar 4
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If you want to visit Bhutan – you need to pay at least $200 per day for every day of your trip!
Basically the King of Bhutan decided that levels of tourism should be controlled by high taxes – and these taxes should be used to fund the national health care system in Bhutan and to increase levels of education. Good idea?
Well, there is a certain amount of ‘eco’ to it, in that the country isn’t over-run with back-packers and package holiday hotels churning out buffet lunches and free drinks 24 hours a day. The airport can be kept small and no chain stores will set up in the departure lounge!
However, if tourism is so ‘damaging’ should you even go there in the first place?
Bhutan:
High in the Himalayas sits the Kingdom Of Bhutan. 70% of the country is forested and 60% is protected for life by law for future generations. The population are all Buddhists.
National Parks cover 25% of the land and there are some endemic species that aren’t really found anywhere else. The landscape is amazing and beautiful – and virtually untouched by technology and modern accoutrement’s. Cattle draw the ploughs, farmers tend the fields and national dress is seen in every village and homestead. Mobile phones and televisions have only just been allowed in the country (in 1999).
The King wanted to preserve the national culture and this pristine environment – and after watching the influx of hoards of travellers to neighbouring Nepal – he wanted to prevent that in his country – so he set up the current visa system for tourists.
He also gave up his complete power over the country, by becoming a constitutional monarchy where the countries citizens could make the decisions. They haven’t changed anything yet – so he obviously got something right!
Bhutan is currently held up as the best example of sustainable development and responsible tourism in the world.
Travel In Bhutan:
In an extreme version of forced ‘responsible tourism’ everything must be book through a Bhutanese travel agent and there are many other clauses that make sure that all monies stay within Bhutan and all services used are with Bhutanese people. The cost of the visa covers all you expenses when in the country – unless you book luxury hotels or extras that will take you over this lower limit!
Flights- The country only allows their own airline (Druk Airlines) into the country’s airport. Druk Airlines are not affiliated to any other airline so all flights into the country must be booked through them. Basically you need to book a seperate flight to one of their destination airports that Druk Airlines fly to, to be able to then catch their flight into Bhutan.
Accommodation And Food- All hotels, hostels, homesteads or other accomodations must be booked in advance through a Bhutanese Tour Operator – as with all food and drinks. All these locations involve living with local people or staffed through small local businesses therefore keeping the money in the country.
Basically, you need to give details in advance of where you want to stay during your holiday here and who you are going to using for your food and drink supplies. You will not be granted the visa for your trip here unless all this is booked in advance. For some of the more recent luxury hotels, you will need to pay more than the $200 per day for your stay.
Guides And Tours – Again, these all need to be booked in advance of your trip and can be included in the visa cost – as are National Park entry fees. You need to pay for and be escorted at all times by your local Bhutanese guide, and you cannot visit national parks or certain landmark sites and locations without one.
Extreme tours and helicopter rides for example may well be charged as extras on top of the visa fee.
In Summary:
There is no point planning a visit to this country unless you are serious about seeing specific things within the Kingdom. With a 3 day trip here costing a minimum of $600 it will certainly put a dent in the budget of a long-term traveller.
But travelling there just for a few days could cause more environmental damage than benefits – and the pleasure of taking a longer look at what’s here to be discovered. A flight in and out of Bhutan for just 3 days will rack up your carbon footprint, but will be benefiting the people no end with 35% of your costs going into the government projects, and most of the remainder going to help local communities and pay individual wages.
However, if you don’t visit this nation now, you will miss out on the sheer excitement of being one of the first and the few visitors who step into this magical world.
The Trips:
There are several companies that come up ‘green’ in Bhutan and can offer very different services:
Nature Tourism – specialising in the natural world, they offer birdwatching and botanical tours, entomological tours are also available as are many other niche interest groups. They also take part in community work, forestry projects and river cleaning.
Snow White Treks & Tours – specialise in cultural tours – and can offer some of the best home-stays and festivals while in Bhutan. They offer a huge selection of cultural tours in the region as well as remote trekking in the National Parks.
Yangphel Tours- offers a whole range of diverse trips and tours while in Bhutan and is one of Bhutan’s leading Tour Operators.
Booking the whole trip yourself direct with Bhutanese comapanies can be done but is quite tricky, so try using one of the following companies to be the middle-man and make everything run a bit more smoothly:
UK – www.exodus.co.uk
US – www.mtsobek.com
AU – www.perigrineadventures.com
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