Best Time to Visit Bhutan: Month by Month, With Rainfall, Temperatures and Festival Dates

Last updated 4 October 2026. The temperature and rainfall figures on this page are monthly averages for four Bhutanese weather stations (Paro, Thimphu, Punakha and Jakar in Bumthang), as published on Wikipedia from Bhutan's National Center for Hydrology and Meteorology. The festival dates are from the Bhutan tourism website's own festival list. Where I give an opinion I say it is mine, and where I could not confirm something I say that.

The short answer: the best time to visit Bhutan for most people is spring, from March to May, or autumn, from late September to November. October and November are the driest and clearest of the two: the Paro record shows 48.8 mm of rain in October and just 1.5 mm in November, and Bhutan's official tourism site calls autumn "bright, sunny days" and "the season of feasts and festivals". Spring is warmer on the high valleys and has the Paro Tshechu in the 2026 list. December to February is dry and clear but frosty at night. July and August are the wettest months at every station I checked, and I would plan around them. The month-by-month tables are below.

Bhutan's tourism site calls it "a year-round destination", which is true in the sense that the country is open every month, but the months are not the same. Whichever month you choose, one cost does not change with the season: the Sustainable Development Fee. I explain that in our page on the Bhutan Sustainable Development Fee, and I come back to it below.

When is the best time to visit Bhutan?

There are two good windows and one cold one.

• Autumn, late September to late November. The official tourism FAQ says autumn "follows the rainy season" and is "characterised by bright, sunny days and some early snowfall at higher elevations". The data agree: in the Paro record, October has 4.3 rain days and November has 0.2.
• Spring, March to May. The official journal describes spring as "pleasant weather and clear skies". The rain figures start to climb through April and May.
• Winter, December to February. The FAQ calls it "crisp, clear and sunny", with frost across much of the country and snowfall common above 3,000 metres. Paro's average low is below freezing in January, and Jakar's from December to February.
• Summer, June to August. This is the monsoon. The official site says the monsoon runs from late June or July to late September and that "from June to September the monsoons can affect transport and services". The tourism journal is more upbeat about summer, and I quote it below.

If you only want one answer: late October to mid-November for clear weather and festivals, or the second half of March into April if you prefer spring. That is my judgement from the numbers, not an official ranking. I could not find official or published monthly visitor numbers for Bhutan, so I cannot tell you from data which months are the busiest. Wikipedia's tourism page gives annual figures and one single month (November 2024), not a monthly pattern.

Is the monsoon really that bad?

Bhutan's tourism journal makes a gentler case for summer than I do. It says "rainfall is not usually too heavy", that the monsoon in many parts "is much lighter than other destinations in South East Asia, and often consists of short rains in the late afternoon", and it suggests lower-elevation treks such as the Bumthang Cultural Trek in the summer months. Those are the tourist board's words. The station records below are the only measured data I have, and they show July at Paro with 161.2 mm on 18.5 days. Both can be true: a lighter monsoon than some places, and still a wet month for a traveller who wants clear views.

What is the weather in Bhutan month by month?

Climate changes with altitude, so there is no single national figure. Wikipedia's Climate of Bhutan page describes it as "tropical in southern plains; cool winters and hot summers in central valleys; severe winters and cool summers in Himalayas". The two stations that matter most for a first visit are Paro, where you land, and Thimphu, the capital. Paro is at 2,406 metres and the Thimphu-Simtokha station at 2,310 metres, both for 1996 to 2017. I could not confirm the minimum rainfall that Wikipedia counts as a rain day.

Month	Paro high / low (C)	Paro rain (mm)	Paro rain days	Thimphu high / low (C)	Thimphu rain (mm)	Thimphu rain days
January	13.2 / -0.9	7.1	0.7	14.8 / -2.2	6.3	1.1
February	15.0 / 1.3	13.0	2.1	16.6 / 0.3	9.2	1.2
March	17.9 / 4.3	22.2	3.7	19.3 / 3.8	20.4	3.8
April	20.6 / 7.8	33.8	6.4	22.4 / 7.9	29.9	6.2
May	22.7 / 11.2	58.7	9.7	24.8 / 11.6	49.8	8.7
June	24.6 / 14.5	80.9	12.5	26.7 / 15.3	97.7	14.2
July	25.0 / 16.1	161.2	18.5	27.0 / 16.5	152.8	19.0
August	24.9 / 15.7	112.7	17.4	27.3 / 16.1	120.8	16.7
September	23.3 / 14.2	87.9	13.3	26.0 / 14.6	73.9	11.7
October	20.7 / 9.3	48.8	4.3	23.7 / 9.0	43.1	4.7
November	16.9 / 4.7	1.5	0.2	19.7 / 3.2	1.2	0.3
December	14.6 / 0.5	2.9	0.5	16.6 / -0.8	3.7	0.7
Year	20.0 / 8.2 (mean)	630.7	89.3	annual mean 15.0	608.9	88.3

Sources: Wikipedia's Paro and Thimphu pages, 1996 to 2017 normals, from Bhutan's National Center for Hydrology and Meteorology (Paro rain days also from the World Meteorological Organization). The "high" is the mean daily maximum and the "low" the mean daily minimum, so a given night can be colder than the low shown.

The valleys further east and south are different. Here are Punakha, the old winter capital, and Jakar in the Bumthang valley, which is the usual base for the central cultural valleys.

Month	Punakha (1,236 m) high / low (C)	Punakha rain (mm)	Jakar (2,470 m) high / low (C)	Jakar rain (mm)	Jakar rain days
January	18.8 / 5.8	13.7	11.4 / -3.9	5.9	0.8
February	20.7 / 7.9	21.7	13.0 / -1.1	10.6	2.2
March	23.9 / 11.2	17.1	15.3 / 2.1	34.2	6.5
April	26.8 / 14.4	43.5	17.5 / 5.9	66.6	12.3
May	28.8 / 17.3	85.4	19.7 / 9.5	94.4	15.7
June	30.5 / 19.9	143.2	21.9 / 13.0	97.6	16.2
July	30.7 / 20.8	157.9	22.7 / 14.4	155.9	21.7
August	30.4 / 20.6	147.9	22.7 / 14.2	138.7	19.6
September	29.3 / 19.4	101.0	21.6 / 12.5	89.1	14.5
October	27.4 / 16.6	46.2	18.8 / 7.0	57.3	6.6
November	23.9 / 11.4	4.7	15.5 / 1.3	6.9	0.9
December	20.2 / 7.3	3.6	12.9 / -2.9	1.9	0.4
Year	26.0 / 14.4 (mean)	785.9	17.8 / 6.0 (mean)	759.1	117.4

Sources: Wikipedia's Punakha page (1990 to 2017 normals) and Bumthang District page (Jakar station, 1996 to 2017), both from the National Center for Hydrology and Meteorology. Wikipedia gives no rain-day figures for Punakha.

How much of the year's rain falls in the monsoon?

This is my arithmetic from the two tables. June to September holds about 70 per cent of the year's rain at Paro (442.7 of 630.7 mm), 73 per cent at Thimphu (445.2 of 608.9 mm), 70 per cent at Punakha (550.0 of 785.9 mm) and 63 per cent at Jakar (481.3 of 759.1 mm). November to February, in contrast, holds only about 3 to 6 per cent at each station. Wikipedia's climate page says that in the western regions "between 60 and 90 per cent" of rainfall comes in the monsoon, which agrees.

What is Bhutan like in each month?

Each paragraph gives the figures from the tables above and the official wording where I have it. The festival dates are from the 2026 list on the Bhutan tourism site, which is marked tentative, and I explain what that means further down.

January

Cold, dry and clear on the figures: Paro has 7.1 mm of rain on 0.7 days, and its average night-time low is -0.9 C. Jakar is colder, with an average low of -3.9 C and a daily high of 11.4 C. The official FAQ says winter brings frost throughout much of the country and snowfall is common above 3,000 metres. The 2026 festival list has nothing in January. This suits people who are happy in the cold.

February

Still cold at night (Paro 1.3 C, Jakar -1.1 C) but warming, and still dry (Paro 13.0 mm, Thimphu 9.2 mm). The official journal says black-necked cranes arrive from mid-November to the end of February. The 2026 list has Lhamoi Dromchhen at Trongsa on 22 to 24 February, Punakha Dromchoe on 24 to 26 February and the Punakha Tshechu from 27 February to 1 March.

March

Spring begins. Paro's high reaches 17.9 C and the rain is still light at 22.2 mm on 3.7 days. Wikipedia lists early March to mid-April as generally dry. The 2026 list has a run of festivals on 26 to 28 March (Talo, Gasa, Zhemgang and Gom Kora) and the Paro Tshechu from 29 March to 2 April, with its thongdrol, the large sacred cloth unveiled, on the last day.

April

Warmer and a little wetter. Paro has 33.8 mm on 6.4 days, Punakha 43.5 mm, and Jakar 66.6 mm on 12.3 days, so the central valleys see rain earlier than the west. The 2026 list has the Domkhar Tshechu on 26 to 28 April and the Ura Yakchoe from 28 April to 2 May.

May

The rain starts to matter. Paro has 58.7 mm on 9.7 days, Punakha 85.4 mm, Jakar 94.4 mm on 15.7 days. The weather is warm: Paro's high is 22.7 C and Punakha's 28.8 C.

June

The monsoon builds. Paro receives 80.9 mm, Thimphu 97.7 mm and Punakha 143.2 mm. Wikipedia's climate page puts the monsoon at late June to late September, with "heavy rains from the southwest" and flash floods and landslides. The official FAQ says the monsoon runs from late June or July and that it can affect transport and services. The 2026 list has the Nimalung Tshechu on 22 to 24 June and the Kurjey Tshechu on 24 June, both in Bumthang.

July

The wettest month at all four stations: Paro 161.2 mm on 18.5 days, Thimphu 152.8 mm on 19.0 days, Punakha 157.9 mm and Jakar 155.9 mm on 21.7 days. Paro reaches 25.0 C by day. There is no festival in the 2026 list for July.

August

Still wet: Paro 112.7 mm on 17.4 days, Thimphu 120.8 mm on 16.7 days. The only August event I can cite is the Matsutake mushroom festivals at Ura and Genekha, which the official site's homepage calls "a perfect time to visit" but gives no dates for. There is no festival in the 2026 list for August.

September

The rain eases: Paro 87.9 mm on 13.3 days, Thimphu 73.9 mm on 11.7 days. Wikipedia's climate page puts the autumn from late September, and the FAQ from late September or early October. The 2026 list has the Tour of the Dragon mountain bike race on 5 September, the Thimphu Drubchen on 17 September, the Wangdue Tshechu on 19 to 21 September, the Thimphu Tshechu on 21 to 23 September and the Gangtey Tshechu on 24 to 26 September. Those have already happened.

October

The turning point. Paro falls to 48.8 mm on 4.3 days and Thimphu to 43.1 mm on 4.7 days, then the numbers fall away in November. Days are warm (Paro 20.7 C) and nights cool (9.3 C). The 2026 list has the Jhomolhari Mountain Festival on 14 to 15 October, the Jakar Tshechu on 18 to 21 October and the Jambay Lhakhang Drup on 26 to 29 October.

November

The driest month at Paro and Thimphu: Paro 1.5 mm on 0.2 days, Thimphu 1.2 mm on 0.3 days. It is also getting cold at night: Paro 4.7 C, Jakar 1.3 C. The official journal puts the crane arrival from mid-November, and the 2026 list has the Black-necked Crane Festival at Gangtey on 11 November. The same journal gives the Bhutan Bird Festival in Zhemgang as 13 to 14 November 2026. The Mongar and Trashigang tshechus follow on 17 to 20 November.

December

Dry and cold: Paro 2.9 mm of rain, a daytime high of 14.6 C and a night-time low of 0.5 C, and Jakar -2.9 C at night. The 2026 list has the Druk Wangyel Tshechu at Dochula on 13 December, the Trongsa and Lhuentse tshechus on 17 to 21 December.

When are the Bhutan festivals, and can you trust the dates?

Only partly. The Bhutan tourism site's page "2026 festivals with dates and details", published on 25 April 2025, links a PDF headed "Tentative festival dates for the year 2026 [Updated as of April 2025]". It lists 43 events, and the page says there are more than 160 festivals a year. "Tentative" is the word on the document, so treat the 2026 dates above as the plan as published in April 2025, not a promise. Wikipedia's tshechu page says tshechus fall on the tenth day of a month in the lunar Tibetan calendar and that dates in other years "will vary".

I could not confirm the 2027 dates. The tourism site had a 2026 list and a 2025 list when I looked, and I found no 2027 list. So if you are planning a 2027 trip around a festival, treat every date as unknown until Bhutan publishes it, and do not assume that 2027 will fall on the same dates as 2026. I would also not book flights around a festival until the dates are confirmed. I have no data on how crowded the festivals are, so ask early about rooms and flights.

Does the Sustainable Development Fee change with the season?

I found no seasonal rate. The official FAQ gives USD 100 per night for adults from all countries except India, USD 50 per night for children aged 6 up to their twelfth birthday, and Nu. 1,200 or the same in Indian rupees per person per night for Indian nationals. The visa page lists a non-refundable, one-off visa fee of USD 40 and says an application is reviewed within five working days. Neither page I read gives a different rate for a different month. The government's press release of 25 August 2023 says the USD 100 rate runs "till 31 August 2027" and that the government "may discontinue the above incentives" after that. So if your trip falls after 31 August 2027, I cannot tell you what the fee will be. I go through the sums, with worked examples, in our SDF page.

For scale, one adult for five nights pays USD 500 in SDF before hotels, guide, transport or flights. I found no hotel or tour prices by season on any official page, so I cannot say whether a room costs less in July than in October. Ask for the price for your dates in writing.

When can you trek in Bhutan?

This is where I can give you the least, and I would rather say so. The official FAQ says that "all treks must be undertaken with an accredited tour operator or guide", and that a guide is mandatory at all times. Beyond that, the only official statements I found are general: snowfall common above 3,000 metres in winter, and a suggestion that lower-elevation treks such as the Bumthang Cultural Trek suit the summer months. Wikipedia's Snowman Trek page gives June to October as the season and calls it "one of the hardest trekking trails" in the world, but that is a secondary source and I found no official page to confirm it. I could not find a published season for the Druk Path or the Jomolhari trek, so I am not going to guess one.

For a wider look at the two countries, see Nepal versus Bhutan for trekkers.

Does the weather affect flights into Paro?

It can. Wikipedia's Paro Airport page says flights "are allowed under visual meteorological conditions only and are restricted to daylight hours from sunrise to sunset, with additional restrictions in the afternoon during windy seasons", and gives the airport elevation as 2,235 metres. Wikipedia's Thimphu page says spring is marked by "violent winds and relatively dry and clear skies". I found no official delay statistics, so I will not say one month is worse than another. Keep a spare day at either end of the trip, and do not tie your Paro departure to a long-haul flight the same afternoon. Wikipedia's Paro Airport page lists Kathmandu among the cities with flights to Paro, on Drukair and Bhutan Airlines, which matters if you are combining Bhutan with a Nepal trip. For the Nepal end, see our guide to the Nepal e-visa and travel insurance. Buy your insurance at home.

What about Tiger's Nest?

That deserves its own page, and I am not covering the walk here. The official journal says winter has the "calmest trails and best views of the monastery", that autumn gives "astounding views", and that the monastery is "less crowded" in summer. Those are the tourism board's words, and I have not tested them.

Who should not go when?

• If you need dependable mountain views, July and August are a poor choice. Paro, Thimphu and Jakar each have 16 to 22 rain days in those two months.
• If you dislike cold nights, avoid December to February. Paro averages 0.5 C at night in December and -0.9 C in January, and Jakar is below freezing from December to February.
• If a long walk across high passes is the plan, do not assume winter is open to you. The official FAQ says snowfall is common above 3,000 metres.
• If your dates are fixed to a festival and the dates are unpublished (2027 at the time of writing), do not book non-changeable flights yet.
• If a low daily cost matters most, the fee is the same in every month, so choosing the season will not save you the USD 100 a night. A Nepal trek may give you more days for the money; see best time to visit Nepal and our Nepal festival calendar for the same questions on our side of the border.

Can The Everest Holiday arrange Bhutan?

We can arrange Bhutan, but I have not published a Bhutan package or a Bhutan price on our website, so there is no Bhutan page to link to and I will not quote a figure here. If you want to talk it through, message me on WhatsApp on +977 9810351300 with your passport country, the month you have in mind and the number of travellers, and I will tell you honestly what is possible for those dates. I will show the SDF as its own line so you can check it against the official page. If Nepal comes first on your trip, our Everest Base Camp trek in 12 days is the one most people start with.

What I could not confirm

• Any 2027 festival date. The tourism site had 2026 and 2025 lists only, and I found no 2027 list.
• That the 2026 dates have not changed since the April 2025 update. The list says "tentative".
• Monthly visitor numbers or how busy each month is.
• Hotel or tour prices by season.
• Seasons for the Druk Path or the Jomolhari trek, and an official season for the Snowman Trek.
• Which roads or passes close in winter.
• The rain-day threshold that Wikipedia's tables use.
• Whether the SDF continues after 31 August 2027.
• The date of the Rhododendron Festival (listed as TBC for 2026) and of the Matsutake festivals in August.

Notes and sources

Seasons, SDF, guide and trek rules: the FAQ page on bhutan.travel, read 4 October 2026. Visa fee and processing time: bhutan.travel/visa. SDF rate period: the government press release of 25 August 2023 on bhutan.travel/announcements. Journal articles on bhutan.travel: all-year-round destination, summer, winter, festivals and the Bhutan Bird Festival 2026. The 2026 festival dates: the tentative festival dates PDF for 2026 linked from bhutan.travel/journal/news/2026-festivals-in-bhutan. Temperature and rainfall: Wikipedia's pages on Paro, Thimphu, Punakha and Bumthang District, which cite Bhutan's National Center for Hydrology and Meteorology (nchm.gov.bt lists monsoon bulletins, but I found no climate normals there). Climate zones and season dates: Wikipedia's Climate of Bhutan. Tshechu dates in the lunar calendar: Wikipedia's Tshechu page. Paro flight conditions: Wikipedia's Paro Airport page. Snowman Trek: Wikipedia. The percentages of rain in the monsoon and the SDF examples are my own arithmetic.

Written by Shreejan Simkhada, CEO of The Everest Holiday, from a family of three generations of family guides. TAAN Member #1586.