One of the world's most remote nations opens up

Bhutan has long limited how the world visits. Now, a new airport and ambitious city could reshape travel to the Himalayan kingdom

On a warm morning earlier this year, the King of Bhutan, Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck, stood in a sun-lit clearing hacked from the jungle in the southern lowland town of Gelephu near the Indian border. Alongside 12,000 volunteers, he cut palm trees and raked brush to help clear the way for a new airport that is poised to change how travellers visit this far-flung kingdom.

Slated to open in 2029, the Gelephu International Airport has already nabbed the Future Project of the Year award at the 2025 World Architecture Festival. Its latticed timber terminal is carved from Bhutanese wood, designed to naturally regulate humidity and evoke the mountain landscapes it sits beneath. There will be spaces for gong baths, yoga and meditation. But with a planned capacity of 123 flights a day, its real goal is to serve as a gateway to the ambitious new Gelephu Mindfulness City (GMC) that is poised to transform the nation, and make one of the world's hardest-to-reach destinations far more accessible to international travellers.

An elusive, exclusive kingdom

Tucked into the mountainous folds of the tallest mountain range on Earth, the world's last Buddhist kingdom spent much of its history as something of a hermit nation. It largely closed itself off from the outside world for centuries and only began allowing tourists to enter in 1974 when it adopted a "High Value, Low Volume" policy to protect its cultural heritage and shield it from overtourism.

Until the pandemic, most international visitors were required to book through a licensed Bhutanese tour operator and pay a Minimum Daily Package Rate of US$200-250 (£148-185) per day, which bundled accommodation, meals, a guide, internal transport and the country's sustainable development fee. Since 2022, the all-inclusive tariff has been replaced by a $100 (£74) Sustainable Development Fee, charged per adult per night, with travel costs arranged separately. Despite the new airport, Bhutan is determined to maintain its unique model of high-value controlled tourism.

As a result, Bhutan has historically felt like something of an elusive, exclusive destination – and reaching it has been part of its mystique.

Paro, in western Bhutan, has been Bhutan's lone international airport, but because it's served by just two airlines (Drukair and Bhutan Airlines) and usually welcomes about eight flights a day, travellers from North America and Europe typically spend multiple days in transit with layovers in places like Bangkok, Kathmandu and Delhi to reach it. Fares aren't cheap – round-trip flights from connecting hubs can cost upwards of £890 ($1,200) – and arriving in Paro offers its own drama.

Located at 2,243m altitude with 5,500m mountains rippling around it, Paro is considered one of the most challenging airports in the world. Because it sits in a narrow, winding mountainous valley and landing and takeoff require multiple sharp turns, pilots must navigate its tricky approach entirely by sight with no radar or computer assistance. In fact, fewer than 50 pilots are qualified to land there, and the airport welcomed just 88,546 visitors in 2025.

Most tourists who touch down in Paro follow a well-worn itinerary to Thimphu, Punakha Valley, Phobjikha........

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