Bhutan Travel Agents

Bas organised a fantastic trip for us through Bhutan, India and Nepal.
The accommodation was world class and the tour ran really smoothly!

Wow what a trip we have just had! Firstly, a huge thank you to Vishal and Sonam at Trophel Tours, and to Thinley (our guide) and Migmar (our driver) who made our 2-week trip so memorable, informative, fun, with seamless travel connections and full of chilli cheese!
From the start, organising this trip was made easy with the communication, advice and support provided by Vishal. Ric was on an invite working visa with the Ministry of Health and Vishal went out of his way to navigate the... read more

Wow what a trip we have just had! Firstly, a huge thank you to Vishal and Sonam at Trophel Tours, and to Thinley (our guide) and Migmar (our driver) who made our 2-week trip so memorable, informative, fun, with seamless travel connections and full of chilli cheese!
From the start, organising this trip was made easy with the communication, advice and support provided by Vishal. Ric was on an invite working visa with the Ministry of Health and Vishal went out of his way to navigate the complexities of the various itineraries and different visa types Ric and I had to have in place.
The hikes that Thinley and I undertook together (while Ric was working) around Paro were fabulous, walking through pine forests and we hardly saw another soul on any of them, apart from a few local farmers, monks and friendly dogs! Thinley has a wealth of knowledge about his country, Buddhism, the history of the various monasteries, Dzongs, temples we visited and of Bhutan’s flora and fauna. He could even talk with the birds! And our very respectful driver, Migmar, was a delight to be around and we always felt in safe hands on the mountainous roads.
In the second half of our trip, Ric joined us for hikes and sightseeing in and around Punakha and Thimphu. We loved watching the national sport of archery, and even came back to Australia with a traditional bow and arrows!!
We were also lucky enough to be in Thimphu to watch the Tour of the Dragon – one of the World’s toughest mountain bike races which sees cyclists covering 268 kms, up and down 4 mountains all in one day! Even the Prime Minister of Bhutan took part.
We stayed in the 3-star Tourist hotels organised by Vishal and all were of a high standard, with scenic views of dzongs, temples or the breathtakingly beautiful countryside. All the hotels were clean and comfortable, and we were certainly well fed!
The only thing that we got wrong was the weather! Bhutan is on the same latitude as Cairo and Miami and at high altitudes and at the time of year we went (end of August/September), it was hotter and more humid than we had planned for! Be prepared to wear long sleeves to enter the zdongs and temples and also not every hotel, restaurant and/or shop takes credit cards so take in some hard currency (preferably US$).
We loved our time in Bhutan, with its proud people and strong national identify and it seems decades before its time in terms of the environment – at the Paris Climate talks, Bhutan didn’t commit to becoming carbon neutral – they committed to staying carbon negative (i.e. their forests absorb more carbon than the country emits)! It really is a special country.
We plan to come back with our family to do a 6-day hike and will certainly, without a doubt, be in touch with Vishal and Sonam and go through Trophel Tours again.

My wife and I took our trip to the incredible treasure of a country, Bhutan, a bit over a year ago now. That it took me a year to write a review is entirely a reflection on myself and not at all 9n our gracious and accommodating hosts and guides.

Vishal and Sonam, our tour organizers, we're incredible from the initial contact about considering the trip, all the way through to leaving for home.

During the booking discussions they made the process easy and worry free for us. They spoke with... read more

My wife and I took our trip to the incredible treasure of a country, Bhutan, a bit over a year ago now. That it took me a year to write a review is entirely a reflection on myself and not at all 9n our gracious and accommodating hosts and guides.

Vishal and Sonam, our tour organizers, we're incredible from the initial contact about considering the trip, all the way through to leaving for home.

During the booking discussions they made the process easy and worry free for us. They spoke with us about our goals and desires, planned a wonderful tour that was tailored to our needs and wishes, and then handled all of the paperwork for us. All we had to do was pretty much show up.

Once we arrived we were personally greeted at the airport and welcomed warmly. We met our guides (more later) and were off on the journey. Throughout our 10 day trip we were constantly in contact with Vishal who made sure that everything was going well and that all of our hopes were being met. When we had an issue with one of our accommodations, Vishal bent over backwards to ensure that we were moved to an accommodation that suited our needs even under difficult circumstances of last minute booking.

Near the end of our trip we were treated to a family style meal at Sonam's family restaurant. This was one of the highlights of our trip, the food was amazing and the service was second to none. We hope that we can someday return to this very establishment in addition to the country itself.

As for our guides, they were absolutely incredible. Our guide was Ughyen, UT for short, and our driver was Mikmar.

Let's start about UT. He was a wealth of information about his country, as well as a deep pool of interesting anecdotes and pleasant to talk to for 10 straight days. He listen to our non-stop rambling, and our constant wonder at the natural beauty and amazing culture of his country. He never seem to get genuinely bored of listening to us ramble on. Part way through the trip we were lucky enough to take part in a local ceremony at a private residence that UT organized for us. Being Buddhist ourselves this was absolutely the highlight of our trip. It felt like something that most visitors to Bhutan would not have access to. And while this may not be something that every visitor could count on, we were so thankful that UT went out of his way to ensure that our trip was the trip of a lifetime.

We also spent our one year wedding anniversary in the country, and our guides arranged with a local monastery for us to receive a religious blessing, in what we understand to be a fairly uncommon ceremony with access to a Lama that made us feel very welcome and part of a beautiful culture that we are privileged to have taken part in.

Our driver Mikmar was unbelievable as well. He spoke very little but when he did he had an incredible sense of humor and he also put up with our non-stop rambling about his country and how excited we were. The roads in Bhutan have a much deserved reputation for being scary, through the mountains and even in the cities to some extent there is traffic and sharp drop offs as the entire country is built in the mountains. Unlike many of the drivers we saw who would have terrified us to be in their cars, Mikmarmade us feel comfortable constantly. His driving was incredibly professional and made us feel safe happy and enjoy our trip.

About Bhutan as a whole, we could not say better things. The entire country was beautiful. The people were friendly and wonderful to outsiders. The culture is so unique and so interesting, we feel privileged to have been a part of this rare opportunity in this very remote country. We felt that the country itself is a rare jewel, the culture is opening to the rest of the world and as we understand it changing slowly. We hope that it will retain its unique character and look forward to visiting again to see how things change and how they evolve for the better of all of the residents.

in the year since our visit, we have spoken frequently about this trip as perhaps the highlight of all of our travels in our lives now or in the future. There are many beautiful places in the world to visit and many interesting and unique beautiful cultures. However for us Bhutan was the pinnacle of what we hoped and dreamed to experience.

Our trip was made possible by our wonderful guides and tour operators. Although I am certain that visiting Bhutan would be an extremely rewarding experience no matter how you managed to go, we strongly encourage anyone considering a visit to contact Sonam and Vishal via this website. We hope to visit Bhutan again in the near future and if we manage to do so we will certainly be engaging their services again. The cost to visit Bhutan are not inconsiderable, however the value we received from Sonam and Vishal's service was extremely high. We believe that the money could not be better spent and hope that everyone has an opportunity to visit this gorgeous country.

We thank everyone involved in making our trip a success and wish everyone considering a trip a wonderful journey.

Namo Tassa Bhagavato Arahato Sama Sambuddhassa.

What rating do you give a tour when the guides – literally – saved your life? We arrived in Bhutan and began acclimatizing to the higher altitudes. Part of this process included hiking to Tiger’s nest (which was utterly amazing) and we hiked from Cheila Pass to Kila Goemba (a monastery). In regard to altitude, we were hiking at altitudes as high as 3,988 meters. While I did experience some issues, I got through both hikes, relatively, unscathed. In case one wonders, I was taking medicine to... read more

What rating do you give a tour when the guides – literally – saved your life? We arrived in Bhutan and began acclimatizing to the higher altitudes. Part of this process included hiking to Tiger’s nest (which was utterly amazing) and we hiked from Cheila Pass to Kila Goemba (a monastery). In regard to altitude, we were hiking at altitudes as high as 3,988 meters. While I did experience some issues, I got through both hikes, relatively, unscathed. In case one wonders, I was taking medicine to help me acclimatize. On day four we began our trek in earnest.

On this initial hike of our trek, we were scheduled to gain, roughly, 770 meters. About 4 miles into a 13 & ½ mile hike I began to experience difficulties, my legs felt extremely heavy and I was having a hard time catching my breath. I sat down on a rock and promptly passed out, the first of ten times. Two of the guides (after administering oxygen a number of times) put me between their shoulders and took me back down to where we started the hike (lower elevation and that was the first place a helicopter could land). When we reached where we started our hike, the tour company had arranged for us to be met by army personnel, including a medic, who administered an IV drop. I was air lifted out and taken to the hospital in Bhutan.

At the hospital, the medical staff treated me for severe dehydration, my kidneys were not functioning properly. I spent two nights, three days in the hospital and the tour company insured that someone was in the hospital with me the entire time, insuring that I understood what was being asked, checking on the care that I was given (chasing down medical staff when they thought I needed attention), bringing food and blankets.

Amazing group of individuals, whose sole concern was for my safety and comfort – if they hadn’t acted the way that they did, it is NOT hyperbole to say that I may not be here today. I cannot say enough good things about them. If you are planning on hiking in Bhutan, I would strongly recommend using them.

Just got back from a fabulous trip to Bhutan. Our guide Thinley and our driver Karma were fantastic. Thinley was a fund of information on the many temples, stuppas and dzongs we visitied and his knowledge on the local flora and fauna added greatly to the trip. His knowledge of the local birds and the way he explained their habits and songs added to the interest.

Even before we left, Vishal had everything sorted out and was prompt and open to the changes we asked for in the itinerary.

The... read more

Just got back from a fabulous trip to Bhutan. Our guide Thinley and our driver Karma were fantastic. Thinley was a fund of information on the many temples, stuppas and dzongs we visitied and his knowledge on the local flora and fauna added greatly to the trip. His knowledge of the local birds and the way he explained their habits and songs added to the interest.

Even before we left, Vishal had everything sorted out and was prompt and open to the changes we asked for in the itinerary.

The accommodation and food organised by Trophel Tours was first rate and the way in which we were treated was well above what we expected.Even the Chilli Cheese was enjoyed by us all.

The walks and hikes we did, some up around the 4,000m mark were tailored at our pace and fitness level and Thiney made sure that we completed these safely and with photos and memories we will never forget.

Some of the highlights were of course the Tigers Nest, Gantey Valley and Nature Trail, Chimmi Lhakang and the hike through the fields to get there,the Mochu River white water rafting, the day hike to Khamsum Yulley Namgyal monastery, Chele La Pass and the walk down through the Rhododendron forest, hot stone baths, home stay visits and many many more. Everyday was an adventure and one we did not want to end.

Even the fly fishing organised was successful. Many of the roads high up in the mountains, even though they were rutted and washed away, our driver Karma was calm and steady, the vehicle was comfortable and very well maintained and we always felt that we were safe in his hands. He was the quiet giant but usually had a funny line to throw in just as we needed it.

We also had adequate free time to do our own thing and meet and socialise with the locals in the many stores and bars. This was also a highlight of the trip.

Even the flights in and out of Paro supplied some of the most breathtaking vistas of the Himalayas imaginable

I could not rate this tour highly enough and anyone contemplating a trip Bhutan should get in touch with these guys for an unforgettable holiday