Paro, Bhutan Travel Guide

Explore Paro, Bhutan: A serene valley town offering breathtaking views, ancient monasteries, and a rich cultural heritage, nestled in the heart of the Himalayas.

Nestled in the heart of the Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan, Paro is a charming valley town that offers an idyllic escape into nature and culture. Home to Bhutan's only international airport, Paro serves as the first touchpoint for many travelers, welcoming them with its serene landscapes, traditional architecture, and warm hospitality. The town is surrounded by lush green hills, dotted with sacred monasteries and ancient fortresses, making it a spiritual haven for visitors. One of the must-visit attractions in Paro is the iconic Taktsang Monastery, also known as the Tiger's Nest. Perched precariously on the edge of a cliff, this sacred site provides breathtaking views of the Paro Valley and a glimpse into Bhutan's spiritual heritage. The hike to the monastery is both challenging and rewarding, offering a sense of accomplishment and a deeper connection to the land. Paro's rich history is evident in its well-preserved dzongs, or fortresses, such as the Paro Dzong and the Drukgyel Dzong. These architectural marvels not only serve as administrative and religious centers but also as windows into Bhutan's past. The National Museum of Bhutan, housed in the ancient Ta Dzong, offers further insight into the kingdom's art, culture, and history. A leisurely stroll through Paro's traditional markets and quaint streets will reveal the town's vibrant local life, with colorful handicrafts, aromatic cuisine, and friendly locals adding to its charm.

From Eve

Know before you go

Hi, I'm Eve. Here are a few practical things to know before exploring Paro.

Visit the Tiger's Nest early in the morning to avoid crowds and enjoy a peaceful hike.
Wear comfortable shoes and carry water when exploring the monasteries and dzongs.
Respect local customs by dressing modestly, especially when visiting religious sites.
Try traditional Bhutanese dishes like Ema Datshi at local eateries for an authentic culinary experience.
Opt for a guided tour to gain deeper insights into Paro's history and culture.

Explore Paro: Things to Do, Places to Eat, Hotels & More

Handpicked recommendations for top attractions, local dining, accommodations, and more

Best attractions in Paro

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National Museum of Bhutan འབྲུག་གི་འགྲེམས་སྟོན་ཁང་།

Explore the National Museum of Bhutan for a captivating journey through the country's rich culture and history in the stunning Paro Valley.

4.3

National Memorial Chorten རྒྱལ་ཡོངས་རྗེས་དྲན་མཆོད་རྟེན།

Explore the spiritual heart of Bhutan at the National Memorial Chorten, a stunning stupa filled with rich cultural significance and serene beauty.

4.5

Punakha Dzong སྤུ་ན་ཁ་རྫོང་།

Explore the serene beauty and cultural significance of Punakha Dzong, a stunning fortress and monastery in the heart of Bhutan.

4.8

Suspension Bridge, Punakha

Experience breathtaking views and cultural significance at the Suspension Bridge in Punakha, one of Bhutan's longest and most iconic landmarks.

4.7

Best landmarks in Paro

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Buddha Dordenma Statue སྟོན་པ་རྡོར་གདན་མ།

Explore the grandeur of Buddha Dordenma Statue in Thimphu, a breathtaking spiritual landmark and cultural treasure of Bhutan.

4.7

Paro Taktsang

Experience the breathtaking heights of Paro Taktsang, a serene Buddhist monastery perched on a cliff, offering stunning views and spiritual tranquility in Bhutan.

4.8

National Museum of Bhutan འབྲུག་གི་འགྲེམས་སྟོན་ཁང་།

Experience the rich cultural heritage of Bhutan at the National Museum, where history, art, and breathtaking views converge.

4.3

National Memorial Chhorten རྒྱལ་ཡོངས་རྗེས་དྲན་མཆོད་རྟེན།

Explore the National Memorial Chhorten, a spiritual and architectural gem in Thimphu, embodying the essence of Bhutanese culture and tranquility.

4.5

Best restaurants in Paro

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Mountain Cafe - Paro

Discover the flavors of Bhutan at Mountain Cafe in Paro - a perfect blend of local delicacies and international cuisine.

4.2

Sonam trophel restaurant

Experience authentic Bhutanese cuisine at Sonam Trophel Restaurant in Paro - a delightful blend of tradition and taste.

4.0

Namgay Artisanal Brewery

Experience authentic Bhutanese craftsmanship at Namgay Artisanal Brewery – where local ingredients meet traditional brewing methods.

4.4

My Kind Of Place

Experience authentic Bhutanese flavors at My Kind Of Place in Paro - where every dish tells a story.

4.3

Best bars in Paro

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Mountain Cafe - Paro

Explore the flavors of Bhutan and beyond at Mountain Cafe in Paro, where every meal is a delightful experience.

4.2

Namgay Artisanal Brewery

Discover the heart of Bhutanese brewing at Namgay Artisanal Brewery in Paro, where unique flavors and stunning scenery meet.

4.5

PARK 76 Cafe & Pub

Discover the lively ambiance and delicious fare at PARK 76 Cafe & Pub, a cultural hotspot in the heart of Paro, Bhutan, perfect for music lovers and foodies alike.

4.4

My Kind Of Place

Experience the essence of Bhutanese cuisine at My Kind Of Place in Paro, where every dish is a flavorful journey into local traditions.

4.3

Best nightclubs in Paro

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Mountain Cafe - Paro

Discover the flavors of Bhutan at Mountain Cafe, where artisanal coffee and fusion cuisine await in the heart of Paro.

4.1

Mojo Park

Discover the lively Mojo Park in Thimphu, where vibrant nightlife meets exquisite food and live music, offering an unforgettable experience in Bhutan.

4.4

Namgay Artisanal Brewery

Experience the finest craft beers at Namgay Artisanal Brewery in Paro, a unique blend of tradition and modern brewing excellence.

4.4

PARK 76 Cafe & Pub

Discover the heart of Paro's nightlife at PARK 76 Cafe & Pub, where live music and delicious cuisine create an unforgettable experience.

4.4

Best shops in Paro

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Paro Town Shop No.12.Empty space for rent

Explore Paro Town's vibrant shopping scene with unique local crafts, textiles, and traditional Bhutanese souvenirs.

4.7

Paro Craft Market

Discover authentic Bhutanese crafts and unique souvenirs at Paro Craft Market, the heart of local shopping in Paro.

3.4

Miniso Bhutan Paro

Experience the blend of quality and affordability at Miniso Bhutan Paro, a vibrant shopping destination in the heart of Bhutan.

4.1

Bhutan made

Shop unique handcrafted souvenirs that embody the rich culture and craftsmanship of Bhutan at Bhutan Made in Paro.

4.3

Explore Paro on the Map

A handpicked selection of must-see spots in Paro, mapped for you.

Paro Essentials

Paro is home to Bhutan's only international airport, Paro Airport (PBH), which is serviced by Druk Air and Bhutan Airlines. Direct flights are available from several major cities including Bangkok, Delhi, Kathmandu, and Singapore. Visitors must book their trip through a licensed Bhutanese tour operator or an international partner to obtain a visa and arrange travel.
Once in Paro, local transportation options include taxis and buses. Taxis are readily available and can be hired for short trips or for the entire day. Public buses connect Paro to other parts of Bhutan, including the capital, Thimphu. Renting a car is not a common practice for tourists, as driving in Bhutan requires a local driver's license.
The official currency in Bhutan is the Ngultrum (BTN). Indian Rupees (INR) are also widely accepted, except for INR 500 and INR 2000 notes. Credit cards are accepted at major hotels and some shops, but cash is preferred, especially in rural areas. ATMs are available in Paro, but it is advisable to carry sufficient cash for your needs.
Paro is generally very safe for tourists. Violent crime is rare, and petty crime is infrequent. However, it's advisable to take standard precautions such as safeguarding your belongings and not venturing into isolated areas after dark. There are no specific high-crime areas targeting tourists.
In case of emergency, dial 113 for police assistance or 112 for medical emergencies. The main hospital in Paro is Paro District Hospital, which provides basic medical services. It is recommended to have travel insurance that covers medical emergencies and evacuation, as healthcare facilities can be limited.
Fashion: Do dress modestly. Avoid wearing revealing clothing, especially when visiting religious sites. Religion: Do show respect when visiting monasteries and temples. Remove shoes and cover your head when required. Public Transport: Do be patient and respectful. Buses can be crowded, so give up your seat to elderly passengers. Greetings: Do greet people with a slight bow or a handshake. Avoid physical contact with monks. Eating & Drinking: Do try local dishes like Ema Datshi. Don't refuse food or drink offered by locals, as it is considered impolite.
To experience Paro like a local, visit the weekend market where you can buy fresh produce and traditional Bhutanese crafts. Engage with locals; they are often friendly and willing to share insights about their culture and history. Don’t miss the Paro Tsechu, a vibrant annual festival featuring traditional mask dances and performances. For a unique experience, hike to the iconic Tiger's Nest Monastery, which offers breathtaking views of the Paro Valley.

When is the best time to visit Paro?

With Eve

Useful Local Phrases for Paro

You don't need to speak the language perfectly. Even learning a few simple words can make conversations warmer—and locals usually appreciate the effort.

— Eve

6 phrase groups English + pronunciation

Here are the phrases I use most often in Paro. Try a few—you'll be surprised how far they go! 😊
❤️

- Helloཀླུ་ཤི་བ
  [klu shi ba]
- Goodbyeཞེན་ནས
  [zhen na]
- Yesགིས
  [gi]
- Noམེད
  [me]
- Please/You're welcomeཤིན་ཏུ་ར
  [shin tu ra]
- Thank youབཤགས་པ
  [sha kha pa]
- Excuse me/Sorryདཔལ་ངོས་བ
  [pal ngos ba]
- How are you?ཁྱེད་ར་རེད་ས་ལ་གཏིས་ས
  [khe ra re sa la gati sa]
- Fine. And you?སྣང་བས། ཁྱེད་ར་ལ
  [nang ba, khe ra la]
- Do you speak English?ཨིགས་ལི་ཁོང་ར་ལ་ན
  [ig li kong ra la na]
- I don't understandང་ཁོང་ར་མེད
  [nga kong ra me]
- I'd like to see the menu, pleaseམེད་དུས་མཇུ
  [me du menu]
- I don't eat meatང་ལག་ཟང་ལ་མིས
  [nga lak zang la mi]
- Cheers!མུངས་བས
  [mung ba]
- I would like to pay, pleaseམེད་དུས་ཉིད
  [me du nyi]
- Help!གསོལ་འདས།
  [sol da]
- Go away!སྲེན་མས།
  [sren ma]
- Call the Police!གལ་གསོལ་མཇུ
  [gal sol ju]
- Call a doctor!སློབ་མཇུ
  [lob ju]
- I'm lostང་སྐོར
  [nga kor]
- I'm illང་སྨན
  [nga men]
- I'd like to buy...མེད་དུས་ཌ
  [me du da]
- I'm just lookingང་ལྟ་ཏུ།
  [nga latu]
- How much is it?སྐུ་ལ་ལས་མ་ལ་ཞོན་པ
  [ku la la ma la zon pa]
- That's too expensiveསྣང་མེད་ས
  [nang me]
- Can you lower the price?གཤས་སོག་ས་ཡོས་ད
  [sha sog sa yo da]
- What time is it?མིག་མི། ལེགས་པ
  [mik mi leg pa]
- It's one o'clockམེད་འགོག་ལ
  [me gok la]
- Half past (10)སྡུམ་འགོག། ཕོ་གོ
  [dum gok po go]
- Morningཉི།
  [nyi]
- Afternoonསོ།
  [so]
- Eveningདགོངས་པ
  [gong pa]
- Yesterdayམཇུབ
  [ju]
- Todayད་ས
  [da sa]
- Tomorrowསྟེ
  [te]
- 1གཅིག
  [gzig]
- 2གཉིས
  [nyi]
- 3གསོ།
  [so]
- 4མོ།
  [mo]
- 5ལྔ
  [nga]
- 6དྲུང
  [drung]
- 7བདུད
  [dud]
- 8བར
  [bar]
- 9དགུ
  [gu]
- 10བཅུ
  [chu]
- Where's a/the...?ནང་འཇུ...?
  [nang ju]
- What's the address?ལས་གོ་ནང་འཇུ...?
  [la go nang ju]
- Can you show me (on the map)?ང་བས་ཡོས་དག་འཇུ...?
  [nga ba yo dag ju]
- When's the next (bus)?ར་ཆག་ལས་སྡུམ་འཇུ...?
  [ra chag la dum ju]
- A ticket (to ....)སྡུམ་གི་ཡོས་དག་འཇུ...?
  [dum gi yo dag ju]

History of Paro

Paro, a picturesque valley town nestled in the heart of Bhutan, has a history that stretches back to ancient times. The region has been continuously inhabited since prehistoric periods, with archaeological evidence suggesting settlements dating back to 2000 BCE. The valley's fertile soil and strategic location made it an ideal spot for early communities.
Buddhism made its way to Paro in the 8th century, largely due to the influence of Guru Rinpoche, also known as Padmasambhava. According to legend, Guru Rinpoche flew to the site of the iconic Paro Taktsang (Tiger’s Nest Monastery) on the back of a tigress to subdue a local demon. This event marked the beginning of Buddhism's deep-rooted influence in the region.
Paro Dzong, also known as Rinpung Dzong, was constructed in 1646 under the orders of Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyal, the unifier of Bhutan. This fortress-monastery served as a defense stronghold against Tibetan invasions and a center for religious and administrative activities. The dzong is a fine example of Bhutanese architecture, featuring massive walls and intricate woodwork.
The Battle of Paro in 1644 was a significant conflict between the forces of Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyal and the Tibetan-Mongol army. The Bhutanese successfully defended their territory, and this victory solidified the region's autonomy and the authority of Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyal. The battle is a key event in Bhutanese history, emphasizing the resilience and strategic prowess of the Bhutanese people.
Paro played a critical role in the unification of Bhutan in the 17th century. The region's strategic importance and its dzong's defensive capabilities were crucial in Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyal's efforts to consolidate various warring fiefdoms into a unified nation. Paro's support and resources were instrumental in establishing a cohesive Bhutanese state.
In the 1960s, Bhutan began opening up to the outside world. Paro became a gateway for international visitors with the construction of Paro Airport in 1968, the only international airport in Bhutan. The town has since evolved into a vibrant hub for tourists, offering a unique blend of historical sites, cultural experiences, and natural beauty.
The Paro Tshechu, one of Bhutan's most vibrant and significant religious festivals, is held annually in the spring. This festival features mask dances, traditional music, and rituals performed by monks and laymen. The Tshechu commemorates the deeds of Guru Rinpoche and serves as a time for the community to come together in celebration and prayer.