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Thimphu · Bhutan

Car hire and driving in Thimphu

Driving distances to the cities around, the rules that change at the border, and where to compare rental prices.

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In Bhutan traffic drives on the left. Picking up at PBH means 23 km (14 mi) into the centre before the trip starts. The emergency number is http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q1061257 / http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q25648804 / http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q25648823.

Drives from Thimphu

Car rental from Thimphu: distances and estimated journey times
RouteCountryDistanceEstimated time
Thimphu to JaigaonIndia74 km (46 mi)about 1 h 7 min
Thimphu to GangtokIndia103 km (64 mi)about 1 h 34 min
Thimphu to JalpāiguriIndia139 km (86 mi)about 2 h 7 min
Thimphu to DārjilingIndia144 km (90 mi)about 2 h 12 min
Thimphu to SiliguriIndia147 km (91 mi)about 2 h 14 min
Thimphu to RangpurBangladesh195 km (121 mi)about 2 h 59 min
Thimphu to SaidpurBangladesh202 km (126 mi)about 3 h 5 min
Thimphu to KishanganjIndia226 km (140 mi)about 3 h 27 min
Thimphu to DinajpurBangladesh228 km (141 mi)about 3 h 28 min
Thimphu to DharānNepal245 km (152 mi)about 3 h 44 min
Thimphu to GuwahatiIndia253 km (157 mi)about 3 h 51 min
Thimphu to RāiganjIndia255 km (159 mi)about 3 h 54 min
Thimphu to DelhiIndia1,224 km (761 mi)about 18 h 40 min
Thimphu to DhakaBangladesh425 km (264 mi)about 6 h 29 min
Thimphu to HyderabadIndia1,604 km (997 mi)about 24 h 28 min
Thimphu to AhmedabadIndia1,783 km (1,108 mi)about 27 h 12 min
Thimphu to KolkataIndia560 km (348 mi)about 8 h 33 min
Thimphu to ChattogramBangladesh611 km (380 mi)about 9 h 19 min
Thimphu to JaipurIndia1,371 km (852 mi)about 20 h 54 min
Thimphu to KanpurIndia927 km (576 mi)about 14 h 9 min

Distances are straight-line; road and rail routes run about 15–25% longer. Times are estimates from distance and typical speeds, not timetables.

Where to compare car hire

ExpediaCar hire from the major suppliers, and the one to look at if the flight or hotel is already booked there. Part of Expedia Group.Check car hire on Expedia (opens www.expedia.com in a new tab)
DiscoverCarsCompares local and international suppliers. Read the counter reviews before you pick.Check rental cars on DiscoverCars (opens www.discovercars.com in a new tab)
Rentalcars.comBooking.com's car arm, with wide airport coverage worldwide.Compare suppliers on Rentalcars.com (opens www.rentalcars.com in a new tab)
Every link above leaves this site.

We take no bookings for these providers and hold no reservation with them. The provider you choose handles payment, confirmation, changes and refunds. How that works.

Common questions

Which side of the road do they drive on in Thimphu?

The left, as everywhere in Bhutan.

How are the journey times on this page worked out?

From straight-line distance and typical speeds for each mode, so they are estimates for planning, not timetables. Road and rail routes run 15–25% longer than the straight line.

Where these facts come from

  • GeoNames (CC BY 4.0): population, elevation, time zone, postal codes
  • Wikidata (CC0): area, sister cities, visitor numbers, heritage listings, stations and ports
  • OurAirports (public domain): airports, runways
  • Natural Earth (public domain): map outlines

Data compiled 13 September 2026. Hotel figures are from our booking partner’s catalogue on that date. Journey times on this page are estimates from distance, not timetables; check the operator before you rely on one.