Royal Manas National Park (Access)
Bhutan
How to reach Royal Manas National Park is the first puzzle you'll solve — and the reason so few travellers ever see Bhutan's wildest corner.
Description
Established in 1966 and spread across 1,057 square kilometres of subtropical foothill jungle, Royal Manas National Park Bhutan is the kingdom's oldest protected area and its quietest. It shares an unbroken boundary with Assam's Manas reserve, so the wildlife crosses freely — Bengal tigers, one-horned rhinos, clouded leopards, and the golden langur, a primate found almost nowhere else on earth. Mornings open with rufous-necked hornbills clattering through the canopy and mist lifting off the Drangme Chhu. A Royal Manas National Park safari means rafting past grazing gaur, walking ranger-led forest tracks, and ending the day in Panbang, where woodsmoke and river fish drift between bamboo homes.
Best time to visit
October to April, when the jungle is dry, the rivers run clear and wildlife gathers along the water.
Traveller tip
There are two ways in, and they are not equal. The road from Gelephu to the Panbang gate stays inside Bhutan. The Gomphu–Manas eco-trail, however, crosses into Assam — which means you'll need double-entry visas for both India and Bhutan, processed at Gelephu or Samdrup Jongkhar. Sort this weeks ahead, not at the border. And take the dawn boat rather than the mid-morning one: golden langurs come down to drink while the mist is still on the river, and the park is silent enough to hear them move.
Local note: if your dates fall in the eleventh Bhutanese month, the Panbang Tshechu brings mask dances to Sonam Choeling Dratsang just outside the park gate — a village festival, not a tourist one.
Royal Manas pairs naturally with Gelephu and the southern foothills in BreakBag Holidays' customised Bhutan tour packages — a route almost no Indian operator runs.
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