Botanical Tours

At Actual Travel Bhutan, we organize all kinds of Botanical tours according to the preferences of our clients. We have experienced guides who will accompany you throughout your trip and make it worthwhile.

Bhutan is a mountainous country and a south-to-north excursion would take one from the tropical rain-laden monsoonal forests (150m to 2,000m) to the Temperate broadleaf forests (2,000 to 4,000 m) to the coniferous subalpine and finally to the alpine (4,000m and above) vegetation. Its wide altitudinal and climatic range and the richness of flora and fauna make Bhutan one of the top biodiversity hotspots in the world. Bhutan also has a constitutional provision mandating more than 60% of its land area to remain under forest cover for all times to come.

Bhutan boasts of having about 60% of the plant species found in the entire eastern Himalayan region, which includes about 300 species of medicinal plants and 46 species of rhododendrons alone. Bhutan also has about 221 globally endemic bird areas and has about 670 species of birds some experts that this figure has already crossed 800 while some say there could be well over 1,000 species.

The forest types in Bhutan are fir forests, mixed conifer forests, blue pine forests, chirping forests, broadleaf mixed with conifer, upland hardwood forests, lowland hardwood forests, and tropical lowland forests. Common types of flora include magnolias, junipers, orchids of varied hues, gentian, medicinal plants, Daphne, giant rhubarb, the blue, and trees such as fir, pine, and oaks.

Bhutan also has strict environmental conservation laws which has helped it maintain its rich biodiversity. In May 1999, the Royal Botanical Garden, Serbithang, (RBGS) in Thimphu was established in commemoration of the Silver Jubilee Celebrations of His Majesty the Fourth Druk Gyalpo to act as an ex-situ conservation area for the country’s flora and to educate the public on the value of conservation. The RBGS today has 14 thematic gardens, shade pavilions, viewpoints, and nature walk trails and it is also a popular place for family outings and school visits.