• Wander round the town and plan your journey in or out of the country.

• The Crocodile Breeding Centre on the banks of the river behind the bus station. The crocodiles are bred in order to be released in a nature reserve.
• The gate at the border (called Bhutan Gate) - not much to see, but it makes a good first photograph for your Bhutan photo album.
• Natural beauty of the surroundings.
• Chukha Hydrothermal Project.
• Karbandi Monastery. After an Indian pilgrim became pregnant after praying at this monastery to conceive, the temple has become a regular port of call for couples wishing for children. For those who do not have parental ambitions, the view from the monastery over Phuentsholing and the Bengal Plain is still worth making the trip. The monastery is located a short distance above the town. Take a cab up and walk back.

Entry procedure

The information below is relevant only to guests or NGOs with visa clearance documents. Bhutan does not operate a visa on arrival system, and visitors without correct documentation will be denied entry. NB: Indian nationals do not require a visa to enter Phuentsholing, but need a permit to visit other parts of the country.

• 1. Receive exit stamp from Indian immigration office (located next to Hotel Kasturi in Jaigaon - about 400 meters from Bhutan Gate).
• 2. Show visa clearance documents to Bhutanese border guards at Bhutan Gate.
• 3. Present visa documents, passport, one photograph and a US$20 visa processing fee at the immigration office just inside Bhutan Gate. A visa will be issued according to the length specified on clearance document.

By bus

• From Kolkata. The Bhutan Government runs a direct service from Kolkata to Phuentsholing, with buses departing Esplanade Bus Station at 7PM on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, with the return journey starting from the Phuentsholing office of Bhutan Post at 3PM on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. The journey takes around 18 hours and costs 300Rps/Nu. The buses are comfortable, but because much of the highway through West Bengal is like the surface of the moon, don't bank on getting much sleep on the way.

• From Siliguri. There are two routes. One is via Sevak Bridge and the other goes through Alipur and Hasimara. It is better to take the second route if you are prone to car sickness as the condition of this road, which forms part of the main Siliguri to Guwahati Highway, is better. The Bhutan Government buses depart from Siliguri Bus Station on Hill Cart Road at 7:30AM and 1:30PM everyday. Tickets are purchased in the bus station, but the bus departs from the other side of Hill Cart Road. NB: Before entering Bhutan, non-Indians are required to receive an exit stamp in their passports at the Indian inmmigration office. Therefore, when passengers disembark at the main stop in Jaigaon, move your luggage from the roof to inside the bus and request the driver to let you off at the Indian immigration office. It is a short walk from there to Bhutan gate.

By train

• The nearest railway station to Phuentsholing is New Coochbihar, which is roughly a 3 hour bus journey from Phuentsholing. New Jalpaiguri Station (in Siliguri) is a four hour journey, but offers a greater number of services, and buses from Siliguri (Hill Cart Road Bus Station) to Phuentsholing are far more frequent than from New Coochbihar. Therefore, New Jalpaiguri is probably the best option for travelers coming by train.

The town center can easily be covered on foot, but there are an abundance of taxis for journeys out of town.

• Phuentsholing does not have any handicraft gift shops, so do not leave your souvenir shopping until your departure from here.
• The town has a good selection of supermarkets, electrical and computer shops and a fresh vegetable market.

• Being on the Indian border, the town has a great selection of Indian restaurants.
• Pastry Shop, Tel:975 5 252246 - located in the Tashi Commercial Complex, this bakery offers a good selection of cakes and pastries.

The Bhutanese are generally very liberal consumers of alcohol. Small wonder then that alcohol is cheap and readily available in the innumerable bars of the town. One can choose from a range of Bhutanese brands of whiskeys, rums, brandies, gins, and a peculiar green concoction called sonfy which one would be wise to avoid. Two whiskey brands, Special Courier, and CSJ, made with Scottish malt,are actually quite pleasant. More internationally recognised brands of alcohol are also available at some of the more reputed watering holes such as the bars at Hotel Kuenga and at Hotel Druk-Bhutan, located in Dhamidhara, half a mile away from the din of the maintown market.