Sit on any road inside Bhutan and count the trucks. Most of them crossed at Jaigaon–Phuentsholing — the largest, best-connected, and most established of Bhutan's four official land trade points with India. But there are three others, and for the right shipment, to the right destination, they matter.

Knowing which crossing your goods move through is not just a logistics question. It affects transit time, clearance speed, cost, and whether the goods can reach your buyer without an unnecessary inland leg inside Bhutan after they cross.

Phuentsholing — from Jaigaon, West Bengal

The dominant crossing

Phuentsholing is Bhutan's commercial hub — the largest centre of trade in the country by volume. The crossing at Jaigaon handles the large majority of all India–Bhutan trade: food grains, building materials, FMCG, electrical goods, vehicles, and virtually every other import category that moves at commercial scale.

What makes it practical for large volumes: bonded warehousing on the Indian side allows goods to hold when clearance is pending; customs offices on both sides are experienced with the full range of product categories and documentation types; and road connectivity inside Bhutan links Phuentsholing to Thimphu (roughly 150 km, 2–3 hours), Paro, Ha, and the western region.

On the Indian side, Jaigaon is connected by rail through Hasimara — our base — to the Northeast Frontier railway network. That means full container loads from Gujarat, Delhi, Andhra Pradesh, or Tamil Nadu can be moved by rail to within minutes of the border, reducing road transit cost on long hauls.

Covers: Western and central Bhutan — Thimphu, Paro, Ha, Punakha, Wangdue Phodrang, and onward.

Gelephu — from Assam

The second crossing — and the one growing fastest

Gelephu sits in Bhutan's Sarpang district, connecting to the Indian state of Assam by road. Historically it handled mainly food commodities — rice, edible oils, pulses — moving into central and southern Bhutan. That picture has changed significantly.

In December 2023, the King of Bhutan declared Gelephu a Special Administrative Region and announced the Gelephu Mindfulness City — a large-scale planned urban development designed to diversify Bhutan's economy and attract investment. The construction and infrastructure this project requires is substantial, and it has already changed both the volume and the type of goods moving through this crossing. Building materials, electrical components, and industrial supplies now move through Gelephu at volumes that did not exist a few years ago.

Clearance infrastructure here is less developed than at Phuentsholing, but it is growing. For buyers with projects or distribution in central and southern Bhutan, routing through Gelephu avoids a long inland transit from the western border.

Covers: Central and southern Bhutan — Sarpang, Zhemgang, Trongsa, and nearby districts.

Samdrup Jongkhar — from Assam

The eastern crossing

Samdrup Jongkhar connects the easternmost region of Bhutan to Assam, with road access linking to Guwahati — the main commercial centre of northeast India. It serves the Trashigang region, which includes some of Bhutan's most populated eastern districts.

The practical challenge for importers: most major Indian supplier networks are concentrated in West Bengal, Gujarat, and the national capitals — all of which require goods to travel by road across a large part of Assam before they can cross here. Transit time from major supply hubs is longer than via Jaigaon or Gelephu, and clearance infrastructure is more limited than at Phuentsholing.

For buyers based in eastern Bhutan, Samdrup Jongkhar is the direct route and avoids the cost and time of transporting goods across Bhutan after they enter at the western border. For buyers elsewhere, Phuentsholing is generally faster and more cost-effective.

Covers: Eastern Bhutan — Trashigang, Mongar, Pemagatshel, and Samdrup Jongkhar district.

Samtse — from West Bengal

The smallest of the four

Samtse sits at the southwestern corner of Bhutan, bordering West Bengal not far from the Jaigaon area geographically but with significantly lower commercial volumes and less formal clearance infrastructure. Most shipments that could technically cross at Samtse are routed through Phuentsholing instead, because the bonded warehousing, customs experience, and road connections are better there.

For smaller consignments destined specifically for Samtse district, the local crossing is the practical option and avoids unnecessary transit. For commercial-scale imports, Phuentsholing remains the more reliable and better-serviced route.

Covers: Samtse district in southwestern Bhutan.

Which crossing should you use?

For the large majority of buyers in Bhutan — regardless of which district they are in — Phuentsholing via Jaigaon is the right answer for commercial volumes. The infrastructure, the clearance reliability, the supplier networks on the Indian side, and the internal road connections inside Bhutan all favour it.

Gelephu is increasingly worth considering if your buyer, project, or distribution is in central or southern Bhutan — and particularly if you are supplying the Gelephu SAR development area. The crossing is growing, and routing through it saves meaningful inland transit time and cost for the right destination.

Samdrup Jongkhar is the correct choice when you are serving eastern Bhutan and direct routing through Assam is viable for your supply chain. For most buyers, this applies only when the final destination is in the Trashigang region or nearby.

We operate primarily through the Jaigaon–Phuentsholing corridor and coordinate freight through the Gelephu crossing for central and southern Bhutan destinations. Tell us your destination and we will advise on the right routing for your order.