Bhutan - Weather in May

People are watching the skies in May. The monsoon season is not far off, and there are early traces of what’s in store, including greater humidity and an increased chance of rainfall. Nevertheless May is a good time of year to visit Bhutan. Visitor numbers are lower, but there are still plenty of pretty wildflowers around, and even though there is a risk of cloud cover impeding the views in the mountains, you can often get lucky and catch a real breath-taker.

Showers are becoming more frequent, and are most likely to occur in the afternoons and evenings. In keeping with the sense of change in the air, May sees Bhutan’s entire population of monks leave their winter residence in Punakha to take up residence in Thimphu for the summer, a long caravan of cars heading west. Sensible monks. The temperature in Thimphu in May tends to be much cooler, averaging around 22.5°C, compared to around 29°C in Punakha.