Two Kingdoms of the Himalaya. Bhutan and Nepal
For Wednesday, March 25, 2026
Michael MacKuen

Today we shall enjoy flying in the mountains of Bhutan and Nepal. Through the twentieth century, these were remote kingdoms tucked into the Himalayas. Bhutan was small, Buddhist, essentially cut off from the outside world, and then made a tranquil transition to a constitutional monarchy. Nepal was much larger, largely Hindu, with more worldly experience, and made a violent transition to a multi-party democratic government. Current Bhutan is a small (800,000) well governed state with universal health care and education. It relies on subsistence agriculture. While it famously emphasizes happiness over economic development, it remains poor. And it is losing tens of thousands from the well-educated younger generation who are seeking jobs elsewhere. Nepal is much larger (30 million) but also is mainly agricultural and poor. And the country’s vital and once booming tourism sector has slowed down. Fully a quarter of its GDP is based on remittances from Nepalese working abroad.

Our job is to fulfil a grant to spread happiness to the mountains of Nepal. The goal is driven by an understanding that the purpose of life is not just to succeed, but to  be kind, mindful and content. Accordingly , we shall transport multiple shipping cases of Mindfulness, Compassion, and Simplicity, along with monks who help mix the dosages, to chosen villages in eastern Nepal. [This is a whimsical fantasy project. Apologies.] Our flight will begin in the mountains of eastern Bhutan, pass through the challenging international airport at Paro, and then visit a number of mountain village airstrips in eastern Nepal. We end at the legendary airport Lukla Tenzing-Hillary, the gateway to Mt. Everest.


Depart from Kangel Danda into the Open Air

We start in the mountains of Bhutan’s Himalaya range at “interesting” Yonphula [YQTY], the only airport for the eastern side of the country. This was haphazardly built on an unused military strip for a 2011 inauguration. Initial flights raised alarms. The runway was too steep, the tarmac required resurfacing, nearby hillocks wreaked havoc with crosswinds, and a fire facility had to be constructed. The airport’s re-opening for regular commercial flights was delayed until 2017. Even now, perched on a 8400ft mountain ridge, the airport can be challenging. Its use is limited to the morning hours due to the strong winds that typify local afternoons and access can be restricted by high-altitude weather systems. After admiring the views, we depart for Bumthang [VQBT] (also Bathpalathang) located in a high narrow valley. Dotted with monasteries, temples and Buddhist sacred sites, Bumthang is the spiritual and cultural heartland of Bhutan.

Then west with lovely views of the spectacular snow-covered mountains to the north. Here lie some of the world’s highest unclimbed peaks – the region is protected by national parks which prohibit mountain climbing in deference to local traditional beliefs. Entering the western third of the country, we pass over the nation’s capital and largest city Thimphu [TIMPU]. (At about 115,000, its population constitutes about one seventh of the nation’s.) We continue and land at Paro [VQPR], Bhutan’s one major international airport. Surrounded by 18,000ft peaks and nestled in a deep twisting valley, this is considered one of the world’s most daunting approaches. Originally an Indian Armed Forces helicopter base, it was developed with a modest passenger building and a short runway – which limited its first airline service to the Dornier 228 in 1983. With Indian financial support, Paro became a modern jet airport. Nowadays, it has a 7,431ft runway, multiple services buildings, a revamped artistic terminal building, and traffic of about 20 flights a day. It remains a daylight airport with no on-field navaids.

A westward climbing departure takes us over India’s Sikkim into Nepal to land at Taplejung Suketar [VNTJ]. The preferred runway is 07, but 25 will work if the weather requires. Many small Nepalese airports were blacktopped in the mid-2010s and now are better all-season fields. Suketar normally has weekly Nepal Airlines DHC-6 flights to and from Kathmandu and allows trekkers to enjoy the mountains of eastern Nepal. Next is Tumlingtar [VNTR] whose runway is both lower and longer. It serves bigger turboprops and is a fairly busy regional tourist hub with six airlines providing flights to Kathmandu and elsewhere. (In 2022 we visited this area to see the fascinating cultural trek that Jeff’s brother took in October of that year. See Nepal Trek.) Further west, we visit Khanidanda [NVKD] (mislabeled Bhojpur in the sim). These regular air connections to Kathmandu are essential for many remote regions including the Diktel district here. (This field requires Rwy 08 for landing.) And then Rumjatar [VNRT], another STOL hub that supports its region as well as the larger town Siddhicharan.

Turning northeast we visit a nearby hilltop strip that poses a different challenge. Kangel Danda [VNKL] lost its regular service in 2017 (but its neighboring villages are hoping for a resuscitation). It is on our list for the sport of its landing and is therefore optional. Our penultimate stop is Phaplu [VNPL], a prosperous small town with a regional school. Nowadays, it not only serves the local area but acts as a more distant access point for Mount Everest – a less expensive option. (Ryan Air Everest airport?) Finally, we reach our famous final destination Lukla [VNLK]. There are airports with shorter runways, ones with steeper runways, and ones at higher elevation. But nothing really compares with this very busy tourist airport that requires real airmanship to skillfully execute the approach and landing on a day-to-day basis. (While there is a nice payware model for Lukla, let’s stick with the default hand-crafted rendition so that everyone is at the same altitude when we arrive. More fun to share the experience.)

This trip should allow us to enjoy some stunning scenery. And several of the airports will provide some visual stimulation as they are sited on mountaintops. But these are routinely visited by twin-engined passenger transports: they are not quite PNG-style challenges. Except for Lukla… So let’s have some fun.

Documentation
The flightplan can be found here. We prefer real weather.

Aircraft
This route runs 320nm. We probably want something that might carry passengers or cargo in this sort of high-altitude STOL environment. And we need a fast-cruise of about 160kts. Commercial flights in Bhutan and Nepal are routinely flown by ATR airliners and DHC-6/Do-228 aircraft. We might try the DHC-6 Twin Otter or a Cessna 208 Caravan or a Daher Kodiak or perhaps a Cessna 408 SkyCourier. This route was designed with the Cessna 208 Caravan in mind. As ever, fly what you like.

Additional Scenery
Many but not all of the airports are in the default simulator. (Yonphula and Bumthang Bathpalathang are not in the default and are thus required downloads.) Lukla and Paro are Asobo-handcrafted. While both are good renditions, you probably want kychungdotcom’s current revision of 2024 Paro. I recommend the following freeware addon airport packages. Thanks to these fine authors for their talent and efforts.

Recommended:
Trashigang Yonphula [VQTY]. tomlaut1080
Bumthang Bathpalathang [VQBT].  kychungdotcom
Paro 2024 [VQPR].  kychungdotcom 
Nepal Bushstrip Upgrade Pack.  kychungdotcom
Kangel Danda [VNKL].  alpinebravo 

One unusual library (for VNKL) is Sergio Del Rosso’s SDR Himalaya Pack (250mb), here for VNKL. You may already have this. Recommended but not necessary.

You can get the freeware airport package here. The package also includes freeware creations that are difficult to find. (Please check for duplicates of previously installed packages.)

Time and Weather
For takeoff on Wednesday, set the simulator at 8:00am local for March 25, 2026. We typically prefer real weather.

Multiplayer Particulars
Date and time: Wednesday, March 25, 2026. 1800 UTC (1900CET, 1400EDT, 1100PDT)
Where: RTWR Multiplayer Discord Channel
Microsoft Flight Simulator Multiplayer: South-East Asia server.

If you want to help others enjoy the multiplayer experience, don't forget to enter your aircraft details on the multiplayer spreadsheet (linked here). Your courtesy will save others a lot of time and effort. Thanks!

[Note that North American Daylight Savings Time starts on March 8, 2026. European Daylight Savings Time begins March 29, 2026.]

Two Kingdoms. NOTAM
Here is a just-released version of Bumthang (VQBM) airport. This is just slightly better than the older FS2020 version in the official announcement and the download package. It is native FS2024 and it includes a few more airport buildings and a couple of the Dzongs (fortresses) in the hills. (And the first-time author is modeling this after a recent personal visit and photographs.) As near as I can tell, you will like either version. I’ll go with this later version simply because it reflects the author’s personal visit.
Bumthang Bathpalathang [VQBT].  JohnPaulJ