All activities / Whitewater Kayaking / Rafting / Punakha
Whitewater Kayaking / Rafting in Punakha
Bhutan's old winter capital in a warm, low valley where the Pho Chhu and Mo Chhu rivers meet below the majestic Punakha Dzong. The mild climate, river confluence and terraced rice make it a favourite stop, and the two rivers give the country its best whitewater.
Why here
Punakha is where Bhutan does whitewater. Two rivers, the Mo Chhu (mother) and Pho Chhu (father), drop out of the northern mountains and join below Punakha Dzong, the seventeenth-century fortress at the confluence, and both are run by raft. The Mo Chhu is the gentler line, a scenic float of about ten kilometres over Class II rapids that finishes with a postcard view of the dzong, well suited to first-timers and families. The Pho Chhu is longer and busier, with more continuous Class II to III water for those who want a livelier ride. Either way the appeal is the setting as much as the rapids: warm valley air, rice terraces, cranes in winter and the great white dzong at the takeout. It is a rare adventure activity in a country better known for its walks and festivals.
Best months
The rafting season runs roughly October to December and February to April, when post-monsoon and spring flows are stable and the skies clear. Summer monsoon pushes the rivers high and brown and trips are usually suspended. The Mo Chhu holds easy Class II water most of the season; the Pho Chhu runs harder, up to Class III, and needs a little more nerve. Punakha sits low and warm, so the water is less icy than the altitude suggests, but a splash jacket helps in the cool months.
Getting there & around
Punakha is about a three-hour drive from Thimphu over the Dochu La pass, a common second or third stop on a Bhutan tour. Trips run half a day, with a short safety briefing and put-in upstream of the dzong. Because Bhutan is guided-only, the rafting is arranged through your licensed operator, and you pay the Sustainable Development Fee of USD 100 per adult per night (the 2026 rate, in force to August 2027) on top of tour costs. Rafts carry trained river guides and provide helmets and buoyancy aids.
Skill levels: beginner, intermediate
Schools & guides (2)
Druk Rafting Service
OutfitterDruk Rafting Service has run whitewater trips on Punakha's rivers since 2011 and is led by founder and chief guide Tandin Dorji, who grew up beside the Mo Chhu. Its team, drawn from the valley, runs the gentle Mo Chhu float past Punakha Dzong and the livelier Pho Chhu, with safety kayakers and river-guide training behind each raft. It is one of the few dedicated rafting outfitters in the country.
Firefox Tours
OutfitterFirefox Tours is a Bhutanese adventure operator that has run rafting on Punakha's Mo Chhu and Pho Chhu since 2014, alongside trekking, cycling, motorbike and helicopter trips. Its Mo Chhu descent is a family-friendly run of Class II water finishing near Punakha Dzong, while the Pho Chhu offers longer, busier rapids. Rafts carry trained river guides, and trips are booked as part of the country's guided travel.