Bhutan likes tourists -- just not a lot of them. Since opening up the country to toursim, the nation has limited the number of tourists to visit the country each year. Rather than setting a maximum number of tourists, however, the country is priced high enough to keep the numbers down. If you get to go, you'll probably be one of fewer than 25,000 for the year. The country is developing some new high-end hotels, however, and as the journey becomes less "difficult," expect numbers to rise.

Travelers to Bhutan must book a tour through an official tour company. They'll arrange the visa and set travelers up on a "group" tour. Your group could be any size, even as small as one person. The country sets a daily fee for tours, including your hotel, meals, a guide, a car, and even a driver. Supplemental fees are charged for small groups of one or two people. Currently, the price is about $250 per day. Hotels are sometimes a bit rustic, without Western shower facilities. Your morning shower may be a bucket of cold water. On the bright side, you'll probably have a warm bed with more blankets than you've ever had in your life.

Visitors fly into Bhutan at Paro Airport, about 30 miles from the capital Thimphu. National carrier Druk Air is the only airline to use the airport, which is located in a deep valley, and the only place in the country where a jet can be landed safely. The approach is spectacular. After clearing customs, you'll meet your guide and driver. If you're headed for Thimphu, the drive will take about 90 minutes over a paved mountain road. Fares on Druk Air are expensive, but travelers are required only to fly into or out of the country on the national airline. It is also possible to exit the country by road through the border with India at Phuntsholing. This could save you the cost of return airfare. Should you choose this option, you would take a six-hour drive down to the Indian border with your guide and driver. The last few miles of the drive descend steeply via switchbacks to Phuntsholing, which is more like India than Bhutan. The border checkpoint is north of town, and it appears travelers can enter Phuntsholing, Bhutan, without any special papers or visas. Whether or not this is legal is another matter. But it's mostly an open frontier between the two nations.

Indian citizens are not subject to the same rules when visiting Bhutan.