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Geographical location
Located in southern Asia, between China and India.
Capital
Thimpu
Flights
Druk Air flights
Visa Matters
Everybody needs to get a visa. Independent travel is not
permitted in Bhutan. Visitors are required to book travel
through a registered tour operator in Bhutan. This may be
done directly or through a travel agent abroad.
Tourist Attractions
Trashi Chhoe Dzong
Memorial Chorten
School of Arts and Crafts
Weekend market
Changlimithang Stadium
National Institute of Traditional Medicine
Taktsang (Tiger’s Nest)
Rimpung Dzong
Town of Paro
Accommodations
Uma Paro
Zhiwa Ling
Jakar Village Lodge
Amankora Paro
Amankora Thimphu
Gangtey Palace Hotel
Taj Tashi
Kichu Resort Wangduephodrang
Dewachen Hotel
Best time to go
Spring or autumn, the months of February, March, April,
September, October and November
Currency
Ngultrum
Weather/Seasons
Varies between tropical in the southern plains, central
valleys that have cool winters and cool summers, and severe
winters and cool summers in the Himalayas. The rainy season,
from June to October, winter is from December to February.
Transportation
Tourists can travel in Bhutan with medium-sized buses
(20-22 seats), small buses (8-12 seats) or hired cars.
Languages Spoken
The National language of Bhutan is Dzongkha.
Sharchokpa - language spoken in the eastern Bhutan
Nepali - language spoken in the southern Bhutan
English
Sports/Recreation
Archery, Singing , Dancing
Cuisine
The Bhutanese diet is rich in meat, dairy, grain
(particularly rice) and vegetables. Emadatse, made with
green hot chilies and cheese stew, is considered the
national dish with many interpretations to this recipe
throughout the kingdom. Meat dishes, mainly pork, beef and
yak, are lavishly spiced with chilies, and it is common to
see bright red peppers drying on rooftops in the sun. Salted
butter tea, or suja, is served on all social occasions.
Several Tibetan-style dishes are common, including momos
(dumplings), and thukpa (noodles). Chang, a local beer, and
ara, a spirit distilled from rice, maize, wheat or barley,
are also common and widely favored. Doma or betel nut is
offered as a customary gesture of greeting.
Ethnicity
The “Sharchops”, who live in the east of the country and
are believed to be the original inhabitants. The “Ngalongs”,
who live mostly in western Bhutan and are the descendants of
Tibetan immigrants. The “Lhotshampas”, settled in the south
of Bhutan in the late 19th century. The Lhotshampa (meaning
Southern Bhutanese) represent Nepali- speaking groups.
Population
634,982 (as of 2005-2006)
Economy
70 % of Bhutan’s people depend on agriculture, it is the
backbone of the economy.
Government
Constitutional Monarchy
Security
There is relatively little crime in Bhutan. Petty crime,
such as pick-pocketing and purse snatching, is occasionally
reported. Recent civil unrest has been due to refugee issues
Bhutan is currently facing.
History
Mystery surrounds Bhutan's distant past, as priceless
irretrievable documents were lost in fires and earthquakes.
In the 8th century CE, Guru Rinpoche (Padmasambhava or
second Buddha) made his legendary trip from Eastern Bhutan
to Western Bhutan on the back of a flying tigress to subdue
the evil spirits who hindered Buddhism. After defeating
them, he blessed them as guardians of the doctrine. thus
introducing Tantric Buddhism to Bhutan. Taktshang or Tigers
Nest in the Paro Valley is where he landed and today it
remains one of most sacred places in Bhutan.
It is believed that the name Bhutan is derived from the
Sanskrit 'Bhotant', meaning 'the end of Tibet', or from 'Bhu-uttan',
meaning 'high land'. Historically the Bhutanese have
referred to their country as Druk Yul, 'land of the thunder
dragon'. Bhutanese refer to themselves as Drukpa people.
Guru Rinpoche (Precious Master) is the father of the Drukpa
Kagyu school of Tantric Mahayana Buddhism practiced in
Bhutan. Shabdrung Ngawang Namgyal, a Tibetan lama of the
Drukpa School, arrived in Bhutan in 1616 CE. He introduced
the present dual system of religious and secular government,
creating and building the system of Dzongs throughout
Bhutan. Shabdrung unified the country, and established
himself as the country's supreme leader and vested civil
power in a high officer known as the Druk Desi. Religious
affairs were charged to another leader, the Je Khenpo (Chief
Abbot of Bhutan). For two centuries following Shabdrung's
demise, civil wars intermittently broke out, and the
regional Penlops (governors) became increasingly more
powerful. This ended when an assembly of representatives of
the monastic community, civil servants and the people,
elected the Penlop of Trongsa, Ugyen Wangchuck, the First
King of Bhutan in 1907-1926. The monarchy has thrived ever
since, and the present Fourth King, His Majesty Jigme Singye
Wangchuck (1972 to present), commands the overwhelming
support for his people.
Geography
The Kingdom of Bhutan lies in the Central Himalayas, between
Tibet to the north, the Indian territories of Assam and West
Bengal, to the south and east, and Sikkim to the west. The
Kingdom has a total area of about 47,000 square kilometers,
about the size of Switzerland. Located in the heart of the
high Himalayan mountain range, Bhutan is a land-locked
country surrounded by mountains. The sparsely populated
Greater Himalayas, bounded to the north by the Tibetan
plateau, reach heights of over 7,300 meters (23,950ft.), and
extend southward losing height, to form the fertile valleys
of the Lesser Himalayas divided by the Wang, Sunkosh,
Trongsa and Manas Rivers. Monsoon influences promote dense
forestation in this region and alpine growth at higher
altitudes. The cultivated central uplands and Himalayan
foothills support the majority of the population. In the
south, the Duars (the gates) Plain drops sharply away from
the Himalayas into the large tracts of semi-tropical forest,
savannah grassland and bamboo jungles.
Religion
Bhutan is the only country in the world to retain the
Tantric form of Mahayana Buddhism (Drukpa Kagyu) as its
official religion. The Buddhist faith has played and
continues to play a fundamental role in the cultural,
ethical and sociological development of Bhutan and its
people. It permeates all strands of secular life, bringing
with it a reverence for the land and its well being. Annual
festivals (tshechus and dromchoes) are spiritual occasions
in each district. They bring together the population and are
dedicated to the Guru Rinpoche or protective deities.
Throughout Bhutan, chortens or stupas (receptacle for
offerings) line the roadside commemorating places where Guru
Rinpoche or another high Lama may have stopped to meditate.
Prayer flags dot the hills, fluttering in the wind. They
allow Bhutanese people to maintain constant communication
with the heavens.
Way of life
While urban settlements have sprung up with the process
of modernization, the majority of Bhutanese people still
live in small rural villages. Small family farms are the pre
dominate way of life and the farmer the most common
occupation. As the altitude rises, crops give way to cattle
and yak breeding with herds grazing in the high pastures.
The Bhutanese diet is rich in meat and poultry, dairy, grain
(particularly rice-red and white) and vegetables. Emadatse
(chili pepper and cheese stew) is considered the national
dish with many interpretations to this recipe throughout the
country. Poulry and meat dishes, pork, beef and yak, are
lavishly spiced with chilies, and it is common to see bright
red peppers drying on rooftops in the sun. Salted butter
tea, or suja, is served on all social occasions. Chang, a
local beer, and arra, a spirit distilled from rice, maize,
wheat or barley, are also common and widely favored. Doma or
betel nut, is offered as a customary gesture of greeting.
The Bhutanese way of life is greatly influenced by religion.
People circumambulating (kora) the chortens with prayer
beads and twirling prayer wheels are a common sight. Every
Bhutanese home has a special room used for prayers, a chosum.
People
Early records suggest scattered clusters of inhabitants had
already settled in Bhutan when the first recorded settlers
arrived 1,400 years ago. Bhutan's indigenous population is
the Drukpa. Three main ethnic groups, the Sharchops, Ngalops
and the Lhotsampas (of Nepalese origin), make up today's
Drukpa population. Bhutan's earliest residents, the
Sharchops (people of the east) reside predominantly in
eastern Bhutan. Their origin can be traced to the tribes of
northern Burma and northeast India. The Ngalops migrated
from the Tibetan plains and are the importers of Buddhism to
the kingdom. Most of the Lhotsampas migrated to the southern
plains in search of agricultural land and work in the early
20th century. The current population is approximately
750,000. |
