About Bhutan
Hidden for centuries within the imposing grandeur of the Himalayas, the small kingdom of Bhutan, or Drukyul, is befittingly called The Land of the Peaceful Dragon and by some as The Last Shangri-La. Here breathes a culture as unsullied and unique as the scenic environment that has fostered it.
No surprise it is then that Bhutan has come to be regarded as the last bastion of Tantric Lamaist Buddhism in its original form. Only in Bhutan is religion still so integral a part of everyday life that art, dance, and music are performed today with a religious fervor undiminished through more than 300 years.
Bhutan's unique geographical and demographic conditions with 640,000 people spread over 46,500 square kilometers it is the only South Asian country that is not overpopulated as well as an history of self imposed isolation have also nurtured an ecological diversity that makes it one of the 10 biological "hot-spots" of the world.
SiteSeeing
Even today, there are but two entry points into Bhutan‹Paro, by air, and Phuentsholing, the kingdom's commercial hubs, by road. Either way, there are no disappointments. Every valley opens into another no less picturesque than itself. Unusual dzongs (fortresses), monasteries, villages, animals, lush forests, or snow-capped peaks wait to surprise unbelieving visitors at every turn.
Trekking
That every trekker and mountain lover believes the best way to see a country is to travel on foot is hardly an overstatement. None who have trudged along trails in Bhutan have found cause to disagree. Choices of trekking routes, varying from hour-long and half-day romps to month-long expeditions for serious adventurers, exist in Bhutan. These promise insights into agrarian lifestyles at high altitudes and breath-stopping pastoral landscapes of some of the world's highest lakes, streams, mountains, and botanical wonders.
Festivals
Unquestionably religious by tradition, festivals in Bhutan attract crowds of tourists as well as local clergy and laymen, like bees to honey. Such festivals, which may span a day to a week, are held in different valleys at different times of the year. The more popular of these vigorously celebrated social events are those of Thimphu, Paro, Wangduephodrang, Trongsa, Bumthang, Mongar and Trashigang.
The festivals are perhaps the most colorful of Bhutanese gatherings, owing in large part, to the local tradition of donning the best of clothes and jewelry. It is in this way that the festivals become a showcase for Bhutan's highly developed indigenous art of textile weaving.
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