Bhutan
About bhutan
“Bhutan is determined to be guided by the values and priorities that have helped it to remain a unique country in a rapidly changing world”
“Gross national happiness is a profound message to the gaming world today, a world where people are said to have lost their souls in the chase for material comfort.”
Hidden deep in the folds of the great Himalaya Mountains for centuries, Bhutan opened its door to tourism only in 1974. The population for about 700,000 people, living in close harmony with nature, evolved a unique identity derived largely from a rich religious and cultural heritage. Today, the world is seeing many exotic aspects of Bhutan.
Bhutan is no longer a hermit kingdom, Prior to Covid 19 Crisis and its repercussion on the tourism industry, Bhutanese witnessed more than 100,000 tourists traveling into Bhutan. The tourist arrival skyrocketed in numbers. According to the Lonely Planet, Bhutan is ranked as the best country to visit in 2020 above England and North Macedonia.
The visits are fueled by the fervor to see a kingdom renowned for peace and tranquility of a unique Buddhist culture and for the worldwide popular developmental concept of GROSS NATIONAL HAPPINESS. Besides, people from around the world travel to Bhutan because of their admiration towards our Royal Families for Bhutan is counted as one of the few remaining royal kingdoms in the world.
Bhutan has stepped onto the international stage as the first and only Carbon- Negative country in the world. Bhutan produces 1.5 million tones of carbon every year. Geographically, Bhutan is covered with 72 percentage forests. It is mandated in the constitution of the Kingdom of Bhutan. Additionally, even more, trees are planted, in 2016 Volunteers set a Genius World Record by planting 49,672 trees in just an hour. Tourists who are nature enthusiasts also leave their memories in the form of tree plantation while in Bhutan.
Since Bhutan was in total isolation from the rest of the world till 1974, today Bhutanese take pride in our rich culture, traditions, and ancient values which visitors can explore and experience on a well-planned holiday with us as your travel planner.
We Wish You Happy Travels to Bhutan.
History
Early Bhutan
By 1,500 BC people lived in Bhutan by herding animals. The in the 7th century AD Buddhism was introduced into Bhutan.
In the 8th century an Indian named Padmasambhava did much to encourage the spread of Bhuddism in Bhutan. Ever since Bhuddism has been an integral part of the culture of Bhutan….read more
GROSS NATIONAL HAPPINESS
“Gross National Happiness is far more important than Gross Domestic Product”
– His Majesty Jigme Singye Wangchuk, the Fourth Druk Gyalpo
In 1972, the far-sighted fourth king of Bhutan coined the philosophy of ‘Gross National Happiness. The non-material developmental policy represented a commitment to building an economy that would serve Bhutan’s culture based on Buddhist spiritual values instead of the popular developmental philosophy of Gross Domestic Product.
Gross National Happiness embodies four pillars; one of the pillars is ‘Preservation and promotion of cultural values. The significance of culture and tradition to Bhutanese people was to instill values for the full development of human beings, to meet spiritual and emotional needs, to temper the pace of modernization and the negative impacts of globalization, to safeguard and strengthen the country’s sovereignty and security, to develop resilience and to promote diversity for meaningful contribution.
Bhutan has been cut off from the world for centuries to protect its culture and it was not until the 1970s that the first foreign tourists were allowed in. The tourism industry in Bhutan is founded on the principle of sustainability, meaning that tourism must be environmentally & ecologically friendly, socially and culturally acceptable, and economically viable. The Royal Government of Bhutan recognizes that tourism is a worldwide phenomenon and an important means of achieving socioeconomic development particularly for a developing country like Bhutan.
The establishment of the tourism industry in Bhutan contemplated the tourism policy of “High Value- Low Volume”. The principle of “high value, low volume” has been the overall tourism policy since 1974, which later changed to “high value, low impact” in 2008.
Thus the tourist traveling to Bhutan has to pay USD $250 per day during the tourist season and USD $200 per head in the off-season. For this reason, Bhutan remains relatively untouched by mass tourism and is one of the most high-end tourist destinations in the world.
Flora & Fauna
With over 70 percent forest coverage and wide range of altitude and climate, Bhutan has rich and diverse flora and fauna.
Bhutan can be divided into three zones:
The southern foothills, which is situated in Subtropical Zone (150m to 2000m) with Tropical or Subtropical vegetation.
The Temperate Zone (2000 to 4000m) with conifer or broadleaf forests covers most parts of the country; and the Alpine Zone (4000m and above) with no forest cover, at the northern Himalayan regions….read more
People and Society
There is no class and caste system in Bhutan. There are some organizations to empower woman. Bhutanese have been gender sensitive, an open and a good-spirited society.
Driglam Namzha- the traditional etiquette is the basic norms one should know while living in Bhutanese society. Following these norms enables the members of the society conduct themselves. Some of the examples of following these norms are wearing a scarf while visiting dzongs and monasteries, offering felicitation scarves when someone gets promotion, letting the elders and monks serve themselves first, greetings the elders and seniors before they wish you. This simple but basic practice synchronizes our society…..read more