The official name of Bhutan is Kingdom of Bhutan but its inhabitants call it Druk Yul. It means Dragon Kingdom and Bhutan is often called Land of Thunder Dragon. Bhutan is the last Buddhist monarchy in the world.

Bhutan shares borders with India in the south and with China in the north and it is near to Nepal and Bangladesh. Bhutan spreads out on 47000 sq km and is almost as large as Switzerland. Bhutan is typical mountainous country with soaring snow capped peaks and Alpine meadows and its highest mountain is Kula Kangri which reaches a height of 7 554m above sea level. In highs over 4000m land is covered by snow and there are glaciers.

The most important rivers are Amo, Kuri, Manas and Sankosh (the longest river). More than 55% of land is covered by woods. In the south part of Bhutan, there are monsoonal woods.

People of Bhutan

Bhutan has population of about 2,327,849. The capital city of Bhutan is Thimphu with 30 000 inhabitants. Other big cities are Punakha and Paro. People speak various languages: Dzongkha (official), Tibetan dialects, Nepalese dialects and English. Most of people, 72% are Tibetan Buddhists and 25% are Hindus.

Polygamy is accepted in Bhutan. There are no arranged marriages and it is a man who leaves parent house and moves to his wife’s house. Majority of the people lives in small villages and work generally as farmers.

History

We do not know exactly when the history of Bhutan has begun. Historians think that first Tibetan tribes came here in 9th century. In 17th century Bhutan was established as a princedom and it was ruled by Tibet and later by China. Bhutan has been monarchy since 1907 and member of OSN since 1971.

Culture

Culture of Bhutan has been always influenced by Tibet. There are about 1300 dzongs. Dzong is massive fortress monastery. Most of them are not open for tourists. The most famous are Tagcchang, Punakha and Paro Dzong. National sport is archery and competitions take part in almost all villages. These competitions are accompanied with singing and dancing and plenty of food and drinks. Football has recently become very popular in Bhutan. There are many public holidays which are connected for example with beginning of lunar New Year or with the official start of monsoon season.

Summary

Bhutan is still keeping its secrets and it does not want to let foreigners discover them. Bhutan wants to preserve its specific culture and it has a good reason because Bhutan is considered to be the last centre of traditional Himalayan Buddhist culture. Most of people come here to visit Himalaya but you can also admire its architectonical beauty and culture. You can travel with professional guide that can speak English well in Bhutan. Prices are not negotiated and because it is very impolite to negotiate.