Bhutan Travel Information

GEOGRAPHY
The kingdom lies east of Nepal and west of the Indian state of Arunachal pardesh. It is south of the Tibetan hinterland and north of the Indian territories of Assam and west Bengal. Located in the heart of the high Himalayan mountain range, Bhutan is a land-locked country surrounded by mountains in the north and west. The rugged east, visited by few Western travelers, borders the spares and largely unknown Indian state of Arunachal pradesh. The high Himalaya in the northern steppes separates the kingdom from Tibet. The population of 600,000 is made up primarily of indigenous Bhutanese. Many naturalized citizens came originally from Tibet and India.

CLIMATE
Bhutan has four distint sesons. Each has its advantage and disadvantage for the visitor. Notice should be taken of the predictable weather patterns before making decisions when to visit. Remember even predictable weather can vary dramatically in different areas and in 24-hour period. The southern plains close to the Indian border are warmer and more tropical than higher central valleys. Spring is arguably the most beautiful time of the year in the kingdom. The fierce cold that characterizes the winter months tends to subside towards the end of February(around Bhutanese New Year, Lhosar). Rhododendron beings to bloom, first in the warmer east. At the heiger of spring , the end of March, the whole kingdom comes to life with the spectacular flaming red, pink and white of the rhododendron blossom.

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 stands of secular life, bringing with it a reverence for the land and its well-beings. Annual festivals(tsechus and dromchose) are spiritual occasions in each district and dedicted to either Guru Rimpoche or detities. Throughout Bhutan, stupas and chortens line the roadside communication a place where Guru Rimpoche or another Shabdrung may have stopped to midtate. Prayer flags are even more common. Fluttering on long poles,they maintain constant communication with the heavens. Bhutan is the only country in the world to retain the tantric form of Mahayana Buddism as its official religion.

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 mnain ethnic groups, the Sharchops, Ngalops and the Lpotshampas (of Nepalese origin) make up today’s Drukpa. Bhutan’s earliest residents, the Sharachops, reside predominantly in eastern Bhutan. Their origin can be traced to the tribes of north Burma and north-east India. The Ngalops migrated from the Tibetan plains and are the importers of Buddhism to the kingdom. Most of the Lhotshampas migrated to the southern plains in search of agricultural land and work in the early 20th Century. The geography of the land kept each ethnic group separate until the middle of this century when roads were built between the east and the west.

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