Two Bhutans
There is the Bhutan of earthly pleasures: archery and age-old crafts, homemade cheese and fearsomely hot chillies, long treks and restorative hot-stone baths. And there is another Bhutan, hinted at by the prayer flags strung across gorges and fluttering on every ridge – a place where irreverent humour meets deeply held belief, and slow journeys make room for quiet awe.
Ancient and new
People have lived in these valleys for thousands of years, but Bhutan was unified as a nation only in the seventeenth century, under the Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyal. The monarchy was founded in 1907, and the country became a democratic constitutional monarchy in 2008 – a transition initiated by the king himself.
Many peoples, one country
You’ll meet Ngalops in the west, Sharchops and Tshanglas in the east and Lhotshampas in the southern foothills, as well as Bumthaps, Khengpas, the Brokpas of Merak and Sakteng, and the Layaps of the far north. Some nineteen languages are spoken. Dzongkha is the national language, and English is the language of schooling, so you’ll find conversation easy.
Living crafts
Archery is the national sport, played with gusto and much good-natured heckling. The thirteen traditional arts – the zorig chusum, from painting and woodcarving to weaving and blacksmithing – are still taught to young apprentices, and contemporary artists work alongside them.
A green kingdom
Elevations run from around 100 metres in the south to more than 7,000 metres in the north. Forests cover more than two-thirds of the land, home to takin, red panda, golden langur and, in the high north, snow leopard. In winter, black-necked cranes arrive from Tibet to the valleys of Phobjikha and Bumdeling.