Bhutan

Bhutan, located in the eastern Himalayas, borders China to the north and India to the south, east and west. The altitude varies from 300m (1000ft) in the narrow lowland region to 7000m (22,000ft) in the Himalayan plateau in the north. The foothills are tropical and home to deer, lion, leopards and the rare golden monkey. The Inner Himalaya region is temperate; wild life includes bear, boar and sambar and the area is rich in deciduous forests.Thimphu, the capital of Bhutan, lies at a height of over 2400m (8000ft) in a fertile valley. It resembles a large, widely dispersed village rather than a capital. The yearly religious Thimphu Festival is held in the courtyard directly in front of the National Assembly Hall. A visit to the Paro Valley and the Taktsang (Tiger’s Nest) Monastery clinging to the face of a 900m (2952ft) precipice is highly recommended. Restaurants are scarce and most tourists eat vegetarian food served buffet-style in their hotels. Cheese is a popular ingredient, the most popular being datse (cow’s milk cheese). Rice is ubiquitous and is sometimes flavoured with saffron. The most popular drink is souza (Bhutanese tea).

BHUTAN, pronounced boo-TAHN, is a small, developing independent country in south-central Asia. It lies in the eastern Himalaya between India and Tibet. Bhutan is a rugged, mountainous country with great extremes in climate. Thick forests grow on the rain-drenched southern slopes of the mountains. It is extremely hot in the low foothill regions and extremely cold in the Great Himalayas. Only in the mid-Himalaya sregions is the climate moderate. Almost all Bhutanese are hardy mountaineers who farm and raise stock. They live in isolated valleys, cut off from one another by mountains.

Bhutan had little contact with the rest of the world until the late 1950's. Thimphu, a town ofabout 30,000, is the capital of the country. Government of Bhutan is a hereditary (inherited) monarchy headed by a powerful king. The king appoints an advisory council to assist him. He also appoints one-fourth of the 130-member Tsongdu (national assembly). Village headmen elect about three-fourths of theTsongdu members. Some members represent powerful Buddhist monasteries. The assembly's chief duty is to advise the king. Tsongdu members serve five-year terms. A dzongtap (district officer) is responsible for law and order in each of Bhutan's 15 administrative divisions. Families in each village elect a headman to a three-year term. Bhutan has no legal political parties.

Bhutan's two largest ethnic groups, the Sharchops and the Ngalops, make up more than half of the population. The Ngalops are descendants of Tibetan settlers. The Sharchops' origin is uncertain, but they may have come from Tibet long ago. The two groups are sometimes known together as the Bhotes or Bhutias. About a fourth of Bhutan's people are Nepalese.

Several languages are spoken in Bhutan. Dzongkha, a Tibetan dialect, is the official language. The Sharchops and the Ngalops practice Buddhism, Bhutan's official religion. About 4,500 lamas (monks) in Bhutan belong to the Red Hat Order of Lamas. They perform Buddhist rituals, treat illnesses, and teach sacred doctrine. They live in fortified monasteries called dzongs, which have chapels, offices, and teaching centers. Most of Bhutan's Nepalese practice Hinduism. Bhutan's Hindus live in compact villages along the Indian border. They build rectangular houses of mud blocks and stones. They build on high ground for protection against floods, wild animals, and snakes. People in the small villages of the mid-Himalayas valleys live in houses of oblong stone blocks that have pine-shingle roofs. The family lives upstairs and uses the ground floor as a barn. In the high, northern mountain valleys, people live in small villages surrounded by stone walls. People of Tibetan descent wear a long, loose coat made from a colored blanket. This style of coat is gathered around the waist andhangs to the knees. Most of Bhutan's people 15 years old and older cannot read and write.

Bhutan has three major land regions. A region of plains and river valleys lies along the Indian border in the south. It ranges from about 150 to 3,000 feet (46 to 910 meters )above sea level. Bananas, citrus fruits, and rice are grown in its hot, humid climate. Mountains in the mid-Himalayan region, which lies north of the plains, rise to from 5,000to 14,000 feet (1,500 to 4,270 meters) above sea level. Ash, oak, poplar, and willow trees grow in this region's moderate climate. Mountains in the Great Himalayas, the northern most region, rise over 24,000 feet (7,320 meters). The climate above 14,000 feet (4,270 meters) is very cold. Snow and glaciers cover parts of this region all year. Rivers run from north to south, forming fertile valleys. Economy. Most Bhutanese are farmers and stock raisers. Most farmers plant crops in fertile valleys or in irrigated terraces on mountain slopes. Barley, rice, and wheat are the chief crops. People in the high mountain areas herd cattle and yaks. Coal is produced in the south. Bhutan trades chiefly with India. It exports coal and rice, and imports gasoline, kerosene, and sugar. Until 1960, Bhutan lacked communications, power, and trained workers. Since then, it has begun to modernize the economy and tie it closely to India. With Indian aid, Bhutan has established orchards, stock-breeding farms, a distillery, and a fruit-preserving factory. India has also helped Bhutan build roads and has trained farmers. The government of Bhutan makes money by selling collectors' postage stamps.

Little is known of Bhutan's early history. In the 800's, Tibetan invaders conquered the Bhutia Tephoo — the country's original inhabitants — and settled Bhutan. By the early 1500's, descendants of the Tibetan invaders controlled Bhutan from a number oflarge dzongs located in the mid-Himalayan region. In the early 1600's, Bhutan became aseparate state when a Tibetan lama took power as ruler of both religious and state affairs. In 1907, Ugyen Wangchuk, a powerful penlop (territorial lord), was chosen to administer the government. He made himself Bhutan's first king and gave the country its first effective central government. In the 1700's and 1800's, the Bhutanese raided Sikkim and part of what was then British India. These raids caused Britain to take control of some of Bhutan's foreign affairs. In 1910, the British Indian government took full control of Bhutanese foreign relations, but the British did not interfere with Bhutan's internal government. In 1949, India agreed to handle Bhutan's foreign affairs and to help develop its economy. India later assumed responsibility for the defense of Bhutan. Bhutan remained isolated from the rest of the world until 1959, when China claimed part o fthe country. Bhutan then strengthened its ties to India and began programs to modernize its economy, educational system, and public health facilities. In 1972, King Jigme Dorji Wangchuk died and was succeeded by his son, Jigme Singye Wangchuk. In the early 1990's, anti government protests by people of Nepalese descent turned violent. Many Nepalese have fled to refugee camps in Nepal.

Festivals In Bhutan:
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More info about Bhutan from Bhutan Tourism Corporation Limited
More info about Bhutan from CIA World Factbook
More info about Bhutan from the Library of Congress