Authentic Bhutan

Bhutan History

Bhutan, the Druk Yul-the land of Thunder Dragon lies between Tibet and India along the slopes of the Himalayas. Bhutan’s early history is steeped in the Buddhist tradition and mythology. The fire and earthquakes have destroyed the original documents of the Bhutanese Pre-history.  Some sources say that nomadic herders inhabited Bhutan as early as 2000 – 1500 BC.

The recorded history of Bhutan started from 746 AD, after the visit of Guru Rinpoche to this country. Guru Rinpoche is considered as the second Buddha and the patron saint of Bhutan. He introduces the Buddhist religion in the country-which provides the sense of unity during the medieval ages.

Bhutan was a cluster of fragmented territory, which was constantly at odds with each other in the early 17th century. It was during this time that Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyel visited the country from Tibet.  With his religious powers and strong sense of politics, he unified the country as one nation. He set up a central administration, established a legal system, built many fortress called Dzongs, which were served as and effective defense and to this day; serves as centers of religious & administrations in the country.

The most important thing was happened in the history on 1907, when people elected Sir Ugyen Wangchuk as the first hereditary king of Bhutan unanimously. HRH Jigme Wangchuk succeeded him and ruled the country from 1926 to 1952. HRH Jigme Dorji Wangchuk, also known as the father of modern Bhutan, was king from 1952 to 1972. The present king HRH Jigme Singye Wangchuk came to the throne in 1972 at the age of 16. Under his dynamic and farsighted reign, Bhutan has confidently and proudly moved to the 21st century. 

Bhutan Geography

Bhutan is a landlocked country hidden in the Eastern Himalayas bounded by China in the north and India in the south, east and west. Bhutan is a small country with an area of 38394 square kilometers. In-fact, the entire country is mountainous with elevation ranging from 180 meters above sea level in the south and more than 7400 meters in the north.

Bhutan can be divided into three major geographic zones. The three major geographic zones are the southern zone, the central zone and the northern zones.

In the southern zone, it is hot and humid with dense tropical forests with an average temperature of 20 degree centigrade.

The central zone lies within the 2000 meters to 3500meters above the sea level with semi tropical forest, most of the region is alpine. It is again divided into three regions. They are
Western Bhutan
Central Bhutan and
Eastern Bhutan.

The northern zones forms the part of the Great Himalayas stretches west to east from an altitude 6500 meters to 7400 meters