Bhutan

15 Day's :
Delhi - Paro - Taksang - Thimphu - Punakha - Gangtey - Trongsa - Bumthang - Mongar - Trashigang - Samdrup Jonkar - Guwahati - Delhi

In the Land of Gross National Happiness

In our troubled world, too often addicted to consumerism, there is an almost magical country able to treasure its origins and traditions well. This is Bhutan. It remained isolated from major trade routes because of his geographical configuration : a compound of perched valleys in the heart of the Himalayan range. The country lives with a ruler strongly guided by the eternal, all pervading presence of Mahayana Buddhism. Bhutan is the only country in the world today to retain the tantric form of Buddhism as a state religion. This faith still plays a fundamental role in the culture and the way of thinking of the Bhutanese. Life today is the same as long ago and remains based on the respect of earth and nature, hence it is naturally and deeply ecological.

Many mysteries surround this country. Around the eighth century, Guru Padma Sambhava embarked on a legendary trip from Tibet to Bhutan. He even rode a "flying tiger", so says the folktales. We will climb to the Tiger nest near the Paro of today. Guru Rimpoche, a dedicated teacher, became in the 8th century the father of Mahayana Buddhism practiced in the country. In 1616, Ngawang Namgyal, a Tibetan lama of the Drukpa School, arrived in Bhutan and introduced a system of parallel religious and secular authorities. This unified the country, of which he became the main leader. Religious affairs were entrusted to a Je Khenpo. Unfortunately many quarrels and wars broke again out in this country consisting of isolated valleys and distant hills where real local authorities held the main power. This led, in 1907, during a meeting of religious and lay representatives, to the election of the first King of Bhutan. The monarchy is in place today with its fifth king, Jigme Khesar Wangchuk.

The Kingdom of Bhutan is located in the eastern part of the Himalayas, between Tibet and the territories of Assam and Bengal in the south, like cuddled amidst high mountains. The population mainly inhabits the central part and the Himalayan foothills. The country develops its landswape between 180 m and 7550 m above sea level. On the lower parts, the plains of Daurs, we find even a savannah and a semi-tropical vegetation of bamboo.

A trip to Bhutan is unlike any other. The country's economy is predominantly rural and tourism could provide a new form of economy, but the king's will is precisely to better manage the movements and avoid the crowds by charging relatively high prices from inbound visitors. Today, it is a privilege to visit this kingdom.