Bhutan

According to the tradition, there has to be a monk in every Bhutanese family. Apart from having electricity and running water, not much has changed in many monasteries for the past hundreds of years.

A young Bhutanese girl makes Ema Datshi in Bhutan. Ema Datshi is among the most famous dishes in Bhutanese cuisine, recognized as a national dish of Bhutan.

ceremony

Bhutan has emerged as a single political entity with the Arrival of Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyal in 1616. But the Wangchuck dynasty began with the coronation of King Ugyen Wangchuck as King of Bhutan in 1907.

If it rains early, then the chances of seeing leeches around the edges of thick forests, along streams and in moist ravines around tropical areas becomes rather common, especially in the eastern and southern parts of Bhutan.

village · architecture

Traditional Bhutanese houses serve as a home or residential dwelling for the family, a shelter for domestic livestock, a place for weaving and other household activities and also a religious space.

flowers

Cassia Indigo is an erect shrub, 1-1.5 m tall. Leaves are compound 7-15 cm long, with 11-21 leaflets, 1.1-2.4 cm long, 7-15 mm broad, oblong to elliptical, blunt, truncate to slightly retuse, apiculate, velvety on both sides.

ceremony

A water-powered wooden prayer wheel rotates in Thimphu, Bhutan.

ceremony

A Buddhist prayer wheel spins continuously with the help of water underneath the wheel. This hydro-powered prayer wheel is seen along the way from Thimphu to Bumthang. Tsa tsa cones can also be seen in front of the prayer wheel.

politics

The kingdom of Bhutan introduced the concept of Gross National Happiness. Their sense of well-being with the governance, their relationship to nature, the respect of cultural and national belonging, and their contribution to the development…

ceremony · hills

Thousands of colourful Buddhist prayer flags on Chele La Pass in Bhutan. Chele la (pass) at an elevation 13000 ft asl is considered to be one of the highest motorable passes in Bhutan.

sport

Bhutanese kids play improvised and impromptu football in the dimming light of a winter evening in central Bhutan's Phobjikha valley.

wildlife · birds

The Black-necked Crane (Grus nigricollis) is a medium-sized crane in Asia that breeds on the Tibetan Plateau and winters mainly in remote parts of India and Bhutan.

hills · river

Paro hosts Bhutan's lone airport and the valley comprises a range of bucolic imagery including traditional Bhutanese homes, dzongs or fortified monasteries and green rice fields as far as the eyes can see.

sport · village

"Dha"- Archery is Bhutan's national sport. In Bhutan, every village has an archery field and there are makeshift grounds are all over the country.

hills

Sonam Tobden tends to his team at Lhawang Driden Incense as they prepare Drizang Kuenchap dhoop in Wangdue Phodrang district of Bhutan.

bus

Thimphu is the capital city of Bhutan and Phuntsholing is the point of entry for travellers arriving by bus from Kolkata and Siliguri and the town functions primarily as a place where Bhutanese and Indians do business.

Khuru (Bhutanese local term) is one of the traditional sport in Bhutan played by the majority of men in the country during special occasions. These days we see Bhutanese girls too participating during Losar and other important festivals.

crafts

The arts and crafts of Bhutan that represents the exclusive "spirit and identity of the Himalayan kingdom" are defined as the art of Zorig Chosum, which means the “thirteen arts and crafts of Bhutan”; the thirteen crafts are carpentry, pain…

politics

Bhutan (Druk Yul), also known as Land of The Thunder Dragon is a South East Asian country, located in the eastern Himalayas.