Bhutan

Bhutan is a small country sandwiched between two giant nations China in north and India in rest of all direction. Bhutan occupies an area of about 46,500 square kilometers with dramatic land architecture, unique biotic treasures and fabulously rich cultural landscape. Geographically Bhutan is divided in to three zones namely southern zone, central zone and northern zone. Southern zone consists of low foothills and

Bhutan General information

Bhutan is a small country sandwiched between two giant nations China in north and India in rest of all direction. Bhutan occupies an area of about 46,500 square kilometers with dramatic land architecture, unique biotic treasures and fabulously rich cultural landscape. Geographically Bhutan is divided in to three zones namely southern zone, central zone and northern zone. Southern zone consists of low foothills and dense tropical forests with an average temperature of about 20 degree Celsius which makes this region hot and humid. Central region is alpine with monsoon and the climatic condition is semi tropical. The central zone is further divided into three regions namely western Bhutan, central Bhutan and eastern Bhutan. We can see the amazing view of beautiful mountains in the eastern Himalayas which ranges from the elevation of about 150m in south to 7,300m in north above sea level. Finally, the northern zone stretches from west to east between 6800 meters to 7400 meters, forming part of the Great Himalayas.

Religion:

Geographically, Bhutan is very small country also called as Himalayan Kingdom. Bhutan is being able to preserve its unique natural and cultural heritage and all the Bhutanese people engaged in protection, preservation and conservation of the bounties of nature and culture. The people of Bhutan follow either Buddhism or Hinduism. Buddhism is practiced throughout the country and the majority of the Bhutanese are Buddhist. Hinduism is practiced particularly in Southern Bhutan among the Bhutanese of Nepali origin. The main protective deity of the country, Yeshey Gonpo or Mahakala, is a Tantric Buddhist form of Hindu God Shiva and often appears in the form of a raven.

BY AIR

The best way to enter Bhutan is by Druk Air, Bhutan's National Flag carrier. Druk Air has flights from India (Delhi & Calcutta), Nepal (Kathmandu), Thailand (Bangkok) and Bangladesh (Dhaka). Druk Air is the only air operating TO/FROM Bhutan.

BY LAND

By land, one can enter or exit Bhutan from Phuntsoling, the southern Bhutanese border town that is soon connected to West Bengal state of India. Phuntsoling serves as a best connecting point for travellers willing to visit Bhutan along with Darjeeling, Sikkim and Nepal. Exit from Bhutan can be made from Samdrup Zongkhar also. This frontier town is approximately three hours drive from Guwahati, the capital city of Assam state of India. Samdrup Zongkhar is the only other authorised exit point in Bhutan from where you can make further visit to other parts of India.

VISA

A visa is required for traveling to Bhutan and it is processed and arranged by travel agents in Bhutan. Once you've decided to participate in one of the Bhutan tour program, our partner agent in Bhutan will take care of your Visa preparation. Please contact us if you want to spend your holidays travelling Bhutan. We will send you a Visa Application Form which you should fill it carefully and mail it to us at least four weeks prior to date of your proposed travel, for processing it with the concerned authorities. The form should also include four copies of a recent passport size photographs. Actual visa is stamped on arrival in Bhutan while visa is cleared in advance. Once we've gone through this process and received a clearance number, we will confirm your travel.

CUSTOMS & REGULATIONS

The Bhutanese authorities strictly prohibit the export of any religious antiquity or antiques of any type. All personal electronics, cameras, video cameras, computers and personal electronic equipment may be brought into the country but they must be listed on the Customs form provided on arrival at Paro and will be checked on your departure. Two liters of Alcohol and reasonable quantity of cigarettes may be brought in to the country without duty.

CURRENCY

Bhutan's unit of currency is the Ngultrum (Nu), which equals 100 Chetrums. It is at par with the Indian rupee, itself a legal tender in the kingdom. One US dollar is exchanged for roughly 44 Ngultrums. Tourists can exchange traveller's cheques or cash at the Bank of Bhutan or at any authorised hotels. US dollar, Australian dollars, pound sterling, Euro, French and Swiss francs, German marks, Dutch guilders, Hongkong dollars, Singapore dollars, Thai bath or Japanese yen are all accepted currencies.

ACCOMMODATION

Hotels vary in style and quality but are generally considered one of the welcome surprises for visitors. There is a variety of hotels in Bhutan, ranging from simple huts that cater to Bhutanese yak herders to Paro's fancy Olathang Hotel, which was built for royal guests. To be more precise, what you get is a Bhutanese version of what the tourists expect. In most cases, the facilities and service are good. The Tourism Authority of Bhutan approves the hotels for the International tourists.

PHOTOGRAPHY & VIDEO

Photography is permitted nearly everywhere in Bhutan and the local population has no aversion to being photographed. If you wish to record the local people, their houses, shops etc, always ask by gestures if it is okay to do so. Photography inside the Dzongs and Monasteries are not permitted. Please follow our guide's instruction carefully while visiting Dzongs, monasteries and religious institution.

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