About Bhutan

Bhutan is a small landlocked Himalayan Kingdom, almost the size of HOLLAND in Europe and about half the size of state of INDIANA in the USA. It has an area of 38,394 sq km; and is sandwiched between two giant neighbours - China in the North and India in the South. Bhutan lies between 27 30 N longitude and 90 30 E latitude with a population of 691,141 (from the National Housing and Census Bureau of Bhutan statistics).
There are many local dialects in different regions of the central, south western, western and eastern regions of the country. Although Bhutan has a relatively small land mass, the wide geographical variation gives Bhutan its typical climatic character and four distinct seasonal patterns. The southern plain, close to the Indian border has a sub tropical climate with very pleasant in winter months, while the central valley has a mild temperature with cool environment. The alpine in the north has cooler weather throughout the seasons. The four climatic seasons vary from Winter in December to February, Spring from March to May, Summer in June to August, and Autumn from September to November.
The physical features stretch across all climatic zones - the sub-tropical vegetation in the south with an altitude of 200 to 300 meters to moderate height of 2,000 to 2,500 meters in the central region. There is also a much higher alpine zone with the towering Himalayan range and glacier. These give spectacular views to visitors.
The Bhutanese people are good natured, friendly and fun loving. The ruggedness of the terrain and remoteness of the valley have led to the settlement and formation of many scattered communities throughout Bhutan. The broad classification of local dialects are Dzongkha in south western region (also the national language of Bhutan), the people in the west central region speak Khengkha or Bumthapkha. The eastern region has Sarchopkha as local language and Nepali in the southern part of the country.
The capital city of Bhutan is THIMPHU which is located at north western part of the country, where all the Ministerial organisations and UN House are based.
Although the state religion of the Kingdom is Mahayana Buddhism, people in the eastern part of the country follow Nyingmapa sect of Buddhism. The Karmapa sect is widely practised in the western region. The Nepalese or Lhotshampas (southern Bhutanese) in the southern belt are predominantly Hindus.
The natural environment is mostly undisturbed and in pristine form. With a national goal of maintaining 60 percent of the country under forest cover at all times to come, the scope for Bhutan's rich bio-diversity is very secure. Currently, about 65 percent of the country is under forest cover and 26 percent as protected areas (National Parks and Biological Corridors), enabling harmonious existence of the Eco-system.

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