HHW Digital Flip Book - Bhutan

ཅཤ ཤཏལོ ཆཏདཤག ཕེཤ

Buddha Dordenma Statue, Thimphu Paro Taksang, Paro Buddha Dordenma, Thimphu Dochula Pass, Thimphu Mount Jumolhari, Paro

Contents: About Bhutan ཏརཅེི རཕེིཏལ Population & Literacy Rate ཆཅཆེཙཏིོཅལ ཏལད ཙོིགངཏའུ ངཏིག Economy གའཅལཅཤུ Famous Personalities ནཏཤཅེཐ ཆགངཐཅལཏཙོིོགཐ Culture འེཙིེངག Travelling ིངཏཡགཙཙོལཔ Memorial Chorten, Thimphu

Bhutan is a small country located in Southeast Asia amidst the Mighty Himalayas. Its neighboring countries are India (from the South), China (from the North) and Nepal and Bangladesh sharing a small border. The flag of Bhutan is separated in two halves diagonally. The upper left half is yellow and the lower right half is orange. There is an emblem of a white dragon in the middle of the flag facing to the right.

Vajra is the National Emblem of Bhutan. It symbolizes nature reality, indicating endless creativity and skillful activity. Various Buddhist Gods hold Vajra in their hands like Vajrasttava, Vajrapani and Padmasambhava. The type of government in Bhutan is Constitutional Monarchy since the year 2008. The King is the head of the state and the executive power lies within the hands of the Council of Ministers which is headed by the Prime Minister. The official language of Bhutan is Dzongkha (དཞཅལཔམཕཞ).

Bhutan is situated at a high altitude, due to which the country’s climate is varied. Southern Bhutan is typically hot and humid whereas in the central part of the country the summers are usually warm ranging from about 15 - 30C and winters are cold and dry too. Towards the North, the weather is much colder and the mountain peaks are covered with snow.

The National Sport of Bhutan is Archery (དཕཏ). Bhutan also maintains an Olympic Archery Team. The National Bird of Bhutan is Raven. (ངཏཡགལ) It also adorns the royal crown and represents a chief of the guardian deity.

Takin (ིཏམོལ) is the National Animal of Bhutan and is a very rare mammal with thick neck and it is covered with wool. The beautiful Blue Poppy (རཙེག ཆཅཆཆུ) is the National Flower of the Kingdom of Bhutan. Its colour is delicate blue or purple with a white filament.

According to recent surveys by United Nations the total population of Bhutan is 779,898 Population Growth in Bhutan



ཐའཕཅཅཙཐ The *Literacy Rate of Bhutan is 66.56% according to a survey conducted in 2017.  The percentage of people ages 15 and above who can read and write.

The Bhutanese people are largely dependent on agriculture and cattle farming. In addition to farming, the farmers also get their income from selling animal products like cheese, milk and other poultry products. These farmers sell fresh, local and organic vegetables and fruits throughout the country.



Bhutan has a rich amount of natural resources and as a result, the country has seen a thriving development in Handicrafts. Craftsmen make beautiful items out of cane, bamboo and wool. The weavers weave a number of floor mats (Bumthang Carpets), kiras and bags. Because of the country’s exotic beauty, the Tourism Industry flourishes a lot because many people from far and near to experience this heaven on earth.

Do You Know that Bhutan Supplies Electricity to India? Well, because Bhutan has an enormous amount of fast flowing rivers, it produces a high amount of hydropower electricity. The currency of Bhutan is known as Ngultrum and moreover the Indian currency is valid in Bhutan too!

Per capita Income is the average income earned per person in a given area. From a survey conducted by the experts in 2020, the per capita income of Bhutan in 2019 was $3,316.

(11 June 1862 – August 1926) Gongsar Ugyen Wangchuck was the 1st Druk Gyalpo for a brief period of 19 years (1907 -1926). The day on which his coronation as the King took place i.e. 17th of December 1907 marks the National Day of Bhutan. (1905 – 30 March 1952) Jigme Wangchuck was the second King of Bhutan from 1926 till his death in 1952. He maintained relation with the British Raj in India.

(02 May 1929 – 21 July 1972) Known as the Father of Modern Bhutan, HRH Jigme Dorji Wangchuck ascended the throne in the year 1952. He had introduced modernization and Western Culture in the country. (11 November 1955; age - 65) Jigme Singye Wangchuck, the fourth Druk Gyalpo of the country was the one who introduced GNH (Gross National Happiness) to measure the well-being of the citizens.

(21 February 1980; age - 41) The current King of Bhutan, Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck ascended the throne on 1st November, 2006. He is one of the most generous Kings in the world. His Majesty ensures that his subjects are always (04 June 1990; age - 31) The youngest Queen Consort in the world, Jetsun Pema is the wife of K5 and mother of the apparent heir to the throne, Jigme Namgyel Wangchuck.

(05 February 2016; age - 5) Jigme Namgyel Wangchuck, better known as Gyalsey is the eldest son of the King and Queen of Bhutan. He is the apparent heir to the throne of the Kingdom.

Just like the country itself, the culture of Bhutan is very unique.

The people of Bhutan follow Buddhism. The main God of Bhutan is Padmasambhava (born from Lotus), who is an incarnation of Lord Buddha. The type of Buddhism followed in the country is Vajrayana Buddhism.

Tsechu is a four day festival celebrated in Bhutan between the months of September and October. In Thimphu and Paro, this festival is celebrated like a fair where people gather from near & far and enjoy themselves throughout!

Losar is the New Year Festival of Bhutan and was on 3rd of March this year based on the Bhutanese Calendar. The Losar is a two week long festival but the main festivities occur in the first three days. The houses, temples, lakhangs and Dzongs are lavishly decorated and religious rituals are conducted for the same. Losar marks the beginning of the spring season.

The traditional music of Bhutan is very soothing and peaceful and that’s what makes the culture if Bhutan so very unique. The instruments used in Bhutanese Music (both modern & traditional) are Dranyen – A stringed Instrument Chiwag – A two-stringed musical Instrument Lingm – A bamboo flute

The traditional Bhutanese mask dance is a type of form of dance where the performers wear a mask and dance. It is believed that this form of dance was first performed by Padmasambhava in a cave in Bumthang.

Bhutanese food is mainly made up from cheese and butter because it gives the body necessary fats and also keeps one warm. The curries of the country are often served with red rice. Ema Datshi is the national and the most famous curry in Bhutan. Ema means “Chilies” (hot red/green/white chilies) and Datshi means “Cheese”. Kewa Datshi is a type of dish made from chilies, potatoes and cheese. Kewa means “Potatoes”.

Suja is a traditional butter tea made in the Country. The ingredients used to make it are tea leaves, yak butter, water and salt. It is often served with a sweet dish known as Desi (yellow-colored rice).

དགངོ ས་རགོ ས་མཆདོ ་རནེྟ The National Memorial Chorten in Thimphu is built in the memory of the 3rd Druk Gyalpo, Jigme Dorji Wangchuck. The Chorten has a great religious significance. The people take a round of the Chorten in clockwise direction while reciting Om Mani Padme Hum. Motithang Takin Reserve is a mini- zoo where the national animal of Bhutan, Takin is preserved. Tashichho Dzong is a fortress in the northern side of the Thimphu City. I houses the Throne of the King and the Government Secretariat.

Paro Taktsang or Tiger’s Nest is a monastery located on a cliff in the Paro Valley. The shrine is dedicated to Padmasambhava. Punakha Dzong is known as the Palace of Great Bliss. It houses the country’s most sacred relic, the Rangjung Kharasapani (a self created image of a Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara). Drukgyel Dzong is a UNESCO World Heritage Site which is now in ruins. It was destroyed by fire in 1951. As a defense fortress, it housed the country’s best armory. The Dzong was rebuilt in 2016 as an honor of the birth of Gyalsey.

Passport Mandates are not required for Indian Nationals. Apart from Indians, the citizens of Bangladesh and Maldives too can visit Bhutan without passport mandatory. If an Indian Nationality must get an Entry Permit from the Paro International Airport. However, people from other foreign countries have to apply for a visa if they intend to visit the country.

As Indians, we are free to use the Indian Currency (Rupees) in Bhutan too! The new 2000 rupee note is not accepted in Bhutan. 1 Bhutan Currency (Ngultrum) = 1.00 Indian Rupee