This Presentation will give you the brief idea of Bhutan

1. WELCOME TO BHUTAN-THE
LAND OF THUNDER DRAGON
Thunder Land Tours & Travels
Thimphu; Bhutan

2. Bhutan Map

3. Location of Bhutan

4. Brief History of Bhutan
 The first traces of the history dates back well beyond 2000 BC, but the first period of the Bhutan ancient
history is steeped in mythology and it remains obscure.
 According to the Bhutanese history, the birth of the country has its origins in the 7th century.
 It is not clear if the Bhutan was at least partially under the regime of the Tibetan kingdom or that of
Kamarupa from the 7th to the 9th century.
 Shrouded for centuries in the misty serenity of the great Himalayas, the Land of the Thunder Dragon or
Bhutan, as now known to the rest of the world, developed its own distinct civilization.
 This deeply spiritual land is home to a unique identity, derived essentially from a fertile religious and
cultural heritage. Bhutan brims with myth and legend. As a befitting testimony, a great Buddhist heritage:
Space and regal mountains. An ambience of near sacred tranquility permeates the land, fostering an
environment of spiritual affluence that has shaped the foundation of that rarity that we know as Bhutanese
life.
 In the 12th century was founded the Drukpa Kagyu school, the dominant school of Buddhism in Bhutan.
The consolidation of Bhutan occurred in 1616, when Ngawanag Namgyal, known as the Shabdrung
Rinpoche (1594-1651), defeated three consecutive Tibetan invasions in 1629, 1631 and 1639. He
"overcame the influence" of the various schools of Tibetan Buddhism

5. Bhutan’s Earliest
Documented history dates back to Kichu lhakhang in Paro and
Jambay lhakhang in Bumthang built by King Songtsen Goenbo of
Tibet in the 7th century. Guru Rimpoche (Padmasambhava)
visited a century later and spread the Buddhist faith throughout
Bhutan. He established several sacred religious sites, notably
Taktsang (Tiger’s Nest) monastery in Paro and the Kurjey
lhakhang in Bumthang which are few reverend ones.

6. The Naked Dance of Jampa Lhakhang Drub
It is almost at midnight. The temperature goes
to 2 or minus 2 -4 degree Celsius. A large
gathering of devotees wait in anticipation
huddled near Jampa lhakhang in Bumthang,
their eyes on the monastery’s main door.
Exactly at midnight, a group of men rush out from
the door, swirling and twirling in the air, , to the
rhythmic accompaniment of traditional mask dance
drums and cymbals. Except for their faces, which
are covered by a white cloth, the men are all naked.
They are known as the sacred naked dancers or
Ter-cham of Jampa lhakhang Tshechu,(festival of
mask & dances)

7. Guru Rinpoche Who brought Buddhism in Bhutan
Guru’s visit was the historic milestone in Bhutan First visit in Bumthang invited by King Sindharaja to cure him
from his illness. Hereafter he started mediating in caves around Bhutan. Today he is worshiped by all Buddhist
in Bhutan.
The tiger nest monastery
in Bhutan" clinging to a
black rock face, 800
meters above the valley
floor, nestles Tiger nest
monastery, one of the
holiest sites of
Himalayan Buddhism. It
is believed that Guru was
meditated in this cave in
7th century by flying in
the back of tigress. This
how TIGER NEST the
name given.

8. Monks who ruled Bhutan & spread Buddhism
Ngawang Namgyal was a Tibetan Buddhist lama and the unifier of Bhutan as a nation-state. In
addition to unifying the various warring fiefdoms for the first time in the 1630s, he also sought
to create a distinct Bhutanese Cultural identity identity separate from the Tibetan culture from
which it was derived
Phajo Drukgum Zigpo
(1184-1251)
Longchen Rabjam
(1308 -1364)
Thangtong Gyalpo
(1385-1509)
Pema Lingpa
(1450–1521)
He was born in Chel,
Tang, Bumtang to
Dhondup Zangpo
and Pema Drolma

9. First King Ugyen Wangchuck:
Born in 1862: ruled 1907-
1926
Father : Jigme Namgyel
(descendent of Pema
Lingpa)Mother : Ashi Pema
Choki
The third King Jigme Dorji
Wangchuck Born in 2 May
1928 at Thruepang palace in
Trongsa. Open the doors of
Bhutan to outside world.
Ruled 1952-1972
The king of Bhutan & it’s Hereditary

10. Fourth King Jigme Singye Wangchuck
Born in 11 November 1955 at Dechencholing Palace
Mother : Ashi Kesang Wangmo Wangchuck
He is the author of Gross National Hapiness (GNH)
Ruled from 1974-2006
Handed over responsibility to his son in 2006.
Born 21 February 1980) is the fifth and current reigning or "Dragon
King" of the Kingdom of Bhutan. After his father Jigme Singye
Wangchuck abdicated the throne in his favor, he became King on 9
December 2008.
2008, an auspicious year that marked 100 years of monarchy.
Married in 2011 to Jetsun Pema.

11. Architecture of Bhutan
This was primarily due to rapid economic growth and
modernization which has resulted in a gradual erosion of
traditional ways and values of life which one day may lead to
the disappearance of Bhutan's unique architecture, especially
in the growing urban towns.
These groups of houses are in the northern Himalaya where yak
headers lived. They totally depend on this animal and raises
them in a group of 50 – all most 200. This animal is the main
source of income for them. Like: cheese milk, butter and meat.

13. "The tiger nest monastery in Bhutan" clinging to a
black rock face, 800 meters above the valley floor,
nestles Tiger nest monastery, one of the holiest
sites of Himalayan Buddhism. Such is the sense of
peace and serenity as the quiet approach path
winds through lush meadow, oak and
rhododendron forest, past quaint hamlets,
fluttering prayer flags and rotating prayer wheels,
and along the precipitous cliff, it is difficult to
believe that Bhutan's only airport is barely
kilometers away. Taktsang, the tiger's lair, acquires
its name from the legend of its foundation, when in
the 8th Century Guru Rinpoche, widely revered as
the second Buddha, arrived from Eastern Bhutan
flying across the mountains on the back of a
tigress.

14. Bhutanese Cuisin
Bhutanese cuisine employs a lot of red rice (like brown
rice in texture, but with a nutty taste, the only variety of
rice that grows at high altitudes), buckwheat and
increasingly maize. Buckwheat is eaten mainly in
Bumthang, maize in the Eastern districts and rice
elsewhere. The diet in the hills also includes chicken, yak
meat, dried beef, pork, pork fat, and lamb. Soups and
stews of meat, rice, ferns, lentils, and dried vegetables,
spiced
with chili peppers and cheese, are a favorite
meal during the cold seasons. Zow shungo is
a rice dish mixed with leftover vegetables.
Ema datshi, is a spicy dish made with large,
mainly green chilies in a cheesy sauce,
(similar to chili con queso), might be called
the national for its ubiquity and the pride that
Bhutanese have for it.

15. Trekking in Bhutan
Trekking in Bhutan has some of the best
trekking in the world, with breathtaking
scenery, a rich Buddhist culture, friendly
people, and few other visitors. The
difficulties with trekking here, aside from the
high cost are the weather. Unlike Nepal and
Ladakh, the windows for good high-altitude
trekking in trekking in Bhutan are short: Trek
are mainly done in April to May &
September to October only.
Although the official season
extends longer, you have the best
chances of clear weather and
little snow in the second half of
April or the first three weeks of
October.

16. Rafting & Adventure

17. Contact Details
Thunder Land Tours & Travels
Email: landthunder360@gmail.com/bhutanthunder360@gmail.com
Website: www.thunderlandtours.com
Thimphu; Bhutan
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