Glam Girls Lux Travels : Beautiful Bhutan Tour now available.. 15

Sunday, May 3, 2015

Beautiful Bhutan Tour now available.. 15 - 25 October' 2015

The name Bhutan is believed that it is derived from the Sanskrit 'Bhotant', meaning 'the end of Tibet', or from 'Bhu-uttan', meaning 'high land'. Historically the Bhutanese have refered to their country as Druk Yul, 'land of the thunder dragon'. Bhutanese refer to themselves as Drukpa people.

Bhutan, tucked away in the depths of the Eastern Himalayas, the 47,000 sq km small kingdom of Bhutan, or Druk Yul, is little known and lesser visited. A forbidden land for centuries. Still, the kingdom maintains a policy of "low volume - high quality tourism" and retains its exclusiveness in the world of travel. From high mountain peaks to deep lush valleys, from modern apartments in Thimphu to farmland barns, from meditative monks deep in prayer to fluttering prayers and vibrant, colorful festivals, Bhutan is incomparably unique.

Over the last few centuries, difficult natural terrain and a self-imposed policy of isolation saw to it that life here stayed virtually unchanged. It was only in the early 1960s that Bhutan opened up its doors to the world beyond and plunged into a new age of socio-economic development.

Lifestyle

More than 80 percent of the people lead agrarian lives in villages of rough farming terrain. However, they are not above enjoying the lighter moments in life and are known to be a sporty lot. The Bhutanese zealously celebrate religious festivals and holidays with indigenous sports such as traditional archery, dego, and khuru. These occasions always involve social gathering, feasting and drinking.

Art and craft

Bhutanese art and craft, inevitably religious in character, exists in 13 forms that are together called the zorig chusum. These 13 forms include textile weaving, wood and slate carving, painting, blacksmithery, and pottery, all of which have elaborate techniques and histories passed on through successive generations.

Royal patronage as well as social and government support for the zorig chusum have led to Bhutan to being reputed as the last bastion of Himalayan Buddhist art. In contrast to traditional artists in places like Nepal and Darjeeling, Bhutanese artists tend to value religious ethics and quality over commercial gain and quantity. Sophisticated machinery and mass production have no place in Bhutanese art.