Facts about Bhutan
The names Lhomon Tsendenjong (Sandalwood Country), and Lhomon Khashi, or Southern Mon (country of four approaches) have been found in ancient Bhutanese and Tibetan chronicles.
The Bhutanese believe the Lhopu (a small tribe in southwest Bhutan who speak a Tibeto-Burman language) to be the aboriginal inhabitants.
In 1772, Cooch Behar sought help from the British East India Company to oust the Bhutanese.
The Bhutanese government allowed this incursion on humanitarian grounds.
Woodlands of the central region provide most of Bhutan's forest production.
The population density, 117 per square mile, makes Bhutan one of the least densely populated countries in Asia.
The historic trade routes over the high Himalayas, which connected India to Tibet, have been closed since the 1959 military takeover of Tibet (although smuggling activity still brings Chinese goods into Bhutan).
In 1910 Bhutan signed a treaty that let Great Britain “guide” Bhutan's foreign affairs.
Bhutan’s border with China is largely not demarcated and thus disputed in some places.
Indian and Bhutanese citizens may travel to each other's countries without a passport or visa using their national identity cards instead.
The match was held in Thimphu's Changlimithang National Stadium, and Bhutan won 4-0.
All Bhutanese citizens are required to observe the national dress code, known as "Driglam Namzha," while in public during daylight hours.
The highest monk in the land is the chief abbot of Bhutan, whose title is Je Khenpo.
Bhutan's inflation rate was estimated at about three percent in 2003.
Traditional Bhutanese archery is a social event and competitions are organized between villages, towns, and amateur teams.
In 1971, Bhutan was admitted to the United Nations, having held observer status for three years.
Bhutan lost, and the Treaty of Sinchula between British India and Bhutan was signed, and the Duars were ceded to the United Kingdom in exchange for a rent of Rs.
One of the most isolated nations in the world, Bhutan is often described as the last surviving refuge of traditional Himalayan Buddhist culture.
In 1999, the king lifted a ban on television and the internet, making Bhutan one of the last countries to introduce television.
Bhutan does not have formal diplomatic ties with its northern neighbor, China, although diplomatic exchanges have significantly increased.
To reduce the risk of Chinese encroachment, Bhutan began a modernization program that was largely sponsored by India.
The property of each extended Bhutanese family is controlled by an "anchor mother" who is assisted by the other women of the family in running affairs.
Jakar, the administrative headquarters of Bumthang District, is the place where Buddhism entered Bhutan.
Bhutan has numerous public holidays, most of which centre around traditional seasonal, secular and religious festivals.
The movie examines the pull of modernity on village life in Bhutan as colored by the Buddhist perspective of "tanha," or desire.
Rural residents, who make up the majority of Bhutan’s population, live in houses built to withstand the long, cold winters, with wood-burning stoves for heat and cooking.
Padmasambhava is usually credited with bringing Tantric Buddhism to Bhutan, but two sites representing an earlier influence predate him.
The earliest transcribed event in Bhutan was the passage of the Buddhist saint Padmasambhava (also called Guru Rinpoche) in the eighth century.
By December of 2003, the Royal Bhutan Army attacked the camps, co-operating with Indian armed forces.
Bhutan has a gross domestic product of around US$2.913-billion (adjusted to purchasing power parity), making it the 175th largest economy on the world list of 218 countries.
By the tenth century, Bhutan's political development was heavily influenced by its religious history.
Only India and Bangladesh have residential embassies in Bhutan, while Thailand has a consulate office in Bhutan.
The Royal Bhutan Army includes the Royal Bodyguard and the Royal Bhutan Police.
The six-mile (10km) wide strip that comprises the Bhutan Duars is divided into two parts—northern and southern.
Bhutan has relied on its geographic isolation to preserve many aspects of a culture that dates back to the mid-seventeenth century.
The first bilateral agreement between China and Bhutan was signed in 1998, and Bhutan has set up consulates in Macau and Hong Kong.
The Kingdom of Bhutan is a landlocked South Asian nation situated between India and China.
The king was committed to building an economy appropriate for Bhutan's unique culture, based on Buddhist spiritual values, and has served as a unifying vision for the economy.
The Black Mountains in central Bhutan form a watershed between two river systems: the Mo Chhu and the Drangme Chhu.
The first radio service was broadcast for 30 minutes on Sundays (by what is now the Bhutan Broadcasting Service) beginning in 1973.
Several guerrilla groups seeking to establish an independent Assamese state in northeast India set up guerilla bases in the forests of southern Bhutan from which they launched cross-border attacks on targets in Assam.
Among the religious monuments are “chorten,” the Bhutanese version of the Indian stupa.
The Bhutanese Foreign Minister took up the matter with Chinese authorities.
Politics of Bhutan takes place in the framework of an absolute monarchy developing into a constitutional monarchy.
Bhutan is a country where gross national happiness is more important than gross national product.
Bhutan's economy is one of the world's smallest and least-developed, and is based on agriculture, forestry, and the sale of hydroelectric power to India.
In 2002 the first feature length movie was shot in Bhutan, the acclaimed "Travellers and Magicians" written and directed by Khyentse Norbu, the esteemed lama and head of the non-sectarian Khyentse lineage.
Bhutan has just one government newspaper (Kuensel) and two recently launched private newspapers, one government-owned television station and several FM radio stations.
Bhutan has not accepted compulsory International Court of Justice jurisdiction.
On November 13, 2005, Chinese soldiers crossed into Bhutan under the pretext that bad weather had forced them from the Himalayas.
Bhutan handles most of its foreign affairs including the sensitive (to India) border demarcation issue with China.
Bhutan's early history is unclear, because most records were destroyed after fire ravaged Punakha, the ancient capital in 1827.
Lepcha is spoken in parts of western Bhutan; Tshangla, a close relative of Dzongkha, is widely spoken in the eastern parts.
The Bhutanese are ], polyandry (multiple husbands) has been abolished, but polygamy (multiple wives) is legal provided the first wife grants consent.
Bhutan does not have a railway system, though Indian Railways plans to link up southern Bhutan with its vast network under an agreement signed in January 2005.
After the Chinese People's Liberation Army entered Tibet in 1951, Bhutan sealed its northern frontier and improved bilateral ties with India.
Until the early seventeenth century, Bhutan existed as a patchwork of minor warring fiefdoms until unified by the Tibetan lama and military leader Shabdrung Ngawang Namgyal.
Western Bhutan has the heavier monsoon rains; southern Bhutan has hot humid summers and cool winters; central and eastern Bhutan is temperate and drier than the west with warm summers and cool winters.
Centuries of isolation, a small population, and topographical extremes have lead to Bhutan maintaining one of the most intact ecosystems in the world.
Bhutanese women have traditionally had more rights than women in surrounding cultures, the most prominent being the right of land ownership.
Bhutan is linked historically and culturally with its northern neighbor Tibet, yet politically and economically today's kingdom has drawn much closer to India.
Stone tools, weapons, and remnants of large stone structures provide evidence that Bhutan was inhabited as early as 2000 B.C.E.
Bhutan has diplomatic relations with 22 countries, including the European Union, with missions in India, Bangladesh, Thailand and Kuwait.
The population of Bhutan, once estimated at several million, was downgraded to 750,000, after a census in the early nineties.
Bhutan's national sport is archery, and competitions are held regularly in most villages.
Bhutan's currency, the ngultrum, is pegged to the Indian Rupee, which is accepted as legal tender.
Soon after, the Chinese began building roads and bridges within Bhutanese territory.