Bhutan

Bhutan

Known as Druk Yul, land of the thunder dragon, Bhutan is a country in South Asia, nestled in the Himalayas between China and India. Known for its isolation, Bhutan carefully regulates tourism and outside influences in an attempt to "preserve its traditional culture."

The Treaty of Sinchulu, signed in 1865, gave Bhutan an annual subsidy in exchange for ceding some border land to British run India. With the help of British political influence a monarchy was set up in 1907. In 1910 a treaty was signed that agreed the British would not to interfere in Bhutanese internal affairs and Bhutan would allow Britian to direct its foreign affairs. This agreement was taken over by a newly independent India after 1947. The land annexed by Britian was also returned in a formal Indo-Bhutanese accord in 1949.

In the 1990s, attempts to stress the majority Buddhist culture and the lack of any political representation led to deep resentment among the ethnic Nepali community in the south.

Fast Facts

Capital: Thimphu
Government: Absolute Monarchy
Population: 672,425
Currency: Ngultrum
Exchange Rate: 45.750
Official Language: Dzongkha
Began a transition to constitutional monarchy on April 22, 2007
Upper house of legislature elected on December 31, 2007, January 29, 2008
Lower house of legislature elected on March 24, 2008

Democracy

In March 2005, King Jigme Singye Wangchuck unveiled a draft constitution - which would introduce major democratic reforms - and pledged to hold a national referendum for its approval. Elections were held for a national legislature on December 31, 2007, January 29, 2008, and March 24, 2008. Following a concomitant referendum on the draft constitution, Bhutan will have completed its transition to full democracy.

Categories

Geography | Travel | Countries

| View Note History

Also Try: Bhutan Election 2008 | Himalayas

The Mahalo Top 7

Official Site: Tourism In Bhutan
Wikipedia: Bhutan
BBC News: Country Profile: Bhutan
CIA World Factbook: Bhutan
British Foreign and Commonwealth Office: Bhutan
U.S. Department of State: Bhutan
YouTube Video: Dragon Kingdom—Bhutan (Time: 17:38)

Bhutan News

The New York Times: Bhutan News
Radio Australia: Counting Underway After Historic Bhutan Polls (March 24, 2008)
Agence France-Presse: Democracy Comes to Kingdom of Bhutan (March 24, 2008)
BBC News: Bhutanese Vote in Historic Poll (March 24, 2008)

Bhutan Vacation

Mahalo's page on Bhutan Vacation
Mahalo's page on Bhutan Restaurants
Mahalo's page on Bhutan Tours
Mahalo's page on Bhutan Hotels

Official Site: Ministry Of Tourism
Bhutan Majestic Travel: Bhutan Travel Guide
Wikitravel: Bhutan travel guide
TripAdvisor: Bhutan Travel Guide
Lonely Planet: Bhutan Travel Guide
Yahoo! Travel: Bhutan Travel
Virtual Tourist: Bhutan Travel Guide

Bhutan Politics

Bhutan Election 2008
Wikipedia: Politics of Bhutan | Political Parties in Bhutan | Foreign Relations of Bhutan
Official Site: Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Bhutan: A Country Study: Bhutan: Structure of the Government | Political Developments
Bhutan News Online: Monarchy and Royal Family of Bhutan

Bhutan Government Sites

Official Site: Government of Bhutan
Official Site: Judiciary of Bhutan
Official Site: Ministries of Bhutan

Bhutan Facts and History

Wikipedia: History of Bhutan
National Geographic: Bhutan Facts
Keys To Bhutan: Prehistory | Establishment of Monarchy
Bhutan: A Country Study: Arrival of Buddhism | Modernization under Jigme Dorji, 1952-72

Bhutan Economy

Official Site: Ministry of Finance
Wikipedia: Economy of Bhutan
Official Site: Bank of Bhutan
The World Bank: Bhutan
Asian Development Bank: Bhutan
International Monetary Fund: Bhutan

Bhutan Maps and Geography

Bhutan Maps

WorldAtlas.com: Bhutan Map & Information
Merriam Webster's Atlas: Bhutan Atlas
Geology.com: Bhutan Map, Satellite Image
Wikimedia: Atlas of Bhutan | Maps of Bhutan
InfoPlease: Bhutan Atlas

Bhutan Geography

Traveljournals.net: Bhutan Geography & Map
Trip to Bhutan.com: Bhutan Geography
Wikipedia: Geography of Bhutan
Bhutan: A Country Study: Bhutan Geography

Bhutan Capital

Mahalo's page on Thimphu
Wikipedia: Thimphu
Wikitravel: Thimphu Travel Guide
YouTube: Dragon Kingdom - Bhutan (Time 17:38)
Weather Underground: Thimphu, Bhutan Weather

Bhutan Major Cities

Mahalo's page on Paro | Jakar | Phuentsholing | Punakha
Wikipedia: Paro | Jakar | Phuentsholing | Punakha
East-Himalaya.com: Paro | Punakha

Bhutan Photos and Videos

Photos

Google Image Search: Bhutan Images
Yahoo! Image Search: Bhutan Images
Flickr: Bhutan Images
TrekEarth: Bhutan Photos
Travel-Images: Bhutan Images
Peter Langer: Bhutan Photos & Images

Videos

YouTube & Google Video Search: Bhutan Videos
Yahoo! Video Search: Bhutan Videos
Truveo Video Search: Bhutan Videos
YouTube: Welcome to Paro (Time 06:31)
YouTube: Bhutan - the last true Illusion of Shangri-La (Time 04:24)

Related Pages on Mahalo

Bhutan Election 2008 | South Asia | Nepal | China | World Bank | Thimphu | Paro | Buddhism | Pakistan | India | Sri Lanka | Himalayas

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