A vacation in Bhutan is an extraordinary experience. Bhutan is truly one of the blessed acres on Earth. It is a small country with a very low population density, in itself a unique gift in overcrowded South Asia.
Stretching on both sides of the eastern Himalayas from the foothills to the spine, the landscape is one of the most beautiful on Earth and is further embellished by particularly harmonious architecture, essentially Tibetan in origin, but also feeling perfect for these heavily forested mountains. And the forests are extensive. By law, Bhutan must have a minimum of 65% of the land area covered by forests. Today, more than 75% of the country lies under a range of different forest types, from subtropical moist deciduous to montane evergreen, birch, and alpine meadows. And the forests are absolutely teeming with life. The eastern Himalayas are a global biodiversity hotspot and Bhutan, with the highest percentage of land covered by forests, is the epicenter of this chest of biological riches. Walk on a path through a forest of giant fir trees and one is struck by the amount of life a single tree can support: Spanish, moss, ferns, mushrooms, flocks of rainbow birds on the branches. I think you could spend a few days just identifying and counting what a single tree supports!
But here’s the thing: you could be doing this as you make your way along a tree-shaded path to a remote little monastery turned holy to the hum of Buddhist prayer; draped in brilliant strings of flags in the colors that represent the five elements recognized by Buddhists and Hindus as the basis of the cosmos.
In the modern era we increasingly make the distinction between natural and man-made worlds. And by extension we label our vacations as nature safaris or cultural routes. But with a holiday in Bhutan, these distinctions are blurred to the point of non-existence: nature and humans live in harmony, so any holiday in Bhutan is automatically an experience of nature and human culture. Something of which the Bhutanese themselves are deeply proud.
Do you have to live in yak hair tents in the high altitude nomad pastures to experience Bhutan? Not exactly, although that option is very much available! In recent years, Bhutan has seen the arrival of some wonderful small hotels in Paro, Punakha and Bumthang along with some excellent Bhutanese five-star options in Paro. Ideally, you can mix and match, using normal Bhutanese accommodations for most of the trip with a few days in the lap of luxury.