BHUTAN - Land of the Thunder Dragon
75 images Created 3 Jul 2009
Hidden in the Himalayas, this buddhist Kingdom is an environmental sanctuary of low Carbon emissions.
Bhutan is a landlocked country in the Eastern Himalayas in South Asia. It is bordered by the Tibet Autonomous Region of China in the north, the Chumbi Valley of Tibet and the Indian states of Sikkim and West Bengal in the west, and the Indian states of Assam, West Bengal, and Arunachal Pradesh in the south and east. Bhutan is geopolitically in South Asia and is the region's second-least-populous nation after the Maldives. Thimphu is its capital and the largest city, while Phuntsholing is its financial center.
Bhutan's de-facto independence has endured for centuries, although it has historically been part of India's sphere of influence as a protected state.It has never been colonized in its history. Situated on the ancient Silk Road between Tibet, the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia, the Bhutanese state developed a distinct national identity based on Buddhism. Headed by a spiritual leader known as the Zhabdrung Rinpoche, the territory comprised many fiefdoms and was governed as a Buddhist theocracy. Following a civil war in the 19th century, the House of Wangchuck reunited the country and established relations with the British Empire. After the end of the British Raj, Bhutan fostered a strategic partnership with India during the rise of Chinese communism; it currently has a disputed border with China. In 2008, Bhutan transitioned from an absolute monarchy to a constitutional monarchy and held the first election to the National Assembly of Bhutan.
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Nomadic by nature, and as a qualified geologist, Jeremy wandered into the Himalaya in 1987, teaching himself documentary photography. He has worked in over 100 countries over the last three decades, producing nine books, including Living Incas and Island Dreams: Mediterranean. His latest book, Nirvana, The Spread of Buddhism through Asia won a prestigious Benjamin Franklin Medal.
Bhutan is a landlocked country in the Eastern Himalayas in South Asia. It is bordered by the Tibet Autonomous Region of China in the north, the Chumbi Valley of Tibet and the Indian states of Sikkim and West Bengal in the west, and the Indian states of Assam, West Bengal, and Arunachal Pradesh in the south and east. Bhutan is geopolitically in South Asia and is the region's second-least-populous nation after the Maldives. Thimphu is its capital and the largest city, while Phuntsholing is its financial center.
Bhutan's de-facto independence has endured for centuries, although it has historically been part of India's sphere of influence as a protected state.It has never been colonized in its history. Situated on the ancient Silk Road between Tibet, the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia, the Bhutanese state developed a distinct national identity based on Buddhism. Headed by a spiritual leader known as the Zhabdrung Rinpoche, the territory comprised many fiefdoms and was governed as a Buddhist theocracy. Following a civil war in the 19th century, the House of Wangchuck reunited the country and established relations with the British Empire. After the end of the British Raj, Bhutan fostered a strategic partnership with India during the rise of Chinese communism; it currently has a disputed border with China. In 2008, Bhutan transitioned from an absolute monarchy to a constitutional monarchy and held the first election to the National Assembly of Bhutan.
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Nomadic by nature, and as a qualified geologist, Jeremy wandered into the Himalaya in 1987, teaching himself documentary photography. He has worked in over 100 countries over the last three decades, producing nine books, including Living Incas and Island Dreams: Mediterranean. His latest book, Nirvana, The Spread of Buddhism through Asia won a prestigious Benjamin Franklin Medal.
