Bhutan is known to the Bhutanese as "Druk
Yul" or "Land of the Thunder Dragon". It is located at the
south of Tibet and the north of north east of India as Assam and Sikkim. It
is the only independent Buddhist Monarchy in the world. It remained isolated
to the Western world until 1974, when the government decided to allow the
first foreign visitors to enter the country. Despite the speed of
modernization, Bhutan has maintained a policy of careful, controlled policy
of development in order to preserve its national identity.
Culture:
Bhutan is comprised of a mosaic of different peoples who continue to live
in valleys isolated from one another and the outside world by formidable
mountain passes. Differing ethnic groups are also distributed according to
the varying environments. These are as follows:
» Ngalongs or Ngalops
» Sharchops
» Lhotshampas of Nepali Origin
