Get happy
BHUTAN is the world’s last surviving Buddhist kingdom, positioned in a lush region of the Himalayas between India, China and the Tibetan plateau. Due to its geographical remoteness and a frankly genius ‘high value, low impact’ visa policy that limits tourism, it has remained largely unaltered and unspoiled. Seventy-one per cent of the country is covered by fragrant forest. There are no traffic lights, no multistorey buildings and no malls. The air is crisp, the rivers clean, the ground softly cushioned by pine needles. There are leopards in the snowcapped hills and black-necked cranes glide in formation over the valleys. If there is a modern-day Shangri-la, Bhutan may be it.
My 10-day visit — and appreciation of Bhutan — unfurls slowly, coming to an end just prior to the borders being closed to visitors because of COVID-19. When I return to the stress and anxiety of the Western world, it is hard to imagine an oasis such as Bhutan exists.
Our first, highly anticipated, glimpse of the mystical Land of the Thunder Dragon comes after a white-knuckle approach to Paro airport,
