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NATURE

A CULTURAL AND BIRDING TRIP TO BHUTAN

(Part 1)
By Ron Searle, Photography by Merl & Marty Arnot, David Shackelford and Ron Searle

With its astonishingly significant
forest cover, the Royal Government’s
commitment to both the
environment and sustainable
development, plus the largely
Buddhist population’s deeply
ingrained respect for nature, Bhutan
is in many ways an ideal model for
conservation.
nown as ‘Land of the Thunder
Dragon’, Bhutan, a land-locked
Kmonarchy located in the Eastern
Himalayas - bordered to the north by
Tibet, the Indian states of West Bengal and
Assam to the south, Arunachal Pradesh
to the east and Sikkim to the west - is a
destination like no other, boasting breath-
taking mountain scenery and vast forests
covering 71% of the total land area of
46 620km². Apart from a few narrow strips
of the Indian plains which penetrate the
southern borders of Bhutan, the country
is completely mountainous with steep Thimpu Dzong (DS)
slopes and altitudes ranging from 180m Possessing unusually high biodiversity Unlike its nearby neighbour, Nepal,
to 7550m above sea level. The main and enlightened conservation practices, whose economy is largely financially
Himalayan chain on the southern edge the Kingdom of Bhutan is the jewel of dependent on tourism, Bhutan has
of the Tibetan Plateau is the northern the eastern Himalayas, having one of the limited its investment in tourism to the
border of the country, an area above world’s most valuable, unique and intact upgrading of infrastructure, roads and
the tree-line, largely inaccessible and ecosystems. The extreme variations in accommodation in the western part of
accordingly unexplored and pristine. altitude and climate also account for its the country.
remarkable assemblage of vertebrates.
The wide range in altitude and Bhutan’s population is around 770 000,
topography produces an equally great There are: and the people are industrious, very
range of climatic conditions responsible • more than 100 species of mammals hospitable and friendly, but greatly
for the very considerable forest coverage. including Snow Leopard, Bengal influenced by religion - Vajrayana
Three climatic zones have been Tiger, Blue Sheep, Musk Deer, Bhutan Buddhism (75%) and Hinduism. Small in
identified, viz: sub-tropical 180 – 1 800m Takin, Red Panda, Greater One-horned stature, they are thin but tough (only one
characterised by steep slopes and broad- Rhinoceros, and Golden Langur (an person overweight, a priest, observed
leaved forest (both warm and cool); mid- endemic primate); during my travels). Attire consists of a
montane 1 800 – 3 500m with coniferous • 620 bird species including Rufous- gho for the men (a long, knee-length
forests (Chir and Blue Pine, Spruce, necked Hornbill, Black-necked Crane robe tied around the waist with a cloth-
Hemlock and Fir); and alpine > 3 500m and Pallas’s Fish Eagle; belt known as a kera) and a kira for the
with tundra vegetation, alpine meadows, • and more than 5 400 plant species, of women (an ankle-length dress made of
snow-covered peaks and glaciers. which 750 are endemic to the eastern a brightly-coloured finely-woven fabric
Himalayas and 50 to Bhutan itself. with traditional patterns). The National
sport is archery although shotput, darts
The progressive and enlightened and wrestling are also popular, and the
conservation policies adopted by the staple diet consists largely of red rice,
Royal Government operate on the wheat, maize, meat (pork, chicken, beef
premise of environmental and cultural or yak), cheese and chillies (used as a
connectivity with socio-economic vegetable, not a spice).
development thereby controlling
both its pace and direction to ensure Our 850km journey commenced in the
sustainability. Foreign visitors are required warm south-east and we travelled west
to pay a minimum tariff of US$250 per day, across the breadth of this remarkable
making it a very expensive destination – country on a single-lane paved road
as they believe that sustainable tourism which followed the contours of the
and Gross National Happiness matter land, regularly crossing dramatic
more than Gross Domestic Product. mountain passes - like the famed Dochu

Chorten (Shrine) and Prayer Flags,
Dochu La Pass (DS)
INTRA MUROS SEPTEMBER 2020 29