Bhutan: A Kingdom in the Eastern Himalayas: Bhutan, by Francoise Pommaret-Imaeda

The little-known kingdom of Bhutan, around the size of Switzerland, is now one of the last strongholds of Tantric Buddhism in the East. Although isolated for centuries by its geography, bound as it is on the south by dense tropical jungles and to the north by the Himalayas, in the last 15 years with the advent of motor roads and the national will to develop, it has slowly opened its doors to a few privileged vistoirs and tourists. Amongst these, Guy van Strydonck has had the good fortune as royal guest to travel the length and breadth of the kingdom, recording the land and its people. For centuries, monks and refugees from Tibet have settled in Bhutan's hospitable and fertile valleys and ensured close cultural links between the countries. Because of different socio-economic conditions, Bhutan soon developed a highly distinctive culture of its own, and it is the purpose of this book to introduce the reader not only to its magnificent and varied landscapes, but also to the genius of Bhutan's rich traditions of art and architecture. Other chapters in the book focus on monastic and village life, their festivals and dances. A whole chapter is devoted to the hitherto unknown valley of Sakteng in the extreme east, homeland to the yak-herding "brokpas". The book concludes with a portrait of the Bhutanese themselves, a hardy mountain people renowned both for thie irrepresible good humour and for their profound spirit of Buddhist tolerance.