About Bhutan

Bhutan is located in the foothills of the Himalayas, sandwiched between China and India. About 70.5 percent of the total area of 38,394 square kilometres is forested. Bhutan is a country of verdant hills and towering mountains, fast-flowing rivers and turbulent streams, ancient monasteries and holy places, and sturdy and god-fearing people.

The country was initially known by different names, including Lho Jong (Southern Land), Lhomon Khazhi, (The Southern Mon Country of Four Approaches), Lhojong Menjong (The Southern Land of Medicinal Plants) and Lho Mon Tsenden Jong (The Southern Mon Country Where Sandal Wood Grows). The term mon is believed to have been derived from the Tibetan term mun, which means darkness. Before Buddhism came to Bhutan, the Tibetans called Bhutan the land of darkness without the light of Buddhist wisdom.