16 Incredible Facts About Bhutan That You Won’t Believe

Bhutan is the one among the most isolated countries around the world. Bhutan is a country in Asia sharing its borders with India, Nepal and China. The world “Bhutan” means “The Land of the Thunder Dragon”. Nearly 75% of population of Bhutan follow Buddhism while remaining 25% population are followers of Hinduism.

Today, at FactWish, we have collected some of the brilliant facts about this tiny landlocked country situated in foothills of Himalayas. We believe this would ignite the traveler inside you to visit this beautiful country. So, lets get started.

1. Watching TV was banned in Bhutan till early 2000. Bhutan is one among last countries to introduce television system to the people.

2. Being the first country in the world with specific constitutional obligations, it is mandatory for people to preserve atleast 60% of forest cover of the country in order to protect the environment. Currently, 70% of the country is under forests area.

3. Bhutan is the only carbon negative country in the world. It means that overall emission of CO₂ in Bhutan is less than production of oxygen by its forests.

4. There are no traffic lights in Bhutan. Vehicles have to be stopped as per the law, if someone starts crossing the road and resume when nobody is crossing the lane.

5. The most dangerous roads in the world are in Bhutan. The roads are too curvy and in zig-zag flow along the sides of Himalayan rocks.

6. You cannot smoke, buy tobacco or use polythene in Bhutan, otherwise get ready to be jailed.

7. The world’s highest unclimbed mountain “Gangkhar Puensum” with an elevation of 7,570 meters is also situated in Bhutan. The reason of not climbing is due to spiritual/religious beliefs of people.

8. Bhutan being ruled by a king is a constitutional monarchy. The King Jigme Singye Wangchuk himself established democracy in the country, being aware of the fact that Bhutan may not always get a good king in future.

9. The government of Bhutan impose heavy tax on foreigners to preserve the culture and dignity of the country. All foreigners except people of India and Bangladesh have to pay $250 dollars per day to stay in Bhutan along with VISA. People of India and Bangladesh don’t need to pay any tax or require any VISA due to strong relations with Bhutan.

10. Bhutan is the first country in the world where is GDP is measured in terms of happiness, i.e how many people are happy per capita on average.

11. Education and Medical facilities in Bhutan are free for its people. The cost is paid by government from the taxes collected by foreign tourists.

12. There is no source of livelihood in Bhutan other than tourism or agriculture. People have to move to other countries for higher studies or work.

13. It is necessary to wear national dress of Bhutan for all people in schools, government offices or national occasions to preserve the culture.

14. Bhutan is one among few countries that has never been conquered in the history due to its complete isolation and extremely harsh climate.

15. Killing of animals for fun or food is illegal in Bhutan and can cause life prison to the culprit. It is because people of Bhutan are strong followers of Buddism and Hinduism and killing animals in both religions is a deadly crime. Even though some Bhutanese eat meat but cannot slaughter animals in Bhutan as per the law.

16. The national animal of Bhutan is “Takin”, whose head resembles like a goat, but body looks like a yak. It is only found in Bhutan and endangered.