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The Land of the Thunder Dragon: Bhutan

© Maria Christensen

Bhutan is perhaps one of the most breathtaking and mysterious of the nations that comprise the continent of Asia. While archeological records reveal that humans inhabited the tiny area as far back as 2000 BC, the known history of Bhutan only begins around the 8th century, and until the late 1960’s tourists were not allowed into the country.

What will follow here is basically a short tour of the history of Bhutan. You will find a few brief descriptions of historical figures and events and reviewed links for further research and enjoyment. Enjoy your trip!

To begin your tour, you should probably know where Bhutan is located. You will find two good maps here which will show you where Bhutan is in regard to India and China, which surround it, and Nepal. You can see the major cities and towns and a very small and not very detailed topographical map, which does however, give you a feel for the mountainous region high up in the Himalayas.

Once you have located Bhutan on the map, you need to learn about its history. The most comprehensive resource on the history of Bhutan exists in the Library of Congress Country Studies. If all you want are the basic, but very thorough, statistics on the people, economy, government and more of Bhutan, then the CIA Factbook is the resource you need.

Buddhism is intertwined with the history of Bhutan thanks to Guru Padma Sambhava, also known as Guru Rimpoche. He entered Bhutan from India and Tibet in the eighth century, bringing Buddhism with him, and indeed became known as the “second Buddha.” Many legends spring from this important historical personage, who was known to have defeated many demons among his other miraculous acts.

Perhaps the most historically significant person in Bhutan’s history, in terms of how modern Bhutan has developed, was Ngawang Namgyal, who united the various clans into a hitherto unnamed country. While Tibetans had many names for the area, including "the Lotus Garden of the Gods," the Bhutanese called their own nation Druk Yul, which means, The Land of the Thunder Dragon.

An interesting development occurred around the death of Ngawang Namgyal, which also leads to a caveat for serious researching of Bhutan’s history. Some internet resources list his death as 1705, however, the real circumstances were for 54 years one of the best kept of historical secrets. Ngawang Namgyal actually died in 1651. His death was kept a secret to protect the stability of the country, and the very plausible story given out was that he had entered into seclusion in a monastery, a circumstance that had precedence.

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