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BHUTAN: Hidden Bhutan
Tour
Overview - Tour
Itinerary - Geography
- Climate
- Gallery
GEOGRAPHY
Landlocked Bhutan is situated in the eastern Himalayas
and is mostly mountainous and heavily forested. It is
bordered by Tibet (China's Xizang Autonomous Region)
to the north and northwest and by India's states of
Sikkim to the west, West Bengal to the southwest, Assam
to the south and southeast, and Arunachal Pradesh (formerly
the North-East Frontier Agency) to the east. Sikkim
lies between Bhutan and Nepal, while West Bengal separates
Bhutan from Bangladesh by only sixty kilometres.
Early British visitors to Bhutan reported "dark
and steep glens, and the high tops of mountains lost
in the clouds, constituting altogether a scene of extraordinary
magnificence and sublimity." The mythical region
of Shangri La refers to Bhutan. One of the most rugged
mountain terrains in the world, it has elevations ranging
from 160 metres on the Assam border to more than 7,000
metres above sea level, in some cases within distances
of less than 100 kilometres of each other. Bhutan's
highest peak, at 7,554 metres above sea level, is north-central
Kulha Gangri, close to the border with China.
The Black Mountains, in central Bhutan, form a watershed
between two major river systems, the Mo Chhu and the
Drangme Chhu (chhu means river). Peaks in the Black
Mountains range between 1,500 metres and 2,700 metres
above sea level, and the fast-flowing rivers have carved
out spectacular gorges in the lower mountain areas.
The woodlands of the central region provide most of
Bhutan's valuable forest production. Western Bhutan
has fertile, cultivated valleys and terraced river basins.
In the south, the Southern Hills, or Siwalik Hills,
the foothills of the Himalayas, are covered with dense
deciduous forest, alluvial lowland river valleys, and
mountains that reach to around 1,500 metres above sea
level. The foothills descend into the subtropical Duars
Plain in Assam. Rhinoceros, tigers, leopards, elephants,
and other wildlife inhabit this southern region.
Inspirational Bhutan
Dates and costs
17 March - 1 April, 2011
COST: US$3655 per person, Single Supplement: US$410
Please note: these prices do not include flights
from and to your home country
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