BHUTAN

Bhutan is one of the world’s most sustainable countries, carbon-negative, over 70% forested, and officially places “gross national happiness” above gross domestic product. As a travel destination, the Himalayan kingdom remains unique, tucked between the industrial giants China and India. Long isolated from the outside world and deeply shaped by Buddhism, it only opened to foreign visits in 1974. Today, travellers come for its dramatic mountain scenery and ancient dzongs, or fortress monasteries. The capital, Thimphu, blends tradition with a cosmopolitan edge and is famously one of the world’s only capitals without traffic lights. Nearby, the fertile Paro Valley holds Bhutan’s sole international airport and the cliff-hugging Tiger’s Nest Monastery, the country’s most revered site. Further east, Punakha – Bhutan’s capital until 1955 – is known for its scenic riverside farms and rice fields, while Bumthang is the spiritual heartland, where some of the country’s oldest temples and mural-filled monasteries still stand.