Road Tripping Across Bhutan

Travel Blog  •  Ben Keene  •  06.29.06 | 11:07 AM ET

imageOutside magazine’s June issue features a compelling article on Bhutan, the isolated Asian kingdom short on airports, stoplights, and tourists, but apparently not short on happiness. Senior editor Stephanie Pearson joins Robert Thurman, ordained Buddhist monk and friend of the the Dalai Lama, on a road trip across the landlocked nation in search of her own inner contentment. Following in the footsteps of a Buddhaholic and joined by a gaggle of psychonauts and budding bodhisattvas, she describes a society seeking to find its own sort of peace between ancient traditions and the pull of modernity. For travelers with bigger budgets as well as a hankering for a blend culture, adventure and spirituality, Outside includes several tour operators that arrange Bhutan trips from the United States.

While our list of the Top 30 Travel Books didn’t include any words of enlightenment penned from Ngalhakhang or Thimphu, several authors have published books about their experiences in the Land of the Thunder Dragon. The curious might consider picking up a copy one of these memoirs:

Beyond the Sky and the Earth: A Journey into Bhutan by Jamie Zeppa; Dreams of the Peaceful Dragon: A Journey Through Bhutan by Katie Hickman; and Bhutan: Land of the Thunder Dragon by John Berthold.