Part of its allure can be found in Bhutan’s intentional seclusion from the world beyond its boundaries. Up until very recently, the royal monarchy carefully controlled external influences, only allowing television into the country in 1999. Even today, travel to Bhutan is tightly monitored by a deliberately restrictive visa program for foreign visitors. Bhutan’s seclusion, however, has resulted in an unparalleled conservation of long-held values, Buddhist beliefs, and cultural practices.

Program Highlights

• Spending time in Nepal and Bhutan provides important contrasts and deeper understanding across these Himalayan neighbors
• Learn about environmental conservation with Bhutan’s leading scholars and researchers
• Experience generous Bhutanese hospitality in two homestays

Starting in neighboring Nepal, we spend our first two weeks learning about the shared geographic and cultural foundations common to this Himalayan region before flying into Paro, Bhutan’s sole international airport. Partnering with a Bhutanese environmental NGO, we explore how Buddhist traditions have given rise to a belief in the inherent sacredness and non-economic value of Mother Nature. We engage with thriving Buddhist monasteries, and explore the many sacred sites in the regions surrounding Thimphu.

Moving to more remote regions along the border with Tibet, we continue to immerse ourselves in the lesser-explored cultural heartlands of Bhutan through extended treks in Himalayan peaks, community homestays, attendance of religious festivals, and Independent Study Projects with local masters in traditional arts and crafts. Throughout our travels in Bhutan, we gain new perspectives on our relationship with the environment, broadened understanding of sustainability, and awareness of how our underlying values can influence individual and societal choices.

In a country where the phrase “Gross National Happiness” has become a key metric in national development, Bhutan presses us to ask how our own “happiness” can contribute to the sustainability of our communities and shared resources. Through homestays, community engagement, and immersion in cultural practices, our semester explores how Bhutanese traditions have created a society uniquely centered on the values of community happiness and environmental sustainability.

Our semester concludes back where we started, spending the last two weeks of the program back in Nepal, using the opportunity to better understand our time in Bhutan in contrast to its Himalayan neighbor, and concluding our course with a reflective retreat to bring perspective and closure to our time together.