Restoring your sense of belief is the Kingdom’s real gift to its visitors. The nation itself believes in a better future, led by wisdom from its past – a belief it is manifesting daily. Everyone who spins a prayer wheel or lights a butter lamp will understand the potential, the possibilities, and the opportunities that Bhutan offers in a rapidly evolving world.

Mindful exploration: from timeless wisdom to sustainable modernization

There is an adage in travel and hospitality that one should “go before it changes”, into which you can read the negative impacts of high volume tourism and urban development. The country’s infrastructure simply cannot support mass tourism, and nor does it want to. The sustainable tourism strategy protects its natural resources and cultural identity while supporting economic development, employment, education, and healthcare.

This doesn’t mean Bhutan is stuck in the past. It is modernizing, mindfully, as is apparent with the plans for the Mindfulness City in Gelephu – where providing opportunities for business and innovation while protecting the Kingdom’s abundant diversity lie firmly at the heart of its development plans.

Take inspiration from the words shared by celebrated Bhutanese writer Ashi Kunzang: “I feel it is really important to realize that this world doesn’t belong to one or other of us, it belongs to all of us. We all must be responsible for it and conscious of the well-being of all living things, seen and unseen, so that we can all be well and protected. When our Fourth King prioritized peace and happiness over material productivity it made heads turn. Now the time has come for mindfulness. It isn’t something you can buy, but people might say there is something in this. It isn’t just about more, and more, and more. After all, life on earth is just temporary. You come with nothing, and you leave with nothing. A clear vision of what’s enough makes a lot of sense, and the Mindfulness City is very timely.” 

The 11th-century Tibetan yogi Jetsun Milarepa is quoted as saying, “There are, in the heart of the Himalayas, some strange marketplaces where one can barter the whirlwind of life for infinite wisdom.” How you go about this is your own path to follow, but if you come to Bhutan, come mindfully, and you’re guaranteed a warmhearted hello.

Read more about Bhutan Believe: https://bhutan.travel/journal/editorial/an-anatomy-of-the-brand-bhutan-believe