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FAQ's

1. Where is Bhutan?

Bhutan or Druk –Yuel (land of the Thunder Dragon) is a jewel in the crown of the majestic Himalayas. It lies to the south of the Tibetan plateau and north of India. The country encompasses snow-clad mountains in the north to the subtropics in the south, giving sanctuary to an amazing range of flora and fauna. Small wonder that it has been recognized as one of the world’s “top 10 Global Hotspots of biodiversity”. The kingdom’s wilderness areas boast such rare and endangered species as the Himalayan Snow Leopard, the Royal Bengal Tiger and the Black Necked Crane, to name just a few. Its virgin peaks, among the highest in the world, are forbidden to climbers as a mark of respect to nature and as a sign of its people’s desire to live in harmony with the environment. Culturally, the vastness of the Kingdom’s wealth has much to do with the genius of its people and its immediate proximity and peaceful coexistence with the two ancient civilizations of China and India. The National Geographic Magazine describes the kingdom as “tantalizing as the sighting of a rare and beautiful bird”. The New York Times calls it a “must-see destination”, and Summit Magazine believes Bhutan deserves “the traveler’s most precious adjective: unchanged”.

2. Why is it an exclusive destination?

Although, in recent years, Bhutan has become one of the most coveted destinations in the world, it remains an exclusive dreamland as portrayed in Daisy’s Foote’s “Bhutan”, a recent play off Broadway in New York. This has much to do with its being the last bastion of Mahayana Buddhist culture that once extended through much of Northern Asia with Tibet as its heartland. It is also attributable to the Royal Government’s policy of ‘high value – low volume’ tourism which is bolstered by the steady stream of culture sensitive, eco-friendly and high-end tourists. Nevertheless, the Bhutanese tourism industry is expanding steadily in proportion to its growing cultural, environmental and demographic absorptive capacity.

3. What has Bhutan to do with happiness and what is GNH?

Bhutan’s visionary philosopher King believes that the principal role of the state is to create those conditions within a sustainable environment that can best enable its citizens to find shared happiness or Gross National Happiness (GNH). The philosophy is founded on the premise that holistic development of the human individual requires improvement of both the body and the mind. Happiness is to be attained through a judicious balance between material and spiritual development. To this end, economic indicators such as GNP and GDP are pursued for their limited role in improving the material circumstances and needs of the body alone. Neglecting the equally important needs of the mind is what causes spiritual impoverishment and unhappiness.

4. What does “Kiga Spiritual Journeys” offer that is different?

‘KIGA’, meaning peace and happiness, is a Bhutanese company dedicated to offering an experience that goes beyond the normal run-of-the-mill tour of the country. It is an enterprise born of a partnership between two women who believe that their country has something special to offer to a spiritually impoverished and a troubled world. They believe that the vibrancy of Bhutan’s culture and the deeply spiritual nature of its people, manifest even in the landscape, cannot fail to spark a spiritual awakening or fortification in people of all faiths. At Bhutan Kiga, we aspire to facilitate a culturally and spiritually stimulating experience. Kiga endeavors to provide genuine insights into our national philosophy of Gross National Happiness. Above all, we believe that nurturing of the spirit and the cultivation of relationships through our journeys contribute to greater and shared happiness in the world.

The ancient sages called the Himalayas lhayuel—abode of the gods. Here, in the lap of the world’s highest mountains, lie the sacred caves, temples, and monasteries, where great men and women have come to discover the ultimate truth, the path to inner peace and sublime happiness. Honoring that tradition, Kiga offers programmes that are spiritually nourishing and physically invigorating. Ki in Bhutanese means Peace. Ga is the word for Happiness. Put together KIGA reflects our company’s aspirations for the promotion of compassion toward all sentient beings and the pursuit of Peace and Happiness.

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