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Beyond Imagination.
Top Destinations
Travelers' Choice
Beyond Expeditions. Beyond Business.
Beyond Imagination.
Beyond Expeditions. Beyond Business.
Beyond Imagination.
Beyond Expeditions. Beyond Business.
Beyond Imagination.
Because Bhutan rises from near sea level to over 7,000 metres in a short distance, it holds an extraordinary range of plants and animals. With forest on around 70% of its land and roughly half the country protected, it is one of the best-conserved corners of the Himalaya.
Subtropical (below about 1,000 m). Dense broadleaf forest with sal, bamboo, wild banana and orchids, home to elephants, gaur and tigers.
Temperate (about 1,000 to 3,000 m). Oak, magnolia, chir pine and blue pine, maple and walnut, with spectacular rhododendron blooms in spring.
Sub-alpine and alpine (above about 3,000 m). Hemlock, fir, juniper and birch give way to dwarf rhododendron, alpine meadows and high-altitude herbs used in traditional medicine.
Bhutan has over 5,000 recorded species of vascular plants, including dozens of rhododendrons and hundreds of orchids. The national flower is the blue poppy, Meconopsis gakyidiana, a species described in 2016 and confirmed as the national flower in 2017. The national tree is the cypress, often planted near temples and dzongs. Many highland plants are collected for sowa rigpa, the traditional Bhutanese medicine practised alongside modern healthcare.
Bhutan’s forests and mountains shelter the Bengal tiger, snow leopard, clouded leopard, red panda, Himalayan black bear, Asian elephant, golden langur and the national animal, the takin. Cameras have recorded tigers at altitudes above 4,000 metres, a sign of how well connected Bhutan’s habitats remain, and the country is one of the few where the wild tiger population has increased in recent years.
More than 700 bird species have been recorded, including the rare white-bellied heron, the rufous-necked hornbill, the satyr tragopan and the national bird, the raven, which appears on the royal crown. Each autumn the black-necked cranes arrive from the Tibetan plateau to spend the winter in the Phobjikha and Bumdeling valleys, and their arrival is celebrated with a festival at Gangtey Goemba.
Royal Manas National Park in the south is Bhutan’s richest wildlife area. Phobjikha valley is best for cranes from November to February. Jigme Dorji and Wangchuck Centennial national parks protect the high mountains, and the Motithang Takin Preserve in Thimphu is the easiest place to see a takin.
See also Pristine Nature & Landscapes.