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Bhutan
has
been
fortunate
enough
to
never
be
colonized.
It
has
therefore
managed
to
retain
a
purity
of
culture
that
is
entirely
local
with
very
few
outside
influences.
Although
recorded
history
mentions
Bhutan
in
the
7th
century,
its
existence
as
an
independent
entity
was
recognized
even
before
that.
In
the
8th
century,
the
great
Tantrik
mystic,
Guru
Padmasambhava
or
Guru
Rinpoche
came
to
Bhutan
from
Swat,
in
present-day
Pakistan,
and
spread
the
Buddhist
faith. |
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Located
in
the
heart
of
the
high
Himalayan
mountain
range,
Bhutan
is a
landlocked
country
surrounded
by
mountains.
The
sparsely
populated
Greater
Himalayas,
bounded
to
the
north
by
the
Tibetan
plateau,
reach
heights
of
over
7,300
m,
and
extend
southward
losing
height,
to
form
the
fertile
valleys
of
the
Lesser
Himalayas
that
are
divided
by
the
Wang,
Sunkosh,
Trongsa
and
Manas
rivers.
The
entire
country
is
virtually
mountainous,
the
7554-m
Kulha
Gangri
on
the
Tibetan
border
being
the
highest.
North
to
south,
Bhutan
features
three
geographic
regions,
namely,
the
high
Himalayas
of
the
north,
the
hills
and
valleys
of
the
interior,
and
the
foothills
and
plains
of
the
south. |
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Its
great
rivers
helped
to
carve
its
topography
and
their
enormous
potential
for
hydropower
has
helped
shape
the
economy.
Monsoon
influences
promote
dense
forestation
in
this
region
and
alpine
growth
at
higher
altitudes.
The
cultivated
central
uplands
and
Himalayan
foothills
support
the
majority
of
the
population.
In
the
south,
the
Daurs
Plain
drops
sharply
away
from
the
Himalayas
into
the
large
tracts
of
semi-tropical
forest,
savannah
grassland
and
bamboo
jungle.
Forests
and
woodlands
cover
70%
of
Bhutan’s
total
area.
UNESCO
World
Heritage
Sites |
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