Welcome!

Enrich Your Travels with Longitude

We've got the classic, new and hard-to-find books and maps to help you get the most out of your adventures.

SIGN UP FOR

Longitude News

Get our monthly e-mail update

GET A

Catalog

BEST OF 2011

Wild Coast

John Gimlette

SEE ALL >

FOR THE HOLIDAYS

To the Arctic

Florian Schultz

SEE ALL >

OUR FAVORITES

Arctic Dreams

Barry Lopez

SEE ALL >

GLOBES

The Pioneer

Replogle

SEE ALL >

Bhutan & Sikkim

READING AND TRAVEL GUIDE

  • E-MAIL
  • PRINT

Kids

Books for

Enrich your travels with reading! Here's a hand-picked list prepared for your journey in conjunction with the book experts at Longitude.

Essential Reading

Item EXHML46. Buy these 5 items as a set for $81 including shipping, 15% off the retail price.
With free shipping on anything else you order.

ADD SET
TO BOOKBAG
Lonely Planet Northeast India

Lonely Planet Northeast India

by Mark Elliott | Joseph Bindloss | Lindsay Brown

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2009
  • PAPER
  • 376 PAGES

This guide covers easternmost India in the hallmark Lonely Planet style, covering Calcutta, Sikkim, West Bengal and Orissa along with the newly opened and little-visited northeastern states. (IDA518, $23.99)

Odyssey Guide Bhutan

Odyssey Guide Bhutan

by Francoise Pommaret

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2009
  • PAPER
  • 326 PAGES

A compact overview of the kingdom, its culture, history, flora and fauna by a resident scholar, enhanced by color photographs and maps. (BHU03, $23.95)

So Close to Heaven, The Vanishing Buddhist Kingdoms of the Himalayas

So Close to Heaven, The Vanishing Buddhist Kingdoms of the Himalayas

by Barbara Crossette

  • TRAVEL NARRATIVE
  • 1996
  • PAPER
  • 297 PAGES
  • FAVORITE

Asia correspondent for the New York Times, Crossette portrays Bhutan and neighboring Ladakh and Sikkim as strongholds of Tantric Buddhism in an increasingly homogenized world. (NPL04, $16.00)

Sikkim Map

Sikkim Map

by ITMB

  • MAP

A full-color detailed map of Sikkim for travelers at a scale of 1:140,000. (HML75, $9.95)

Bhutan Map

Bhutan Map

by ITMB

  • 2008
  • MAP

A double-sided traveler's map at an excellent scale of 1:380,000. (BHU06, $12.95)

 
Buddhist Himalayas

Buddhist Himalayas


by Olivier and Danielle Follmi | Mattieu Ricard

  • CULTURAL PORTRAIT
  • 2008
  • PAPER
  • 424 PAGES

A big, beautiful celebration of the Himalayas, featuring 185 richly colored, often double-page photographs and essays by Mattieu Ricard. (HML53, $32.95)

City of Djinns: A Year in Delhi

City of Djinns: A Year in Delhi


by William Dalrymple

  • CULTURAL PORTRAIT
  • 2003
  • PAPER
  • 350 PAGES
  • FAVORITE

Dalrymple infectiously interweaves his own experiences over a year in Delhi with the art, architecture, history and literature of the city. (IDA06, $16.00)

Essential Tibetan Buddhism

Essential Tibetan Buddhism


by Robert Thurman

  • RELIGION
  • 1996
  • PAPER
  • 317 PAGES

The foremost Western scholar of Tibetan Buddhism, Thurman has chosen well from that tradition's sacred literature and helpfully includes suggested further reading, explanatory notes and a directory of sacred sites. (TBT15, $14.99)

In the Shadow of the Himalayas, A Photographic Record by John Claude White 1883-1908

In the Shadow of the Himalayas, A Photographic Record by John Claude White 1883-1908


by Kurt Meyer | Pamela Deuel Meyer

  • CULTURAL PORTRAIT
  • 2005
  • HARD COVER
  • OUT OF PRINT

A collection of 144 remarkable documentary photographs of Tibet, Bhutan, Nepal and Sikkim at the turn of the 20th century by John Claude White (1853-1918), the first British Political Officer to Sikkim. (HML71, $65.00)

The Raven Crown

The Raven Crown


by Michael Aris

  • HISTORY
  • 2005
  • HARD COVER
  • 160 PAGES

Aris chronicles the rise of the Wangchuk dynasty in this beautifully illustrated history of the kingdom and its 20th-century monarchy, featuring 106 rare photographs. (BHU02, $60.00)

Turning the Mind Into an Ally

Turning the Mind Into an Ally


by Sakyong Mipham

  • RELIGION
  • 2004
  • PAPER
  • 234 PAGES

A guide to meditation and practical introduction to teachings of the Shambhala Buddhist community, which has strong ties to Bhutan. (BHU25, $16.00)

From the Land of the Thunder Dragon

From the Land of the Thunder Dragon


by Susan S. Bean | Diana K. Myers

  • ART & ARCHITECTURE
  • 2008
  • PAPER
  • 247 PAGES

This magnificent survey, featuring 130 color photographs, illuminates with authority the huge cultural significance of weaving in Bhutan. With contributions by Michael Aris, Francoise Pommaret, Susan Bean and principal author Diana Myers, it's the definitive book on the subject, published in conjunction with an exhibition at the Peabody Essex Museum. (BHU01, $50.00)

An Area of Darkness

An Area of Darkness


by V.S. Naipaul

  • BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR
  • 2002
  • PAPER
  • 267 PAGES

A reflective, personal account of Naipaul's travels in India in 1962 -- a portrait of a time and place and searing, honest chronicle of the country during transition. (IDA13, $14.95)

Beyond the Sky and the Earth

Beyond the Sky and the Earth


by Jamie Zeppa

  • TRAVEL NARRATIVE
  • 1999
  • PAPER
  • 303 PAGES

Zeppa's memoir of her time as teacher in a remote village shows her growing love and commitment to the people and culture. (BHU08, $16.00)

The Snow Leopard

The Snow Leopard


by Peter Matthiessen

  • EXPLORATION
  • 2008
  • PAPER
  • 368 PAGES
  • FAVORITE

The most perceptive, acutely observed and personal of all his books, Matthiessen's account of a five-week journey through Nepal with naturalist George Schaller combines their quest for the elusive cat with a moving introduction to Buddhism and the people and culture of the Himalayas. (NPL03, $16.00)

The Circle of Karma, A Novel

The Circle of Karma, A Novel


by Kunzang Choden

  • LITERATURE
  • 2005
  • PAPER
  • 328 PAGES

The first novel by a Bhutanese woman, this lyrical coming-of-age story explores the rituals of daily life in Bhutan. When Tsomo's mother suddenly dies, the young girl must travel alone across Bhutan and into India. (BHU26, $14.00)

Travellers and Magicians

Travellers and Magicians


by Khyentse Norbu

  • LITERATURE
  • 2005
  • DVD

The first feature shot on location in Bhutan, this film, directed by a respected lama, follows a young official on his odyssey across the country. Along the way he is joined by a mischievous monk, an elderly peddler and an old man with his daughter. (BHU22, $29.99)

Birds of India

Birds of India


by Richard Grimmett | Carol Inskipp | Tim Inskipp

  • FIELD GUIDE
  • 2012
  • PAPER
  • 384 PAGES

Thoroughly revised, with 73 new plates and many others updated or repainted, the second edition of the masterful Birds of India now features all maps and text opposite the plates for quicker and easier reference. (FG43, $39.50)

Photographic Guide to Birds of the Himalayas

Photographic Guide to Birds of the Himalayas


by Bikram Grewal

  • FIELD GUIDE
  • 1999
  • PAPER
  • 144 PAGES

A pocket guide to 250 birds found from the foothills up to high elevations ranging from the Hindu Kush and Kashmir to Arunachal Pradesh in the Eastern Himalayas. With brief descriptive information, maps and 260 full-color illustrations. (HML31, $15.95)

More Recommendations

Here are some other groups of books that might be of interest

Longitude provides recommended reading for travelers in partnership with the leading tour operators and travel programs for hundreds of destinations worldwide. We've got the classic, new and hard-to-find books and maps to help you get the most out of your adventures.