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Bhutan

READING AND TRAVEL GUIDE

  • E-MAIL
  • PRINT

We feature a handpicked selection of travel guides, maps, literature, books on art, nature and culture, all designed to help you get more out of your travels to Bhutan. Order an essential package, and we'll ship any additional items for free.

Essential Reading

Item EXBHU58. Buy these 5 items as a set for $117 including shipping, 15% off the retail price.
With free shipping on anything else you order.

ADD SET
TO BOOKBAG
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)

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)

What Makes You Not a Buddhist

What Makes You Not a Buddhist

by Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse

  • RELIGION
  • 2007
  • PAPER
  • 128 PAGES

Born in Bhutan in 1961, a Tibetan lama and filmmaker (Travellers and Magicians), Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse Rinpoche gives a decidedly modern take on dharma, happiness, suffering and enlightenment in this engaging primer. (TBT96, $15.95)

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)

Bhutan Map

Bhutan Map

by ITMB

  • 2012
  • MAP

A double-sided traveler's map at an excellent scale of 1:345,000 with a larger scale map of Northern India on the reverse. (BHU06, $12.95)

 
Footprint Bhutan Handbook

Footprint Bhutan Handbook


by Gyurme Dorje

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2010
  • PAPER
  • 352 PAGES

An up-to-date practical guide by a Buddhist scholar and expert in the region, this is a nice balance of cultural and historical overview and choice details for the traveler. (BHU18, $25.95)

Lonely Planet Bhutan

Lonely Planet Bhutan


by Lonely Planet

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2011
  • PAPER
  • 284 PAGES

A compact travel guide to Bhutan with a good overview of culture, history and nature, sketch maps, a section of color photographs and plenty of practical detail on sightseeing and treks. (BHU11, $26.99)

Bhutan, The Land of Serenity

Bhutan, The Land of Serenity


by Matthieu Ricard

  • CULTURAL PORTRAIT
  • 2012
  • PAPER
  • 232 PAGES

A Buddhist monk, photographer, and French interpreter for the Dalai Lama, Ricard, draws on his time in Bhutan over the last 25 years for this intimate portrait. With illuminating chapters on the remarkable Khyentse Rinpoche, sacred art, architecture, dancing monks and ceremonies. (BHU34, $19.95)

Fortress Monasteries of the Himalayas


by Peter Harrison

  • RELIGION
  • 2011
  • PAPER
  • 64 PAGES

This slim book recreates the dramatic and colorful fortifications of Tibet, Ladakh, Nepal and Bhutan, recounting their history through foreign incursions, religious conflicts and civil wars to the Tibetan uprising and flight of the Dalai Lama from Potala Palace in 1959. (HML117, $18.95)

Material World

Material World


by Paul Kennedy | Charles C. Mann | Peter Menzel

  • CULTURAL PORTRAIT
  • 1995
  • PAPER
  • 255 PAGES

An inspired idea, this book documents 30 families around the world with all their possessions artfully arrayed around them. (GEN02, $25.00)

The Blessings of Bhutan

The Blessings of Bhutan


by Russ and Blyth Carpenter

  • CULTURAL PORTRAIT
  • 2002
  • PAPER
  • 192 PAGES
  • HARD TO FIND ELSEWHERE

Head-over-heels in love with Bhutan, the Carpenters introduce their adopted home, its people, customs, religion and history. (BHU16, $26.99)

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)

Married to Bhutan

Married to Bhutan


by Linda Leaming

  • BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR
  • 2011
  • PAPER
  • 256 PAGES

Enraptured by the customs, land and people of Bhutan, where she has lived and worked for ten years, Leaming writes with humor and candor about her often-bumpy cultural immersion, her romance with a Buddhist artist and her unexpected path to happiness. (BHU36, $14.95)

Radio Shangri-La

Radio Shangri-La


by Lisa Napoli

  • TRAVEL NARRATIVE
  • 2012
  • PAPER
  • 304 PAGES

Napoli's memoir of her time working on a fledgling Bhutanese radion station. She writes with frankness and clarity about the contradictions, poverty and reality of much mythologized Bhutan. (BHU35, $15.00)

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)

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.