Bhutan is a completely land locked country in the Himalayan Slopes. To the Bhutanese, Bhutan is known as Druk Yul, which means the land of the Thunder Dragon. Bhutan remained isolated and unknown to the outer world for many centuries. It came to be known to the outer world only a few decades ago  and it is known as the Last Shangri-La. The word Bhutan is derived from the Sanskrit word Bhu-uttam which means “Highland”. Bhutan lies between the longitudes 88 ° 45` and 92° 10’ east and latitude 26°40` and 28°15` north. It has a land area of 38394 sq. km and is located in the eastern Himalayas, bordered by China in the north and India to the east, west and south.

Bhutan can be divided into three zones geographically. The zones are, the southern foothills, the central belt  and  the Northern Highlands.

The southern foothills include all the southern ranges from east to west. This area has dense vegetation. This includes mostly the tropical deciduous forest. The altitude varies up to 3000 ft above sea level. These area grow teak, sal, sisoo trees etc. and gets heavy rainfall in the monsoon season. The central belt consists of the valleys from east to west. This includes Paro, Haa, Thimphu, Wangduephodrang,  Trongsa, Bumthang, Mongar and  Trashigang . The altitude varies from 3000 ft to 10000 ft above the sea level. This is a temperate zone and coniferous forest of birch, pine, rodhodendron, oak, etc. is found. The northern zone is the Himalayan mountain ranges including the Mountain Jumolhari which run between China and Bhutan. It has alpine vegetation comprising of dwarf rodhodendrons, moss, lichen and other flowering plants.

Many interesting and rare animals are found in the forests of Bhutan. The northern Bhutan animals like wild sheep, wild goats, snow leopard, musk deer, brown bear, etc. are found. It is said that these area is also home to the snow man or Yeti. The present generation has not seen this. Perhaps this rare beast is becoming extinct now. Presently, the Bengal Tigers were spotted in the forest of the central belt. In the southern forest animals such as elephants, rhinos, deer, etc. including the golden langur are found. Bhutan also has a large species of birds including the black necked crane and the horn bill.

Bhutan is a green heaven even in this world of rapid urbanization. A paradise for nature lovers and a place of adventure for the adventurous, Bhutan stands among the top countries for its geography and nature.