Spectacular, remote and hard to reach, Bhutan is an incredibly beautiful and beguiling place.

Cradled by the high peaks of the Himalayas, it's a country of massive temple fortresses and remote, richly decorated monasteries; snow-capped mountain peaks, clear rivers and misty valleys; ancient magnolia, rhododendron and pine forests; prayer flags on hillsides, roadside shrines and centuries-old rice terraces - tended by people who lead a way of life as they have done for generations, and intend to preserve it. Unlike neighbouring Tibet, Bhutan is culturally and artistically very much 'intact'.

If Myanmar felt cut-off from the rest of the world, Bhutan feels like a country that's consciously removed itself from it altogether, in a considered and positive way; here, men and women wear the national dress not just for special occasions but everyday, and they look exceedingly handsome and elegant in it. Thimphu, the capital city of 60,000 people, is the only one in the world without traffic lights.

But it's not a country looking backwards. You're just as likely to see a monk on a mobile phone, as you are a woman with a prayer wheel circling a chorten three-times for good luck in this deeply spiritual country. 

With nearly seventy per cent of the country still covered in virgin forests, a small and sparse population, a carefully managed tourism industry (which keeps visitor numbers down), fewer cars and no air traffic whatsoever, there is something very special, peaceful and almost unworldly about this little kingdom, the Land of the Thunder Dragon.