{"id":14105,"date":"2019-02-06T17:19:57","date_gmt":"2019-02-06T17:19:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.experiencetravelgroup.com\/blog\/?p=14105"},"modified":"2020-10-19T17:20:11","modified_gmt":"2020-10-19T16:20:11","slug":"experience-travel-group-have-launched-bhutan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.experiencetravelgroup.com\/blog\/experience-travel-group-have-launched-bhutan\/","title":{"rendered":"ETG have launched Bhutan"},"content":{"rendered":"

We\u2019re delighted to announce the launch of a new destination for Experience Travel Group: the spiritual Himalayan haven of Bhutan. Here we\u2019re going to share a little bit more about why ETG chose to start creating holidays to Bhutan \u2013 or, as it might turn out, how Bhutan chose us – and the kind of experiences you could have in this captivating Kingdom.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

\"BhutanFirst, allow us to get spiritual for a moment. It\u2019s not typically our style, but if we can\u2019t do a bit of soul-searching when talking about a country like Bhutan, when can we?<\/p>\n

In Buddhism, leaders are often chosen on the basis that they are the reincarnation of their predecessor; the 14th Dalai Lama, for example, is believed to be the reincarnation of the 13th. Once a leader dies, it is the job of the High Lamas to find the body his soul now inhabits.<\/p>\n

But, of course, they can\u2019t just go out and choose a child at random; the child has to put themselves forward, declare their belief that they are the new leader incarnate. Tests ensue, rites are practised, and eventually, it is decreed that the chosen one has been found.<\/p>\n

In a similar way, we can\u2019t help but reflect that Experience Travel Group<\/a> didn\u2019t exactly choose Bhutan, but rather Bhutan seemed to announce itself to us. Now, don\u2019t worry \u2013 we\u2019re not self-involved enough to think that finding our next travel destination was a divine act of Buddha\u2026 But it certainly came about with a stroke of serendipity.<\/p>\n

\"GangteyWe had been curious about Bhutan for some time. Having been closed to tourism until 1974, it remains a capsule of living history, a fascinating pocket of the world that possesses a culture like no other. Many people know, for example, that the country has eschewed GDP in favour of GNH \u2013 Gross National Happiness. Fewer perhaps know that is the world\u2019s last remaining Buddhist kingdom, it has outlawed tobacco and it didn\u2019t have television until 1999. In any event, we were intrigued, and it was on our radar.<\/p>\n

And then last year, more and more clients started to ask us about it. They told us they were keen to travel there; they knew you absolutely have to book a holiday to Bhutan with a tour operator (it\u2019s the law there), and they wanted that tour operator to be us.<\/p>\n

\"Have<\/a><\/span>