![]() Seeing that Mount Everest has become horrendously polluted from mountaineering activities, Bhutan’s ban actually does the environment a great favour. Thanks to the ban, Gangkhar Puensum’s remote state has maintained its pristine condition. It stands lofty at 7,500m (24,836ft) at the border between Bhutan and China. Gangkhar Puensum is also known as the ‘The White Peak of the Three Spiritual Brothers’. Climbing the mountains was banned out of respect for the local spiritual beliefs.ĭue to the ban, Bhutan is home to the world’s highest unclimbed peak in the world: Gangkhar Puensum. To these cultures, mountains are extremely sacred, as they are home to the gods and spirits. The ban was implemented out of respect for the strong spiritual value the local communities attach to the mountains. By 2003, mountaineering in Bhutan was banned altogether. ![]() Mountaineers and trekkers let us all abide by putting into action a famous saying - take nothing but pictures, leave nothing but footprints.”īut by 1994, the Bhutanese government had second thoughts about opening up the mountains to the world. With the introduction of mountaineering in the Kingdom, Bhutan hopes to further its existing close co-operation and friendship with all countries. ![]() However, the Royal Government may open many more peaks in the years to come in a very paced manner. Even now, the Royal Government of Bhutan has opened only a limited number of peaks, since the country has been following the policy of controlled tourism, for it places much value in the preservation of the ecological balance along with cultural and traditional values. This thinking could be put into action only from 1983 onwards. It has been in the thought of the Royal Government of Bhutan that the country should open its many virgin - even yet to be named - mountains to the mountaineers of the world. Mountaineering and trekking in the country is part and parcel of the life of our people who have never looked at it as a sport in the past. “Bhutan is a country of born trekkers and mountaineers. The minister said while introducing the Bhutan Mountaineering Regulations: Briefly, Bhutan introduced mountaineering expeditions, organised by TCO.Īt that time, the Bhutanese were keen to promote mountaineering in Bhutan to the outside world. Up to 1983, cultural tours and trekking, organised by the government’s Tourism Commercial Organisation (TCO) were the only two allowed forms of tourism. For context, Mt Everest, the highest mountain in the world, is 8,848m (29,031ft).īhutan started welcoming tourists in 1974. More than 20 peaks in Bhutan reach above 7,000m (23,000ft). Naturally, they house some of the highest mountains in the world. Bhutan is nestled in the Himalayas, rugged with high-altitude terrain.
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