Bhutan is located in the eastern Himalayas, bordered to the north by China and to the south, east and west by India.  The altitude varies from 180m in the narrow lowland region to over 7,300m in the Himalayan plateau in the north.  There are three distinct climatic regions - the foothills are tropical and home to deer, tigers, leopards and the rare golden langur money as well as much tropical vegetation including many species of wild orchids; the inner Himalaya region is temperate with bears, boars and sambar and the area is rich in deciduous forests; and the High Himalaya region is very thinly populated, but the steep mountain slopes are the home of many species of animals including snow leopards and blue sheep.

PASSPORT & VISA REQUIREMENTS
Australian passport holders must have a valid passport and a visa is required.  Tourist visas have to be approved prior to arrival, but the actual visa is stamped into your passport on arrival.  You will need to pay USD20 and present a passport photo your passport number written on the back.

CURRENCY
The official currency is the Ngultrum (BTN), which is divided into 100 Chetrums.  Money is best exchanged at arrival in Paro, at Government Banks and at selected Hotels.

LANGUAGES
Dzongkha is the official language. A large number of dialects are spoke, owing to the physical isolation of many villages.  Sharchop Kha is spoken in Eastern Bhutan and Nepali is common in the south.  English has been the language of education since 1964 but there is a growing emphasis on learning Dzongkha to strengthen national identity. 

VOLTAGE
220-240V AC at 50Hz. Standard sockets are small rounded 2 or 3 pin.

TIME DIFFERENCE
Bhutan has only one time zone - Bhutan Standard Time (BST).  It is six hours ahead of GMT and 30mins ahead of India.

HEALTH REGULATIONS
Inoculation regulation can change at short notice.  Please seek medical advice before travelling.  A yellow fever vaccination certificate is required by all travellers coming from an infected area.  Water used for drinking, brushing teeth or making ice should first be boiled or sterilised - bottle water is recommended.  Only eat well-cooked meat and fish and vegetables should be cooked and fruit peeled.  Full medical insurance is strongly recommended.  Medical facilities are good, but not always close at hand.

TIPPING
Tipping is customary.

CUSTOMS
The lifestyle, manners and customs of the Bhutanese are in many respects unique to the area.  The strongest influence on social conventions in the country's state religion, and everywhere one can see the reminders of Buddhism and the original religion of Tibet, Bonism.  Climbing some of the Himalayan peaks is banned due to the belief that the mountains are the repository of the gods and all life, animal or plant, is treated with respect as a divine gift.  Bhutan has outlawed the sale of tobacco products and all banned smoking in public areas.