Bhutan is a remote & independent kingdom in the eastern Himalayas and the last bastion of Tibetan Buddhist culture and religion in its purest form. Despite opening up to tourism in the late 70's, it has managed to minimise the effect of outside influences and the country is virtually untouched, in terms of the environment, religion, architecture and lifestyle. Bhutan has the youngest reigning monarch in the world, King Jigme Singye Wangchuck, who guards Bhutan's culture and national identity fiercely.