You cannot find a more enlightened travel and learning destination in the world today than the tiny Kingdom of Bhutan nestled between Tibet and India in the high Himalayas. No other country in the world has protected more area as national parks and forest reserves or dedicated itself so strongly to the protection of wildlife. And no other place is more committed to sustainability and happiness than Bhutan. Only here has the concept of  “Gross National Happiness” eclipsed the world’s obsession with Gross Domestic Product.

Students privileged to take this trip will learn lessons in life they will never forget. They will experience a people with a reverence for all sentient beings and see a land so carefully stewarded that the river flowing through the largest city is pristine and filled with mountain trout. They will learn why Bhutan is one of the top ten-biodiversity hot spots in the world and discover for themselves Bhutan’s paradigm shift on tourism, an enlightened policy that places quality of the experience above quantity of visitors.

Bhutan is the last bastion of Vajrayana Buddhism, a spiritual practice that is known to be one of the most profound schools of teaching in the Buddhist world. Sixth century sacred monasteries sitting precariously on cliffs, fluttering prayer flags that line the high ridges, giant prayer wheels powered by mountain streams and red robed monks chanting both day and night give this kingdom an aura that comes from another time.

Students on this trip will learn time-honored techniques to calm their own minds from the hectic pace of academic life. They will immerse themselves in daily rituals, experience Bhutanese rural life spending a night in a family farmhouse, milking cows and churning butter, planting and harvesting rice and making mud and straw bricks. They will raft a sacred river, trek ancient trade routes with pack mules, learn the national sport of archery, play unique Bhutanese games, work together with local school children and celebrate this amazing experience with brilliant Bhutanese masked dancers under a star studded sky on their final night.

For full description and itinerary, download document [here]