The admission that a trip to Bhutan is a profound spiritual experience is not an overstatement. The unique form of Buddhism practiced in this country is omnipresent in all walks of life, but it would be an oversimplification to attribute a traveler’s feelings of spiritualism solely to religion. There is a sense when visiting Bhutan that the environment is informing a transformation of the human spirit. After all what other country in the world celebrates a Gross National Happiness Index? Bhutan is a kingdom with a strong religious background, a profound respect for the environment, a commitment to family, and a compassion for all living things. There is a blending of religious and humanistic ideologies and old and new world concepts of spiritualism. For this visitor the experience has been both transformative and transcendent. - Jack Stuber