Isolated by geography and policy, tourism has been limited. This photographic journey introduces you to the respectful, handsome Bhutanese at their weekend market. Proudly wearing national dress, ghos and kiras, the mostly rural population gathers to buy and sell nearly everything they need, from farm products and livestock to vibrant hand-woven textiles. You can smell betel nuts and almost taste the blistering chilies, cheese and spices blended in emandatse, their favorite stew.

Wander the bucolic countryside as buckwheat and barley is harvested in valleys dotted with clusters of gaily decorated houses. Attend a magical religious festival where dancers, swirling in yellow silk dress topped with ornate masks of gods and animals, bring Buddhist mythology to life.

Rich in biological diversity, over one-third of Bhutan is designated nature reserves for snow leopards and other rare species. And, by government decree, forested land may never fall below sixty percent of the country.

Trekking the pristine beauty of Bhutan spans three climate zones, from the Indian plains to the breathtaking Himalayan range along the Tibetan frontier, a 24,000 foot elevation change in the "Land of the Thunder Dragon!"