A paradise lost since medieval times, bathing in its pristine beauty, Bhutan is a heavenly abode in the heart of the vast Himalayas. Secluded by some of the highest mountain ranges in the world, it is not surprising that over the ling centuries of its history, Bhutan remained a land little known to the outside world. Even today the origin of the name itself remains obscure. Perhaps it comes from the Sanskrit "Bhot ant" meaning "End of Tibet". No one is sure Bhutan with tales of rulers dressed in silken robed living in lofty castles clinging through mountain passes and racing across the valleys. Of ingenious bridges made od wood and iron chains straddling the rivers. Of trails, winding around rock faces and through dense forests of giant rhododendrons, wild orchids, exotic birds, unusual animals. And above all, the sheer inaccessibility of the place. For all the tales of receptions friendly and unfriendly, of strange customs and even stranger legends of scenery breathtaking in its heartly and forbidding in its rigor.  Bhutan remains to the world at large a mythical Shangri-La.