We’re always pleased to read about different experiences walking in Bhutan, and especially so when the result of the Bhutan treks we read about are in a good cause. So when we came across the Bhutan Education Project’s ‘Walk for Happiness and Change’, we were impressed by the amount of dedication shown by everyone involved. Bhutan treks can be a very powerful personal experience, but even more so when the enjoyment of a trek is turned into doing some social good, as evident in the Walk for Happiness and Change, where participants are raising money for patients in Wamrong hospital.

Photo by Parahamsa.

Bhutan is famous for its concept of ‘GNH’, or ‘Gross National Happiness’, a term coined in 1972 by Bhutan’s then King Jigme Singye Wangchuck, fourth Dragon King of Bhutan. On Bhutan treks, surrounded by the powerful landscape, it’s easy to see where the concept arises from. Bhutan’s unique culture features many spiritual values from the precepts of Buddhism and, amongst the mountains of Bhutan while you’re walking on your Bhutan treks, it’s easy to begin contemplating spiritual matters. When projects such as the Walk for Happiness and Change occur, it symbolises what we believe are the best outcomes of such a trek - a transformation for the better, whether it’s your own happiness, or raising money for a good cause.