Bhutanese wear their nationality with dignity and pride for their country was never colonized. Its ancient history, which is a blend of the oral tradition and classical literature, reveals a largely self-sufficient population. Bhutan’s recorded history dates back to the seventh century, when a Tibetan King built two temples in Bhutan, the Kyichu Lhakhang in Paro and the Jamba Lhakhang in Bumthang.

In the eighth century AD, Guru Rinpoche ( also known as Padmasambhava-the lotus born ) came to Bhutan and established several sacred religious sites which are important places of pilgrimage for the Buddhist world today. He had hidden so many treasures, in the form of scriptures and other artifacts, later destined to be discovered by other saints for the continual turn of the wheel of dharma. Some of the treasures were taken out miraculously from the Mebhar Tsho ( the burning Lake ) in Bumthang by Terton Pema Lingpa. One of the caves where Guru meditated, the sacrosanct Taktsang monastery , today has become the distinguished religious and historical icon of the Kingdom. Another important chapter in the Bhutanese history unfolded in the early 13th century when the Buddhist teacher, Phajo Drugom Zhingpo introduced the Drukpa Kagyu school of Mahayana Buddhism in western Bhutan. Over the years many other saints and religious figures helped shape and develop its religion.

The most dynamic era in the Bhutanese History began with the arrival, in 1616 of Ngawang Namgyal, the great leader of the Drukpa school of Mahayana Buddhism. Over the next 30 years Shabdrung Ngawang Namgyal unified the country and established the foundations for national governance and Bhutanese identity. The shabdrung ( meaning ‘ at whose feet one submits ‘) constructed many Dzongs, monasteries and religious institutions and firmly established Drukpa Kagyu as the state religion and also codified a system of comprehensive law. The Shabdrung also left as his legacy the dual system of government- the temporal and theocratic - with Je Khenpo ( Chief Abbot ) as the religious head and the temporal ruler known as the Desi. This system nurtured Bhutan from 1651 until the birth of the Wangchuk dynasty and establishment of hereditary Monarchy in 1907.

It was Gongsar Ugen Wangchuck, the first King who brought the entire nation under his rule and ended the dual system of government, he ruled until his death in 1926, and was succeeded by his son Jigme Wangchuck, who ruled the kingdom until 1952. The reigns of the first two kings were marked by political stability, it was the third king Jigme Dorji Wangchuck who gently introduced the process of modernization, he started planned development in 1961 and thus began the dramatic changes in the quality of the life of the Bhutanese people, he also enhanced the kingdom’s global role, making Bhutan a member of the United Nations and other International organizations, therefore he was known as the “Father of Modern Bhutan“.

In 1972 King Jigme Singye Wangchuk succeeded his father and became the youngest monarch in the world, with strong emphasis on preserving the religious, cultural heritage and environment, the dynamic monarch steered Bhutan safely into the 21st century.