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60 free Bhutan trivia questions with answers — geography quiz, new questions added Aug 2026.
Bhutan is the Himalayan kingdom that measures Gross National Happiness, was the last country on Earth to allow television, and refuses to let anyone climb its highest peak. It has a monastery glued to a cliff, phalluses painted on its houses to ward off gossip, a dragon on its flag and an airport that only a few dozen pilots are qualified to land at. And it is one of the very few countries that absorbs more carbon than it emits. This quiz covers geography (what lies to the north and south?), history (the unifier who kept his death secret for 54 years, the first king of 1907, the fourth king who gave up absolute power), symbols and culture (the flag, the takin, ema datshi, the gho and kira, tshechu festivals), and modern life (hydropower, the daily tourist fee, the Other Final football match against Montserrat). Questions run from easy to expert. Every answer was checked against Wikipedia and other reference pages before publishing.
30 of 60 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01What is the capital and largest city of Bhutan?
Thimphu
Close to 15% of the population lives there; the capital only moved from Punakha in 1955.
Q 02Bhutan is landlocked between which two countries?
China (Tibet) and India
Despite the map, it does not touch Nepal; a sliver of India separates them.
Q 03Bhutan is famous for measuring its progress by which index instead of GDP alone?
Gross National Happiness
The fourth king coined the phrase in 1972; the commission enforcing it was dissolved in 2022.
Q 04In Dzongkha, Bhutan's own name Druk Yul means what?
Land of the Thunder Dragon
The dragon, or druk, is the emblem of the Drukpa Buddhist lineage; the kings are Druk Gyalpo, "Dragon Kings".
Q 05What does the dragon on Bhutan's flag hold in each of its claws?
A jewel
The two halves of the flag stand for the secular monarchy and the Buddhist tradition.
Q 06Which two colours make up the diagonal halves of Bhutan's flag?
Yellow and orange
An earlier version had a red field and a green dragon; the current design dates from 1969.
Q 07Gangkhar Puensum, Bhutan's loftiest peak at 7,570 m, holds what global distinction?
Tallest unclimbed mountain on Earth
Bhutan banned climbing peaks above 6,000 m in 1994 out of respect for local beliefs, and went further in 2003.
Q 08Since 2003, what has Bhutan completely banned on its mountains?
Mountaineering
A 1994 law first prohibited climbing peaks over 6,000 m, out of respect for the deities believed to live there.
Q 09Paro Taktsang, the "Tiger's Nest" monastery, is named after a legend that Guru Padmasambhava arrived how?
Flying on the back of a tigress
He is credited with bringing Vajrayana Buddhism to Bhutan; the monastery buildings date from 1692.
Q 10Bhutan was among the last countries to allow which technology, lifting its ban in 1999?
Television
The king warned that misuse of it could erode traditional values; the internet arrived the same year.
Q 11A 2010 law made Bhutan the first nation in the world to ban the sale of what?
Tobacco
The ban was reversed in 2021 because smuggled cigarettes were spreading Covid across the Indian border.
Q 12Bhutan's constitution requires that at least what share of the country stay forested forever?
60%
Actual cover is over 70%, which is why the country absorbs more carbon dioxide than it emits.
Q 13Bhutan is one of the few countries with net negative carbon emissions. What absorbs its pollution?
Its forests, covering over 70% of the land
Q 21After Bhutan's 17th-century unifier died in 1651, how long was his death kept secret?
54 years
Officials feared the fragile new state would collapse without its founder.
Q 22Who became the first hereditary King of Bhutan on 17 December 1907?
Ugyen Wangchuck
He was elected unanimously by monks, officials and family heads at Punakha Dzong; the date is now National Day.
Q 23Bhutan's kings wear a distinctive crown topped with the head of which bird?
A raven
The first king adopted the Raven Crown as the unique symbol of his authority; the raven represents a protective deity.
The forests soak up more than four million tonnes of CO2 a year against 2.2 million tonnes produced.
Q 14Ema datshi, the national dish of Bhutan, is a stew of which two main ingredients?
Chillies and cheese
Bhutanese treat chillies as a vegetable rather than a spice; the cheese is home-made from cow or yak curd.
Q 15Bhutan's best-known agricultural export is which unusual grain?
Red rice
Its neighbours, meanwhile, buy most of the Bhutanese apples and oranges.
Q 16Which animal, looking like a cross between a goat and a cow, is Bhutan's national animal?
Takin
Legend says the Divine Madman created it by sticking a goat's head on a cow's skeleton.
Q 17What is the national sport of Bhutan?
Archery
Matches are raucous village social events with singing and heckling of the opposing team.
Q 18In Bhutan's national sport, roughly how far apart are the two targets placed?
Over 100 metres
Olympic archers shoot at 70 metres; Bhutan has sent archers to every Summer Games since 1984 without winning a medal.
Q 19Bhutan's national football team beat Montserrat 4-0 in 2002 in a match billed as what?
The Other Final
It was played on the same day as the Brazil-Germany World Cup final between the world's two lowest-ranked teams.
Q 20Who unified Bhutan in the 17th century and became the first Zhabdrung Rinpoche?
Ngawang Namgyal
A Tibetan lama fleeing persecution, he repelled three Tibetan invasions and built the great fortresses.
Q 24Jigme Singye Wangchuck became the world's youngest monarch in 1972 at what age?
16
He reigned 34 years, then abdicated voluntarily in 2006 to usher in democracy.
Q 25Bhutan held its first parliamentary elections and adopted its constitution in which year?
2008
The fourth king abdicated in December 2006 to let his son oversee the switch to constitutional monarchy.
Q 26Bhutan's fifth king, Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck, married which commoner in 2011?
Jetsun Pema
He studied at Wheaton College and Oxford before being crowned in 2008 at age 28.
Q 27Bhutan's ngultrum is pegged at par to which currency, also legal tender in Bhutan?
Indian rupee
It is subdivided into 100 chhertum and was introduced in 1974.
Q 28What is Bhutan's largest export?
Hydroelectricity
Almost all of it goes to India; the Tala plant alone generates 1,020 MW.
Q 29Which fortress-monasteries are the administrative centres of Bhutan's districts?
Dzongs
Traditional Bhutanese architecture uses no nails or iron bars.
Q 30Punakha Dzong, built in 1637-38 between two rivers, has been the venue for what since 1907?
The coronation of every king
Punakha was the seat of government until 1955 and remains the winter capital of the monastic body.