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Do you have Bhutan in your list of next vacation destination? Then gathering information about the various trekking options available in Bhutan will prove a good idea. Normally, you must plan three to six month ahead of your travelling date to allow to travel agent time to process all documents and formalities.

Trekking tours of Bhutan has become really popular recently. This small Himalayan country is nestled amidst high mountains that protect it from all sides. To the western world, Bhutan has remained inaccessible for many years, mainly because of inefficient communication infrastructure. But as travelling to exotic location has become the newest trend demand for unexplored Asian destinations have risen significantly. Bhutan features quite at the top of that list. Trekking is one of the major attractions of Bhutan and also the most famous. It attracts thousands of visitors year round to this quaint little country of Himalaya.

To trekking lovers, Bhutan offers some exciting tracks amidst its picturesque landscape. During the hike tourists can reveal in its natural beauty and indigenous flora and fauna and get a close experience of the vibrant lifestyle of its people and festivals. For most sincere trekkers there is a hike to the most famous point of Bhutan, Taktshang Goemba or the tigress nest, which is 900m above Paro valley. But others can take less rigorous tours under the supervised guidance of experienced tour operators.

Tourism in Bhutan is highly regulated and mostly governed by the Government agencies. All tours must be prepaid and preplanned through a reputed Bhutanese travelling agency. Private tourism isn’t commonplace yet. The best way to travel is with a qualified agency that has specialized in organizing treks Himalaya Bhutan.

The travel agents in Bhutan offer customized trekking tours that they often combine with cultural tour, festival tour, photographic tour, adventure tour, eco -tour or spiritual tour of Bhutan as well. Tourists are given opportunity to get firsthand experience of the effervescent life of the people and their colorful festivals that play very crucial role in their lives.

The photographic tours organize special photographic lessons for enthusiast during their trip to capture its unspoilt nature. Tourists can indulge in adrenaline rushing adventure sports such as rafting, kayaking, biking etc. depending upon tourist requirements these travel agencies are flexible to customize their trips and suggest the best possible solutions.

Trekking trips of Bhutan are often conducted in small groups and these groups are generally formed of people with common interest. Apart from tour operator, who is often an experienced guide, cook and valets too accompany the team to look after the needs and requirements of the team members.

The cost of travelling to Bhutan is moderate. The government and locals promote eco-friendly tourism which helps them preserve the natural wonders of their country. Its natural marvels are scattered across the Paro Valley. Climbers, on their way, can discover many such wonders as they make way towards their destination.

According to some of the newest Edward Snowden leaks as reported on by Glenn Greenwald on Monday, government spies are infiltrating websites in an effort to persuade public opinion and discredit opposition.

The documents from the GCHQ (the British equivalent of the NSA), titled “The Art of Deception: Training for Online Covert Operations,” were given to the NSA and leaked by Snowden. They reveal that the GCHQ is involved, through a unit known as JTRIG (Joint Threat Research Intelligence Group), in “the monitoring of YouTube and Blogger, the targeting of Anonymous with the very same DDoS attacks they accuse ‘hacktivists’ of using, the use of ‘honey traps’ (luring people into compromising situations using sex) and destructive viruses.”

Further, according to Greenwald, “these agencies are attempting to control, infiltrate, manipulate, and warp online discourse, and in doing so, are compromising the integrity of the internet itself.”

The goals of the JTRIG program are “(1) to inject all sorts of false material onto the internet in order to destroy the reputation of its targets; and (2) to use social sciences and other techniques to manipulate online discourse and activism to generate outcomes it considers desirable.”

They do this through the use of several tactics, as listed by a slide from the documents: “Infiltration Operation,” “Ruse operation,” “Set Piece Operation,” “False Flag Operation,” “False Rescue Operation,” Disruption Operation” and “Sting Operation.”

Another slide lists ways to “discredit a target”: “Set up a honey-trap,” “Change their photos on social networking sites,” “Write a blog purporting to be one of their victims,” “Email/text their colleagues, neighbours, friends, etc.”

There’s also a slide on how to discredit a business: “Leak confidential information to companies/the press via blogs etc,” “Post negative information on appropriate forums,” “Stop deals/ruin business relationships.”

A further slide lists the definition of the effects of the agency’s activities: “Using online techniques to make something happen in the real or cyber world.” This includes two categories: “Information Ops (influence or disruption)” and “Technical disruption,” along with the four D’s: “Deny/Disrupt/Degrade/Deceive.”

Greenwald also points out that these tactics are not just used for counter-terrorism, but “against people suspected (but not charged or convicted) of ordinary crimes or, more broadly still, ‘hacktivism’, meaning those who use online protest activity for political ends.”

“The title page of one of these documents reflects the agency’s own awareness that it is ‘pushing the boundaries’ by using ‘cyber offensive’ techniques against people who have nothing to do with terrorism or national security threats, and indeed, centrally involves law enforcement agents who investigate ordinary crimes,” writes Greenwald.

While the idea that government has paid people, known as shills, to post in message boards and other websites in an effort to disrupt conversations has long been believed by conspiracy theorists, this would seem to confirm that it’s happening.

There have been similar reports in the past of the government attempting to influence public opinion through the Internet.

As Greenwald mentions in his article, Cass Sunstein, Obama’s former science czar, wrote in a paper that the government should employ people to “cognitively infiltrate” groups including “chat rooms, online social networks, or even real-space groups.” His main target was conspiracy theorists. He further proposed making it illegal to be a conspiracy theorist.