Shangri La was the name of a fictional place in a 1933 novel entitled Lost Horizon by James Hilton. In the book, the main characters are taken to a secluded monastery where the monks practice a combination of Christianity and Buddhism. The book was made into a film and a musical and was the first paperback book ever published.
Tibetan Buddhist teaching tell of a remote land called Shambhala. In the teachings, Shambhala is a peaceful kingdom secluded in the Himalayan mountains where happiness, health and long life abound. Before James Hilton has written the book, he visited the Hunza Valley in Northern Pakistan where the inhabitants lived long and healthy lives into old age. It is likely that Hilton combined his own travels with the teaching of Shambhala to create Shangri La.
There are certainly peoples in various regions around the world who are reported to live long, healthy and happy lives. The Hunza people, in Northern Pakistan, are the closest geographically to Tibet. There are also the Abkhasia and the Vilcabamba in other parts of the world.
Nowadays, Shangri La is used as a term for any peaceful, isolated escape from the world. Many wealthy people have named their estates 'Shangri La'. Characters in numerous movies have visited Shangri La. The term can be found in books, songs and movies. Camp David was named Shangri La by Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Shangri La has since entered into the culture as a hidden, perfect place often associated with long life, health, and happiness.
