Thimphu is the capital and largest city of Bhutan. It is situated in the western central part of Bhutan, and the surrounding valley is one of Bhutan's dzongkhags, the Thimphu District. The ancient capital city of Punakha was replaced as capital by Thimphu in 1955, and in 1961 Thimphu was declared as the capital of the Kingdom of Bhutan by the 3rd Druk Gyalpo Jigme Dorji Wangchuck.
Cradled in the folds of the Himalayas, Bhutan has relied on its geographical isolation to protect itself from outside cultural influences. A sparsely populated country bordered by India to the south, and China to the north, Bhutan has long maintained a policy of strict isolationism, both culturally and economically, with the goal of preserving its cultural heritage and independence. Only in the last decades of the 20th century were foreigners allowed to visit the country, and only then in limited numbers. In this way, Bhutan has successfully preserved many aspects of its culture, which dates directly back to the mid-17th century.
Dzong architecture is used for dzongs, a distinctive type of fortified monastery architecture found mainly in Bhutan and Tibet. The architecture is massive in style with towering exterior walls surrounding a complex of courtyards, temples, administrative offices, and monks' accommodation.
Trashigang District is Bhutan's easternmost dzongkhag (district).
Mongar District is one of the 20 dzongkhags (districts) comprising Bhutan. Mongar is the fastest-developing dzongkhag in eastern Bhutan. A regional hospital has been constructed and the region is bustling with many economic activities. Mongar is noted for its lemon grass, a plant that can be used to produce an essential oil. It also has a hydroelectric power-plant on the Kuri Chhu river. Mongar is notable for having the longest work time in all the dzongkhags of Bhutan.
Punakha District is one of the 20 dzongkhags (districts) comprising Bhutan. It is bordered by Thimphu, Gasa, and Wangdue Phodrang Districts. The dominant language in the district is Dzongkha, the national language.
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Punakha is the administrative centre of Punakha dzongkhag, one of the 20 districts of Bhutan. Punakha was the capital of Bhutan and the seat of government until 1955, when the capital was moved to Thimphu. It is about 72 km away from Thimphu, and it takes about 3 hours by car from the capital, Thimphu. Unlike Thimphu, it is quite warm in winter and hot in summer. It is located at an elevation of 1,200 metres above sea level, and rice is grown as the main crop along the river valleys of two main rivers of Bhutan, the Pho Chu and Mo Chu. Dzongkha is widely spoken in this district.
Gasa Dzong or Gasa Tashi Tongmön Dzong near Gasa is the administrative center of Gasa Dzongkhag (district) in the northwestern region of Bhutan. The Dzong was built in the 17th century by Tenzin Drukdra the second Druk Desi over the site of a meditation place established by Drubthob Terkungpa in the 13th century. The Dzong was constructed as a bulwark against attacks from the north and named Tashi Tongmön Dzong. It was later expanded by the fourth Desi, Gyalse Tenzin Rabgye.
Tashichho Dzong is a Buddhist monastery and fortress on the northern edge of the city of Thimphu in Bhutan, on the western bank of the Wang Chu. It has traditionally been the seat of the Druk Desi, the head of Bhutan's civil government, an office which has been combined with the kingship since the creation of the monarchy in 1907, and summer capital of the country. In old British documents, it is known as Tassisudon.
It was built by the first Dharma Raja, who also founded the Lho-drukpa sect of Buddhism, which has remained the distinctive sect of Bhutan. The correct transliteration of the vernacular name—Bkrashis-chhos-rdzong, meaning "the fortress of auspicious doctrine"—is, according to Graham Sandberg, Tashichhoidzong.
Lingmethang is a small town under Salling Geog in Mongar district, in the eastern part of Bhutan. It is located off of the Thimphu-Trashigang highway, to the west of Mongar City and, 7 km north of the town of Gyalpozhing. The town lies in a lush valley just west of the Kuri Chhu river, covering approximately 80 acres at an average elevation of 650 m. The population is approximately 1,190 people.
Lingzhi Yügyal Dzong, is an important Drukpa Kagyu monastery and administrative center situated at an altitude of 4150 metres in Lingzhi, Thimphu District, Bhutan. There are about thirty monks headed by a Lama Neten resident in the Dzong. The office of the Drungpa is also housed in the Dzong.
The Punakha Dzong, also known as Pungthang Dewa chhenbi Phodrang, is the administrative centre of Punakha District in Punakha, Bhutan. Constructed by Ngawang Namgyal, 1st Zhabdrung Rinpoche, in 1637–38, it is the second oldest and second-largest dzong in Bhutan and one of its most majestic structures. The dzong houses the sacred relics of the southern Drukpa Lineage of the Kagyu school of Tibetan Buddhism, including the Rangjung Kharsapani and the sacred remains of Ngawang Namgyal and the tertön Pema Lingpa.
Lhuentse Dzong is a dzong and Buddhist monastery in Lhuentse District in eastern Bhutan. It lies on the eastern side of the Kuri Chhu and is perched on a spur at the end of a narrow valley.
The Kuri Chhu, also known as the Lhozhag Xung Qu or Norbu Lag Qu, is a major river of eastern Bhutan, that has formed a scenic valley with high peaks and steep hills. Kuri Chhu is a tributary of the Manas River system, which is the largest river of Bhutan and a major tributary of the Brahmaputra River that drains most of eastern Bhutan.
Prince GyaltshabJigme Dorji Wangchuck is the third eldest Prince of Bhutan. His brother Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck became the king following the abdication of his father on 14 December 2006.
Chali Gewog is a gewog of Mongar District, Bhutan. In 2002, the gewog contained 263 households and covered an area of 42 square kilometres.
The Kingdom of Bumthang was one of several small kingdoms within the territory of modern Bhutan before the first consolidation under Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyal in 1616. After initial consolidation, the Bumthang Kingdom became Bumthang Province, one of the nine Provinces of Bhutan. The region was roughly analogous to modern-day Bumthang District. It was again consolidated into the modern Kingdom of Bhutan in 1907.
The valleys of Bhutan are carved into the Himalaya by Bhutan's rivers, fed by glacial melt and monsoon rains. As Bhutan is landlocked in the mountainous eastern Himalaya, much of its population is concentrated in valleys and lowlands, separated by rugged southward spurs of the Inner Himalaya. Despite modernization and development of transport in Bhutan, including a national highway system, travel from one valley to the next remains difficult. Western valleys are bound to the east by the Black Mountains in central Bhutan, which form a watershed between two major river systems, the Mo Chhu and the Drangme Chhu. Central valleys are separated from the east by the Donga Range. The more isolated mountain valleys protect several tiny, distinct cultural and linguistic groups. Reflecting this isolation, most valleys have their own local protector deities.
The Yagang Lhakhang, located in a village on the outskirts of Mongar Bhutan, was built in the 16th century by Sangdag, the youngest son of Pema Lingpa, a famous tertön. This temple is renowned for its collection of religious treasures, masks, musical instruments, armour, ancient weapons, and xylograph blocks used for printing prayer flags and texts. The religious treasures include a statue of Gautama Buddha discovered by Pema Lingpa in Mebartso, Bumthang and a kīla made by Pema Lingpa himself. At this Lhakhang an annual three-day tshechu or ritual and Cham dance festival is held on the 8th, 9th and 10th of the fifth month of the Bhutanese lunar calendar. This festival is one of the oldest held in eastern Bhutan.
Bhutan 