Soe Gewog is a remote highland block in the far north of Thimphu Dzongkhag, Bhutan, under Lingzhi Dungkhag and bordering the Tibet Autonomous Region. Lying at altitudes from around 3,800 metres to over 5,000 metres at the foot of Jomolhari, it is the smallest gewog in the country by population, with a yak-herding community of about 200 people. Several of Bhutan's major trekking routes pass through it.
Soe Gewog (also Soe Yaksa) is a high-altitude administrative block (gewog) in the far north of Thimphu Dzongkhag, Bhutan. It is one of the three highland gewogs under Lingzhi Dungkhag, alongside Lingzhi and Naro, and lies along the border with the Tibet Autonomous Region of China at the foot of Jomolhari.[1]
The gewog occupies steep, glaciated terrain at altitudes ranging from roughly 3,800 metres to over 5,000 metres. It is the smallest gewog in Bhutan by population: as reported in recent coverage it had around 200 residents living in some 28 households, who herd a combined stock of roughly 1,461 yaks.[2]
Economy and community
Life in Soe centres on yak herding. Households move with their animals between seasonal pastures, and yaks provide meat, dairy, hair for tents and ropes, and transport. The remoteness of the community is reflected in the way herders have adopted mobile messaging to share the whereabouts of grazing yaks across the wide highland pastures. Electricity reached the gewog in 2016, followed shortly by mobile 3G coverage, easing some of the isolation of one of the country's most far-flung settlements.[2]
Wildlife
The high pastures of Soe lie within prime snow-leopard habitat. Under the National Snow Leopard Survey of 2015–2016, around eight snow leopards were estimated in Soe and about sixteen in the wider Lingzhi area, and herders of the Soe Yaksa community recorded camera-trap footage of the elusive cat at an altitude of about 4,499 metres.[3]
Trekking
Several of Bhutan's best-known trekking routes pass through or near Soe, including the Jomolhari Trek, the Snowman Trek, the Laya–Lingzhi route and the Soe-Yaksa trek. The proximity of Jomolhari and the surrounding glaciers makes the gewog a waypoint for high-mountain trekkers, even as yak herding — the mainstay of the resident community — faces pressures from climate change and rural out-migration.
References
See also
Genekha Gewog
Genekha Gewog is a rural block in Thimphu Dzongkhag, Bhutan, about an hour's drive south of the capital. Known for its production of prized matsutake and chanterelle mushrooms, it hosts the annual Genekha Matsutake Mushroom Festival and serves as the starting point for the Dagala Thousand Lakes Trek.
places·2 min readDopshari Gewog
Dopshari Gewog is a gewog in Paro District, western Bhutan, occupying the valley between central Paro and Paro International Airport. It is home to Jangtsa Dumtseg Lhakhang, a 15th-century temple in chorten form built by the iron-bridge builder Thangtong Gyalpo.
places·3 min readLingzhi Gewog
Lingzhi is one of the most remote gewogs in Bhutan, located in the northwestern highlands of Thimphu District near the Tibetan border. Accessible only by multi-day trek, it is home to semi-nomadic yak-herding communities and the historic Lingzhi Yugyal Dzong.
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places·5 min readMangde Chhu
The Mangde Chhu is the principal river of central Bhutan, rising near Gangkhar Puensum and flowing south through Trongsa and Zhemgang before joining the Drangme Chhu to form the Manas. It is the site of the 720 MW Mangdechhu Hydropower Project, commissioned in 2019 as the country's most successful Indian-built hydropower facility to date.
places·5 min read
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