Daga Gewog

Climate of Bhutan

The climate of Bhutan spans tropical lowlands to permanent ice within about 170 kilometres north to south, producing three broad zones — subtropical southern foothills, temperate central valleys and alpine north — each with distinct temperature and rainfall regimes. The country is dominated by the Indian summer monsoon, holds constitutionally mandated forest cover above 60 per cent, and is documented as carbon-negative, yet is also among the world's most exposed high-mountain states to warming, glacial retreat and glacial lake outburst floods.

Central Regional Referral Hospital, Gelephu

The Central Regional Referral Hospital (CRRH), Gelephu, is the principal tertiary-care facility for southern and south-central Bhutan, located in Gelephu in Sarpang dzongkhag. Upgraded from a district hospital to regional referral status in 2005 with 60 beds and expanded to 100 beds in 2007, it now operates as a 150-bed facility serving Sarpang, Tsirang, Dagana and Zhemgang.

Sherab Zam

Sherab Zam (born 10 October 1983) is a Bhutanese archer and coach who represented Bhutan in the women's individual recurve event at the 2012 Summer Olympics, where she carried the national flag at the opening and closing ceremonies. She has since worked as a coach with the national archery team and at Chundu Armed Forces Public School.

Lhotshampa

The Lhotshampa (Nepali: ल्होत्साम्पा, "southerners") are an ethnic Nepali-speaking population of southern Bhutan. Comprising a significant minority of Bhutan's population, the Lhotshampa have been at the centre of one of South Asia's most consequential human rights crises, with over 100,000 displaced from Bhutan in the early 1990s and subsequently resettled across the globe.

Wangdue Phodrang District

Wangdue Phodrang District (Dzongkha: དབང་འདུས་ཕོ་བྲང་རྫོང་ཁག) is the largest district in Bhutan by area, spanning 4,308 square kilometres in west-central Bhutan. Known for its ecological diversity ranging from subtropical lowlands to alpine highlands, the district encompasses the Phobjikha Valley, winter home to endangered black-necked cranes, and the historic Wangdue Phodrang Dzong.

Tsirang District

Tsirang District (Dzongkha: རྩི་རང་རྫོང་ཁག) is a district in south-central Bhutan characterised by its subtropical climate, rugged terrain, and diverse population. One of the smaller districts, Tsirang was significantly affected by the events of the 1990s refugee crisis and has since been a focus of government resettlement and rural development programmes.

Thimphu District

Thimphu District (Dzongkha: ཐིམ་ཕུ་རྫོང་ཁག) is the most populous of Bhutan's twenty dzongkhags and contains the national capital, Thimphu. It serves as the political, economic, and administrative centre of the Kingdom of Bhutan, housing the seat of government, the royal palace, and the majority of the country's international organisations and diplomatic missions.

Dagana District

Dagana District (Dzongkha: དར་དཀར་ན་རྫོང་ཁག) is a district in south-central Bhutan known for its subtropical climate, citrus orchards, and the historic Dagana Dzong. Located between the highlands and the southern foothills, the district is one of the most ethnically diverse regions in the country.

Chhukha District

Chhukha District (Dzongkha: ཆུ་ཁ་རྫོང་ཁག) is a district in southwestern Bhutan and one of the most economically important regions in the country, home to the Chhukha Hydropower Plant and the border town of Phuntsholing, which serves as Bhutan's principal commercial gateway to India.

Bhutanese Refugee Crisis

The Bhutanese refugee crisis is the displacement of roughly 100,000 ethnic Nepali-speaking Lhotshampa from southern Bhutan in the early 1990s, their two-decade stay in seven UNHCR camps in eastern Nepal, and a third-country resettlement programme that moved more than 113,000 people to eight Western states between 2007 and 2016. Its contemporary tail is the 2025 deportation by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement of resettled Lhotshampa to a Bhutan that refused to readmit them.

UNICEF Programmes in Bhutan

UNICEF's partnership with Bhutan, spanning five decades since 1974, has contributed to open-defecation-free status, immunisation rates above 95 per cent, and the expansion of early childhood care — while current programmes focus on education technology, child protection, and social policy.

River Systems of Bhutan

Bhutan's river systems rise from Himalayan glaciers and drain through steep forested gorges into the Brahmaputra plain, sustaining the kingdom's agriculture, generating its primary export commodity in hydroelectric power, and posing significant flood risks from glacial lake outbursts and monsoon flooding.

Dzongs of Bhutan

Dzongs are the massive fortified monasteries and administrative centres that define the architectural, religious, and political landscape of Bhutan. Built primarily in the 17th century under Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyal, they serve the dual purpose of housing monastic bodies and district governments, and remain among the most distinctive examples of Himalayan architecture.

Hydropower in Bhutan

Hydropower is Bhutan's most valuable natural resource and largest export, with an estimated potential of 30,000 megawatts. Developed primarily through bilateral partnerships with India, major projects including Chhukha (336MW), Tala (1,020MW), and Mangdechhu (720MW) generate the bulk of government revenue, though the sector's Indian-financed debt and environmental concerns present ongoing challenges.

Hinduism in Bhutan

Hinduism is the second-largest religion in Bhutan, practiced by an estimated 22–25% of the population, primarily among the Lhotshampa communities of the southern districts. Hindu temples, festivals, and rituals have been part of the cultural landscape of southern Bhutan for generations. The relationship between Hinduism and the Bhutanese state has been complex, shaped by periods of coexistence, cultural assimilation policies, and the mass displacement of the Hindu population during the 1990s.

Chugo (Hard Cheese)

Chugo is a traditional Bhutanese hard cheese made from yak milk, smoke-dried over wood fires and strung on yak hair for storage and transport. Renowned as one of the hardest cheeses in the world, it is chewed slowly over thirty minutes or more like a natural gum, providing essential protein and calories to highland communities.

Dagana Dzong

Dagana Dzong (Dzongkha: དར་དཀར་ན་རྫོང) is a fortress-monastery in south-central Bhutan that serves as the administrative and monastic centre of Dagana District. Originally constructed in the 17th century, the dzong has been rebuilt and renovated multiple times and occupies a hilltop overlooking the subtropical Dagana valley, one of Bhutan's most culturally diverse regions.

Damphu

Damphu (Dzongkha: དམ་ཕུག) is the capital town of Tsirang District in south-central Bhutan, situated at approximately 1,520 metres elevation on a ridge overlooking the Sunkosh River valley. A small but strategically located administrative centre, Damphu serves as the gateway between the highlands of central Bhutan and the subtropical lowlands of the south.

Daga Trashiyangtse Dzong

Daga Trashiyangtse Dzong is a fortress-monastery and the administrative centre of Trashi Yangtse District in the far northeast of Bhutan. Located near the sacred Chorten Kora stupa, the dzong serves as the seat of district governance and monastic life in one of Bhutan's most culturally distinctive eastern regions.

Phibsoo Wildlife Sanctuary

Phibsoo Wildlife Sanctuary is Bhutan's smallest protected area and its only tropical lowland wildlife sanctuary, spanning 268.93 square kilometres across the southern districts of Sarpang and Dagana. First designated as a reserved forest in 1974 and upgraded to a wildlife sanctuary in 1993, it protects Bhutan's only natural sal (Shorea robusta) forests and is the sole habitat of chital (spotted deer) in the country, while also providing critical habitat for Asian elephants, gaur, Bengal tigers, and the endangered golden langur.