Dagala Gewog

Glacial Lake Outburst Flood Risk in Bhutan

Bhutan's high Himalayan glaciers feed numerous moraine-dammed lakes that are at risk of outburst floods (GLOFs). The 1994 Lugge Tsho GLOF killed 21 people and damaged Punakha Dzong, and subsequent decades have produced one of the most active GLOF-mitigation and early-warning programmes in the Himalaya.

BhutanWiki: 1,000 Articles Milestone

In March 2026, BhutanWiki reached 1,000 published articles, making it one of the most comprehensive open encyclopedias dedicated to Bhutan and the Bhutanese diaspora.

Medicinal Plants of Bhutan

Bhutan's rich biodiversity supports a traditional medicine system known as Sowa Rigpa ("the science of healing"), which uses over 200 medicinal plant species to produce more than 100 poly-ingredient formulations. Integrated into the national healthcare system since 1967, Bhutanese traditional medicine is practised through 65 hospitals and health units, with all medicines manufactured by the state-owned Menjong Sorig Pharmaceuticals.

Dagala Gewog

Dagala Gewog is a high-altitude gewog in Thimphu District, Bhutan, named after the Dagala Range. Known for the Dagala Thousand Lakes Trek, alpine meadows, and yak herding, the gewog covers 85 square kilometres and supports a small community of approximately 178 households whose livelihoods depend primarily on livestock.

Trekking Routes in Bhutan

Bhutan offers some of the most spectacular and least-crowded trekking routes in the Himalayas, ranging from gentle day walks through glacial valleys to the legendary 25-day Snowman Trek — widely considered the most difficult long-distance trek in the world. This comprehensive guide covers seven major treks with distances, durations, elevations, costs, permit requirements, and practical planning advice.

Dagala Thousand Lakes Trek

The Dagala Thousand Lakes Trek is a five- to six-day moderate trek across the Dagala range south of Thimphu, named for the dozens of high-altitude lakes scattered across its alpine pastures. The route runs from Genekha through Gur, Labatama and Panka to Talakha Goenpa and Chamgang, reaching a maximum altitude of around 4,520 metres at the highest pass and following yak-grazing camps used by Bhutanese herder families. Closer to the capital than the Snowman or Laya–Gasa traverses, it is considered an accessible introduction to alpine trekking in Bhutan and is best walked between late May and mid-October.

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.

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.

Sowa Rigpa

Sowa Rigpa (gSo ba Rig pa, གསོ་བ་རིག་པ, "science of healing") is the Himalayan medical tradition practised in Bhutan as one of two official components of the national health system alongside biomedicine. Services are delivered free of charge through the Department of Traditional Medicine Services, the National Traditional Medicine Hospital in Thimphu, traditional medicine units in every district hospital, and a state-owned pharmaceutical producer, Menjong Sorig Pharmaceuticals.

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.