Lunana 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.

Yak Herding in Bhutan

Yak herding is a traditional pastoral livelihood practised by highland communities in northern Bhutan, particularly the Layap of Laya and the Lunap of Lunana. Yaks provide essential products including butter, cheese, wool, and meat, and serve as pack animals in the high-altitude terrain. The semi-nomadic herding lifestyle faces increasing pressure from modernisation, climate change, and rural-to-urban migration, prompting efforts to sustain these communities and their cultural heritage.

Gasa District

Gasa District (Dzongkha: མགར་ས་རྫོང་ཁག) is the least populated and most remote district in Bhutan, located in the northwestern highlands along the Tibetan border. Known for its hot springs, the Snowman Trek, and the semi-nomadic Layap people, Gasa encompasses some of the highest and most pristine landscapes in the Himalayas.

Pawo Choyning Dorji

Pawo Choyning Dorji (born 23 June 1983) is a Bhutanese filmmaker, photographer and writer. His directorial debut Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom (2019) was the first Bhutanese film nominated for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film, at the 94th Academy Awards in 2022. His second feature, The Monk and the Gun (2023), was shortlisted but not nominated at the 96th Academy Awards.

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.

Masang Gang

Masang Gang (also spelled Masa Gang) is a mountain peak in northern Bhutan with a summit elevation of 7,158 metres, making it the second-highest mountain in the country after Gangkhar Puensum. It remains unclimbed, as Bhutan has prohibited mountaineering on peaks above 6,000 metres since 2003.

Sherab Dorji (actor)

Sherab Dorji is a Bhutanese actor, musician, and filmmaker best known for his lead role as Ugyen Dorji in Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom (2019), Bhutan's first Oscar-nominated film. He won the Best Actor award at the Festival International du Film de Saint-Jean-de-Luz for his performance.

Pho Chhu

The Pho Chhu, or "Father River," is a major river of western Bhutan that joins the Mo Chhu at the historic Punakha Dzong. Known for its powerful currents and glacial origins in the Lunana highlands, the Pho Chhu plays a central role in Bhutanese hydrology, culture, and the kingdom's hydropower ambitions.

Lunana

Lunana is one of the most remote inhabited regions on Earth, a gewog in the Gasa District of northern Bhutan situated at elevations above 4,000 metres. Surrounded by glaciers and glacial lakes, Lunana is known for its extreme isolation, its vulnerability to glacial lake outburst floods (GLOFs), and the resilient yak-herding community that calls it home.

Lingshi

Lingshi is a remote village and gewog in the Thimphu District of northwestern Bhutan, situated at approximately 4,010 metres near the base of Jomolhari. It is known for Lingshi Dzong, a historic fortress that guarded the trade route to Tibet, and serves as a gateway for several of Bhutan's most celebrated high-altitude treks.

Snowman Trek

The Snowman Trek is a high-altitude long-distance trek in northern Bhutan, widely regarded as one of the most difficult treks in the world. Spanning approximately 356 kilometres over 25 days, the route traverses remote valleys from Laya to Lunana, crossing numerous passes above 5,000 metres, with a completion rate estimated at less than 50 per cent.

Punatsang Chhu

The Punatsang Chhu (also known as the Mo Chhu-Pho Chhu confluence river) is a major river system in west-central Bhutan formed by the merger of the Mo Chhu and Pho Chhu at Punakha Dzong. It flows south through Wangdue Phodrang district and enters India as the Sunkosh River, draining one of the most historically important valleys in Bhutan.

History of Hydropower Development in Bhutan

Hydropower is the backbone of Bhutan's modern economy and the defining feature of its relationship with India. From the 336 MW Chhukha project commissioned in 1986 to the full commissioning of Punatsangchhu-II in 2025, state-led run-of-river development has transformed state finances while concentrating external debt and export earnings in a single sector and a single buyer.

Bhutan's Film Industry

Bhutan's film industry emerged in 1989 with the first feature film and has grown into a modest but culturally significant sector producing 15 to 20 films annually. The industry faces challenges of limited infrastructure and competition from foreign media but has gained international recognition through directors like Khyentse Norbu and Pawo Choyning Dorji.

Bhutan's COVID-19 Response (2020–2023)

Bhutan's response to the COVID-19 pandemic, spanning March 2020 to the reopening of borders in September 2022, was widely cited in international journals and media as one of the most effective of any country relative to its resources. Under the direct command of King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck, the country closed its borders within days of its first case, mobilised the De-suung volunteer corps, vaccinated roughly 93 per cent of adults in about a week, and recorded 21 confirmed deaths in a population of around 780,000.

Gasa Town

Gasa Town is the administrative capital of Gasa District in northwestern Bhutan and the most remote dzongkhag capital in the country. Situated at approximately 2,800 metres elevation beneath the imposing Gasa Dzong, the town serves as the gateway to the Laya and Lunana highlands and is renowned for its natural hot springs (Gasa Tshachu).

Snow Leopard in Bhutan

Bhutan is home to an estimated 100 to 200 snow leopards (Panthera uncia), primarily in the alpine zones of the northern districts. Conservation efforts including camera trap surveys, anti-poaching patrols, and community-based livestock insurance programmes aim to protect this elusive predator while mitigating conflicts with highland herders.

Punakha Dzong

Punakha Dzong, formally Pungtang Dechen Photrang Dzong ("Palace of Great Bliss"), is the second oldest and second largest dzong in Bhutan. Built in 1637–38 by Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyal at the confluence of the Mo Chhu and Pho Chhu in the Punakha valley, it served as the seat of Bhutanese government until 1955 and remains the coronation site of every Druk Gyalpo.

Bhutan and Climate Change

Bhutan occupies a unique position in global climate politics as the world's only carbon-negative country, absorbing more than four times the carbon dioxide it emits thanks to its extensive forest cover. Despite contributing negligibly to global emissions, Bhutan is acutely vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, particularly glacial lake outburst floods (GLOFs), glacial retreat, and disruptions to agriculture and water resources. The country's Constitution mandates that at least 60 per cent of its land remain under forest cover in perpetuity.

Wangchuck Centennial National Park

Wangchuck Centennial National Park is the largest protected area in Bhutan, covering 4,914 square kilometres in the north-central highlands. Established in 2008 to commemorate the centenary of the Wangchuck monarchy, the park protects high-altitude ecosystems including alpine meadows, glacial lakes, and the habitat of the snow leopard, tiger, and red panda.