Mongar Gewog

Lhuentse Dzong

Lhuentse Dzong, formally known as Lhundrup Rinchentse Dzong, is a fortress-monastery in the Kurtoe region of northeastern Bhutan. It serves as the administrative and religious centre of Lhuentse District and is revered as the ancestral home of the Bhutanese royal family, the House of Wangchuck.

Delzo — Papermaking

Delzo (Tibetan: སྡེལ་བཟོ) is the traditional Bhutanese art of papermaking, one of the Zorig Chusum (thirteen arts and crafts). Bhutanese handmade paper, known as deh-sho or desho, is produced primarily from the bark of the daphne plant and has been used for centuries for religious texts, official documents, and ritual purposes. The craft is centered in Trashi Yangtse district in eastern Bhutan.

Child Malnutrition in Bhutan

Child malnutrition in Bhutan encompasses stunting, wasting, micronutrient deficiencies, and emerging overweight concerns, with significant disparities between rural and urban areas and between eastern and western regions, despite decades of progress that have reduced stunting from over 60 percent to approximately 18 percent.

Kinley Dorji

Dasho Kinley Dorji is Bhutan's first professionally trained journalist and the longtime editor-in-chief of Kuensel, the national newspaper. A graduate of Columbia University's journalism program, he shaped Bhutanese media over three decades and later served as Secretary of the Ministry of Information and Communications.

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.

Tshangla Language

Tshangla, also known as Sharchopkha ("language of the east"), is the most widely spoken native language in Bhutan by number of speakers and the mother tongue of the Sharchop people of eastern Bhutan. A Sino-Tibetan language spoken across six eastern districts, it has approximately 157,000 speakers in Bhutan and a further 18,000 across northeast India and Tibet. Despite its demographic weight, Tshangla has no standardised written script and is not an official language of instruction, raising concerns about long-term language vitality.

SIM Cards and Internet Access for Visitors to Bhutan

A practical guide for tourists visiting Bhutan on obtaining SIM cards, choosing between B-Mobile and TashiCell, data plan options, WiFi availability, and mobile coverage across the country including rural and trekking areas.

Royal University of Bhutan

The Royal University of Bhutan (RUB) is the only public university in Bhutan, established by royal charter in 2003. It operates as a federated institution comprising ten constituent colleges spread across the country, offering undergraduate and postgraduate programmes in education, engineering, natural sciences, business, traditional medicine, and the humanities.

Bumthang District

Bumthang District (Dzongkha: བུམ་ཐང་རྫོང་ཁག) is a district in north-central Bhutan and the cultural heartland of the kingdom, renowned for its ancient Buddhist temples, sacred valleys, and deep associations with Guru Rinpoche and Pema Lingpa. With its dzongkhag capital at Jakar, Bumthang encompasses four main valleys and is one of the most historically significant regions in the country.

Mongar District

Mongar District (Dzongkha: མོང་སྒར་རྫོང་ཁག) is one of the twenty dzongkhags of Bhutan, located in the eastern part of the country. It serves as the principal commercial and administrative hub of eastern Bhutan, with its district capital at Mongar town, and is known for its terraced hillsides, subtropical valleys, and the historic Mongar Dzong.

Traditional Architecture of Bhutan: A Guide

Bhutanese traditional architecture encompasses a distinctive building tradition characterised by rammed earth and timber construction, elaborately carved wooden windows (rabsel), sloping roofs, and symbolic decorative elements rooted in Buddhist cosmology. A national building code requires that all new construction — including modern commercial and government buildings — incorporate traditional architectural elements, making Bhutan one of the few countries in the world where vernacular building traditions are legally mandated. Regional variations between western, central, and eastern Bhutan reflect different climatic conditions, available materials, and cultural influences, while modern adaptations seek to reconcile traditional aesthetics with contemporary functional requirements.

Electric Vehicles in Bhutan

An overview of electric vehicle adoption in Bhutan, including the country's zero-tax EV policy, charging infrastructure development, the EV Roadmap 2035, government fleet electrification, and practical considerations for EV buyers.

Nyingma Tradition in Bhutan

The Nyingma school, the oldest tradition of Tibetan Buddhism, has deep roots in Bhutan through the legacy of Guru Rinpoche (Padmasambhava) and the great treasure revealer Pema Lingpa. Particularly prevalent in eastern Bhutan, the Nyingma tradition coexists with the state Drukpa Kagyu school and is constitutionally recognised as part of the nation's spiritual heritage.

Kuri-Gongri Hydropower Project

The 2,640 MW Kuri-Gongri Hydropower Project is a planned reservoir-based hydropower scheme on the Kuri Chhu and Gongri Chhu in eastern Bhutan, currently in extended planning. Originally conceived in the 2008 India–Bhutan agreement to develop 10,000 MW by 2020, the project has been redesigned from run-of-river to reservoir, with the most recent Detailed Project Report estimating capital costs of approximately Nu 306–307 billion. As of mid-2025 no construction agreement has been signed.

Bumthang Valley

Bumthang is a district and valley complex in central Bhutan, often called the spiritual heartland of the country. Comprising four sub-valleys — Chokhor, Tang, Ura, and Chhume — at elevations between 2,600 and 4,000 metres, Bumthang is home to some of Bhutan's oldest and most sacred temples, as well as distinctive local industries including Swiss-style cheese and honey production.

Bhutanese Cuisine

Bhutanese cuisine is the culinary tradition of the Kingdom of Bhutan, characterized by its heavy use of chili peppers, cheese, rice, and a limited but distinctive range of ingredients shaped by the country's mountainous geography, Buddhist culture, and relative isolation. The national dish, ema datshi (chilies with cheese), epitomizes the cuisine's bold, spicy character.

Druk Green Power Corporation

Druk Green Power Corporation (DGPC) is a state-owned enterprise of Bhutan responsible for operating and managing the country's major hydropower plants. Established in 2008, DGPC is Bhutan's largest revenue-generating entity and plays a central role in the national economy through the export of surplus electricity, primarily to India.

Tsharzo — Bamboo and Cane Work

Tsharzo (Dzongkha: tshar bzo) is the traditional Bhutanese art of bamboo and cane weaving, one of the Zorig Chusum (thirteen traditional arts and crafts). Practitioners produce a wide range of utilitarian and ceremonial objects including baskets, food containers, quivers, bows, wine strainers, and the iconic bangchung — a finely woven lidded basket used for serving rice at meals and festivals. The craft is particularly associated with eastern Bhutan, where abundant bamboo forests supply raw materials.

Hot Stone Bath (Menchu / Dotsho)

The hot stone bath, known as menchu or dotsho in Dzongkha, is one of Bhutan's most distinctive traditional wellness practices. River stones are heated in a fire and placed into a wooden tub filled with water and medicinal herbs — particularly artemisia leaves — to create a therapeutic bathing experience. Rooted in Bhutanese folk medicine and Buddhist traditions of bodily purification, the hot stone bath has become one of the country's most popular cultural experiences for visitors.

Thirteenth Five-Year Plan of Bhutan (2024–2029)

The Thirteenth Five-Year Plan (13th FYP) of Bhutan covers the period 2024-2029 under the theme of "Narrowing the Gap." It represents Bhutan's first development plan after graduating from Least Developed Country (LDC) status in December 2023, and outlines strategies for economic diversification, youth employment, sustainable development, and managing the transition from concessional international financing.