Tang Gewog

Trulku Jigme Choedra

Trulku Jigme Choedra (born 5 August 1955) is the 70th Je Khenpo of Bhutan, head of the Zhung Dratshang or Central Monastic Body since 1996. He is the longest-serving holder of the office in modern Bhutanese history and one of the two highest-ranking authorities under the dual system of governance.

Taktsang Monasteries of Bhutan

Taktsang ("tiger's lair") is a class of cliffside hermitages across Bhutan associated with the meditation of Guru Padmasambhava and his consorts. While Paro Taktsang is the most famous, the network includes Singye Dzong in Lhuentse, Taktsang Pema Tsel in Bumthang and several smaller sites.

Drametse Ngacham

The Drametse Ngacham, or Mask Dance of the Drums from Drametse, is a sacred masked dance performed at Ogyen Tegchok Namdroel Choeling Monastery in Drametse, Mongar dzongkhag. Originating in the early sixteenth century, it was inscribed by UNESCO on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2008, having first been proclaimed a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity in 2005.

Drukpa Kunley "The Divine Madman" (1455-1529)

Drukpa Kunley (1455-1529), known as "The Divine Madman," was an unconventional Tibetan Buddhist saint of the Drukpa Kagyu lineage who used outrageous behavior, bawdy humor, and sexual imagery as spiritual teaching methods. His legacy in Bhutan is intimately connected with the Chimi Lhakhang fertility temple and the widespread tradition of phallic symbols in Bhutanese culture.

Bhutanese Architecture of the University of Texas at El Paso

The University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) is the only major university campus in the world built almost entirely in the style of Bhutanese dzong architecture. The convention dates to 1917 and has grown into a sustained cultural relationship between UTEP and the Kingdom of Bhutan.

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.

Trongsa District

Trongsa District (Dzongkha: ཀྲོང་གསར་རྫོང་ཁག) is a district in central Bhutan of immense historical significance, home to Trongsa Dzong, the ancestral seat of the Wangchuck dynasty that has ruled Bhutan since 1907. Positioned at the geographic heart of the country, Trongsa served as the strategic link between western and eastern Bhutan for centuries.

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.

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.

Pema Lingpa (Tertön)

Pema Lingpa (1450–1521) was a Bhutanese Buddhist treasure revealer (tertön) of the Nyingma school, recognised as one of the Five Tertön Kings. Born a blacksmith's grandson in Bumthang's Tang Valley, he discovered sacred texts and objects hidden by Padmasambhava, founded important temples, and established a spiritual lineage from which the Wangchuck royal dynasty claims descent.

Rachu

The rachu is a ceremonial scarf worn by Bhutanese women over the left shoulder during formal occasions. Typically made from red raw silk with embroidered or woven decorative borders, the rachu is the female equivalent of the male kabney and is a mandatory part of women's formal dress under the Driglam Namzha code.

Pema Gyamtsho

Bhutanese agricultural scientist, former Minister of Agriculture and Forests (2008–2013), former Leader of the Opposition, and Director General of the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) since October 2020.

Karma Phuntsho

Lopon Dr. Karma Phuntsho (born 1968) is a Bhutanese scholar, social entrepreneur, and cultural preservationist. He is the author of The History of Bhutan (2013) and the founder of the Loden Foundation. In 2024, he became the first Bhutanese to receive the Ramon Magsaysay Award.

Dechen Roder

Dechen Roder (born 1980) is a Bhutanese filmmaker, founder of Dakinny Productions, and co-founder of the Beskop Tshechu Film Festival. She directed "Honeygiver Among the Dogs" (2017), which premiered at the Busan International Film Festival, and "I, the Song" (2024), which was selected as Bhutan's submission for the 98th Academy Awards. She is one of Bhutan's most prominent female filmmakers and a leading voice in South Asian independent cinema.

Ashi Sangay Choden Wangchuck

Ashi Sangay Choden Wangchuck (born 11 May 1963) is a Queen Mother (Gyalyum) of Bhutan and the fourth and youngest of the four queens of the Fourth Druk Gyalpo, King Jigme Singye Wangchuck. She is the founder and president of RENEW (Respect, Educate, Nurture and Empower Women), a UNFPA Goodwill Ambassador, and established the Bhutan Textile Museum.

Chocha Ngacha

Chocha Ngacha is an endangered Tibeto-Burman language spoken by a small community in the Kurichu valley of eastern Bhutan. With fewer than 20,000 speakers concentrated in Mongar and Lhuentse districts, the language faces significant pressure from Dzongkha and Tshangla and has received limited documentation.

Tharpaling Monastery

Tharpaling Monastery (Tharpaling Goemba) is one of the most important Buddhist monasteries in Bhutan, located above the Chhume Valley in Bumthang District at an altitude of approximately 3,600 metres. Founded by the great Nyingma master Longchenpa (Longchen Rabjam, 1308–1364) in the 14th century during his period of exile from Tibet, Tharpaling remains a major retreat centre and pilgrimage site, renowned for its spiritual significance and spectacular mountain setting.

National Museum of Bhutan

The National Museum of Bhutan, housed in the historic Ta Dzong watchtower above Paro Dzong, is the country's principal repository of cultural and historical artefacts. Founded in 1968, it holds over 3,000 objects spanning religious thangkas, armour, natural history specimens, textiles, and coins, and suffered significant damage in the 2011 earthquake before a careful restoration returned it to public use.

Assassination of Prime Minister Jigme Palden Dorji (1964)

Jigme Palden Dorji (1919–1964), Bhutan's first Prime Minister, was assassinated on 5 April 1964 in Phuntsholing by a soldier acting on orders from senior military and court figures opposed to modernization. The conspiracy led to the public execution of the plotters and exposed deep factional tensions within the Bhutanese state, culminating in a failed attempt on the king's life in 1965.

Bhutan's Admission to the United Nations (1971)

Bhutan was admitted as the 128th member state of the United Nations on 21 September 1971, with the sponsorship of India. The membership marked a key step in Bhutan's emergence from diplomatic isolation and was followed by the country joining the Non-Aligned Movement in 1973 and steadily expanding its international relations.