Yangtse Gewog

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.

Ethnic Groups of Bhutan

Bhutan is home to several distinct ethnic groups, principally the Ngalop of the western highlands, the Sharchop of the east, and the Lhotshampa of the southern foothills. Smaller indigenous communities, including the Kheng, Bumthap, and nomadic Brokpa, contribute to a diverse social fabric shaped by geography, migration, and state policy.

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.

Kholongchhu Hydroelectric Project

The Kholongchhu Hydroelectric Project is a 600 MW run-of-river facility under development in Trashiyangtse District, eastern Bhutan. The first India-Bhutan hydropower project structured as a joint venture, it is being implemented by Kholongchhu Hydro Energy Limited (KHEL), a partnership between DGPC and SJVN Limited.

Matsutake Mushroom in Bhutan

The matsutake mushroom (Tricholoma matsutake), known in Bhutan as sangay shamu, is a high-value wild-harvested mushroom that grows in symbiotic association with Himalayan oak and pine forests in central Bhutan. Principal collection sites include Genekha in Thimphu dzongkhag and Ura and Chhumey in Bumthang. The harvest season runs from June to September; the mushroom is collected under permits issued by the Department of Forests and Park Services and is exported in part to Japan, where it commands premium prices. Annual matsutake festivals at Genekha and Ura have promoted the trade since the late 2000s.

Handicraft Industry of Bhutan

The handicraft industry of Bhutan encompasses the traditional arts and crafts produced by Bhutanese artisans, including textiles, woodwork, metalwork, painting, bamboo craft, and papermaking. Rooted in the centuries-old Zorig Chusum (Thirteen Traditional Arts), the sector is an important source of rural livelihoods and cultural preservation.

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.

History of Dagana Dzong

Dagana Dzong, formally known as Daga Trashiyangtse Dzong, is a frontier fortress in southern Bhutan built in 1651 on the orders of Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyal. It has served as an administrative and monastic centre for the Dagana district for over three and a half centuries.

Ashi Kesang Choden Wangchuck

Ashi Kesang Choden Wangchuck (born 21 May 1930) is the Gyalyum (Royal Grandmother) of Bhutan, widow of the Third Druk Gyalpo Jigme Dorji Wangchuck, mother of the Fourth King Jigme Singye Wangchuck, and paternal grandmother of the reigning Fifth King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck. A daughter of the Dorji family of Bhutan and Sikkim, she has been a central figure in the Wangchuck dynasty for more than seven decades.

Dechenphug Lhakhang

Dechenphug Lhakhang is a 12th-century monastery in the northern Thimphu valley, founded by Dampa, the son of Phajo Drugom Zhigpo. It is the principal abode of Geynyen Jagpa Melen, the protector deity of the Drukpa Kagyu school, and houses a speaking statue of Guru Padmasambhava.

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.

Manas River

The Manas River, called Manas Chhu or Drangme Chhu in its upper Bhutanese reaches, is the largest river system of eastern Bhutan, formed by the confluence of the Drangme Chhu, Mangde Chhu and Bumthang Chhu before flowing south into Assam to join the Brahmaputra.

Bhutan Biological Corridors

A comprehensive guide to Bhutan's nine biological corridors connecting the country's protected areas, covering 51.44% of national territory under conservation, with details on each corridor's location, connected parks, and key species.

Mongar Regional Referral Hospital

The Mongar Regional Referral Hospital, also known as the Eastern Regional Referral Hospital, is the principal tertiary-care facility for eastern Bhutan, located in Mongar town in Mongar dzongkhag. The 150-bed hospital was constructed with Government of India financial assistance and serves as the apex referral institution for six eastern dzongkhags and parts of Bumthang.

Chorten Kora

Chorten Kora is a large Buddhist stupa located in the Trashi Yangtse district of eastern Bhutan, modeled after the Boudhanath Stupa in Nepal. Built in 1740 by Lama Ngawang Loday, it is one of the most important pilgrimage sites in eastern Bhutan and the centrepiece of a vibrant annual festival.

Traditional Bhutanese House Design

Traditional Bhutanese houses are three-story rammed-earth structures with distinctive regional variations, designed to withstand Himalayan climates while reflecting Buddhist cosmological principles. The ground floor houses livestock, the middle floor serves as the family living space, and the top floor contains a shrine room and grain storage, following a vertical hierarchy from the mundane to the sacred.

Cordyceps Industry in Bhutan

Cordyceps sinensis, known locally as yartsa gunbu and marketed internationally as "Himalayan gold," is one of Bhutan's most valuable non-timber forest products. Harvested at altitudes above 3,500 metres in seven dzongkhags during a tightly regulated May-June season, cordyceps has become the primary cash income source for thousands of highland households, with auction prices reaching Nu 4.3 million per kilogramme for top-quality specimens.

Chorten

A chorten (Dzongkha and Tibetan mchod rten, "receptacle of offering") is the Bhutanese form of the Buddhist stupa: a religious-architectural monument that serves as a reliquary, a meditation symbol and a focus of pilgrimage. Chortens are among the most numerous and visible religious structures in Bhutan, found on hilltops, mountain passes, river confluences and at the entrances of villages, dzongs and temples.

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.

Starlink in Bhutan

Starlink, the satellite internet constellation operated by SpaceX, has emerged as a potential solution to Bhutan's persistent rural connectivity challenges. Developments in 2024 signalled growing interest from Bhutanese authorities in leveraging low-earth orbit satellite internet to bridge the digital divide in one of the world's most mountainous countries.