Bumthang

Bumthang is one of the 20 dzongkhag (districts) comprising Bhutan. It is the most historic dzongkhag if the number of ancient temples and sacred sites is counted. Bumthang consists of the four mountain valleys of Ura, Chumey, Tang and Choekhor (also known as Bumthang valley), although occasionally the entire district is referred to as Bumthang valley.

Related Topics:
Dzongkhag - Bhutan

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"Bumthang" directly translates as "beautiful field". "Thang" means field or flat place, and "Bum" is said be an appreviation of either "bumpa" (a vessel for holy water, thus describing the shape and nature of the valley), or "bum" ("girl", indicating this is the valley of beautiful girls).

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Cultural and historic sites in the dzongkhag include:

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• Mebar Tsho (Burning Lake), where sacred scriptures hidden by Guru Rimpoche in the 8th century where later recovered by Pema Lingpa in the 15th century
• Kurje Monastery
• Jakar Dzong, adjacent to the main town of Jakar
• Jambay Lhakhang, one of the two most ancient temples of Bhutan, built in the 7th century by Songtsen Gampo, the king of Tibet.
• Tamshing Lhakhang, the most important Nyingmapa temple in the country

Bumthang farms yield buckwheat, dairy products, honey, and apples among other products.

Related Topics:
Buckwheat - Dairy product - Honey - Apples

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The language of Bumthang is Bumthangkha which is partially comprehensible to speakers of Dzongkha, the national language which originated in valleys to the west of Bumthang. Each valley speaks its own dialect, and the remnants of the Kheng kingdom to the south in Zhemgang speak Khengkha which may be classified as a dialect of Bumthangka.

Related Topics:
Bumthangkha - Dzongkha - Zhemgang - Khengkha

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Bumthang is divided into four gewogs:

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• Chhume Gewog
• Choekor Gewog
• Tang Gewog
• Ura Gewog
 
Bumthang: See also ►