On
the east of Wangdue Phodrang, one comes across the Black Mountains with the
Pelela pass (3400m). It is truly considered as a border between the western
regions and the other regions of Bhutan, particularly the Central. Close to
the Pelela and almost at the same altitude but still on the western side of
the Black Mountains, on the southeast of Wangdi Phodrang, there are a few
high altitudes valleys (3000m), of which Phobjika is the best known.
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
Bumthang" literally translates as "beautiful
field". "Thang" means field or flat place, and "Bum"
is said be an abbreviation 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).
Some of the famous cultural and historical sites in the dzongkhag include:
Membar Tsho (Burning Lake), where sacred scriptures
hidden by Guru Rimpoche in the 8th century were later recovered by Pema
Lingpa in the 15th century.
Kurje Monastery and
Jambay
Lhakhang, the two most sacred and oldest temples in the whole of Bhutan.
Jambay Lhakhang was built in the 7th century by Songtsen Gampo, the king of
Tibet.
Tamshing Lhakhang, the most important Nyingmapa
temple in the country.
Jakar Dzong, named so since it is adjacent to the main town of
Jakar. It is also the admistrative headquarters of Bumthang District and the
place where Buddhism entered Bhutan.
The language spoken in the
Bumthang district is known as Bumthangkha. It is a Tibeto-Burman language
closely related to Dzongkha, the national language of Bhutan. Bumthangkha is
partially comprehensible to speakers of Dzongkha, which originated in
valleys to the west of Bumthang. Each of the four valleys of Bumthang has
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.
Winter wheat and buckwheat are staple diet, but the Bumthang farms also
yield dairy products, honey, and apples among other products.
Bumthang is divided into four gewogs, which means a group of villages:
» Chhume
» Choekor
» Tang
Ura Bumthang is
famous for its "yatra", colored woolen fabrics woven in the past
on backstrap looms, but more recently on pedal looms.
Ura Valley
or Ura Village is the last and the highest valley of Bumthang and to reach
here, the road climbs through amazingly open countryside, occasionally
running into forests. Large sheep pastures line the road and the route also
crosses 3,600 m high Ura la pass, later descending into Ura by a long loop
across fields and pastures. Perched at an altitude of 3,100 m, Ura village
has characteristically close clustered houses, which are quite unusual in
Bhutan. The day is for exploring fascinating Ura valley and village.
Moving east, one arrives in the valley of the Mangde River. It is the region
of
TRONGSA, which is of great importance in the history of Bhutan.
Forested and dotted with good arable land, this region cannot be examined by
itself but in relation with Bumthang. Trongsa, owing to its lower elevation
than Bumthang (2200m instead of 2600m and above), was the winter ground and
residence of the nobility of Bumthang, in the same way as Thimphu and
Punakha were.
Trongsa is one of the districts of Bhutan.
The center is at Trongsa Dzong bordered by Bumthang dzonghag on the east and
by Wangdue Phodrang dzongkhag on the west. To the south it borders Tsirang,
Sarpang, and Zhemgang dzongkhag.
Trongsa is divided into five gewog or counties
» Nubi
»
Bjakteng
» Korphu
» Langthil
» Tangsibji
Today it is divided between the districts of
Zhemgang and
Mongar.
This association was economic through grazing lands but also religious due
to various lamas of Bumthang who were active in this region. The area to the
east of Thrumsingla till Kurichu is not very populated. Forest and gorges
compose the landscape, giving way to small, cultivated lands only 15 kms
before the Kurichu River. The simplistic beauty of this part of Bhutan is
exquisite.
