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Bhutan Tourism

Tongsa

Midway between Ha in the far west and Tashigang in the far east stands the striking Tongsa Dzong, ancestral home of Bhutan's royal family. Both Ugyen Wangchuck, the Penlop of Tongsa who was elected the nation's first hereditary monarch, and his successor King Jigme Wahchuck, ruled the country from this ancient seat.

All four Kings have held the post of Tongsa Penlop prior ro being officially crowned, including the present king who was appointed Penlop in 1972, shortly before his succession to the throne.

A massive many leveled structure which slopes down the contour of the hill on which it is set, the dzong was built by Ngawang Namgyal in 1648 and later enlarged and decorated . Because of its highly strategic position on the only connecting route between the eastern and western sectors of the central region, the Tongsa Penlop was able effectively to control the whole of the east for many centuries, even when civil war was ranging in the west. Among the Dzong's treasures is a magnificent collection of rhino sculptures.

Bhumthang, in the east of Tongsa, in the wide valley of Bhumthang, lies the Jakar Dzong. Legend says that when the lamas assembled to decide on a site for this dzong, a big white bird rose suddenly in the air and settled on a spur of the hill - and it was here that the "Castle of the White Bird" was built.

Tales of Padma Sambhava dominate the holy places of Bhumthang. The valley is home of the sacred Jampe Lkakhang and to the Kurje Monastery where the bodily marks of the Ruru remains to this days impressed on a solid rock face. Both temples are believed to have been built around the 8th century by Sindhu Raja after Padma Sambhava had cured this ailing ruler and converted him to the Buddhist faith.

Bhumthang is also home of the great Buddhist teacher Premalingpa, to whose descendants the present dynasty traces its ancestry. Pemalingpa wa a blacksmith who was led by mystic forces to discover spiritual treasures at the bottom of the burning lake.

Not knowing how to spread the world contained in the treasures, he hid away until one night the Dakinis, or female heavenly spirits, revealed to him the power to Preach. Legend tells that as he spoke flowers dropped from the sky and vanished into rays of light.

Tashigang, in the far east of Bhutan, on the banks of the Dangme Chu, lies Tashigang, the hub of the region's largest and most important district. Once the largest and most important district. Once the centre of a busy trade route with Tibet, Tashigang is today the junction of the east-west highway with the road which runs north from the foothill town of Samdrupjongkar.

The Tashigang Dzong, from which the whole of the eastern region was governed from the late 17th century until at the beginning of this century, stands on a steep ridge above the Manas River. The Dzong was built in 1667 by Chogyal Minjur Tempa, Bhutan's third Deb.

Mongar to the southwest is Mongar, next to Tashigang the second largest settlement in the east. Mongar is the site of one of Bhutan's newest dzongs, built in 1930 following the traditional architectural pattern handed down through time; without plans on paper or the use of any nails.

Access to Adventure - - -› About Himalayas - - -› People & Tribes of Himalayas

About Himalayas

People & Tribes of Himalayas

The population, settlement, and economic patterns within the Himalayas have been greatly influenced by the variations in topography and climate, which impose harsh living conditions and tend to restrict movement and communication. People living in remote, isolated valleys have generally preserved their cultural identities.

However, improvements in transportation and communication, particularly satellite television programs from Europe and the United States, are bringing access from the outside world to remote valleys. These outside influences are affecting traditional social and cultural structure.

Nearly 40 million people inhabit the Himalayas. Generally, Hindus of Indian heritage are dominant in the Sub-Himalayas and the Middle Himalayan valleys from eastern Kashmir to Nepal. To the north Tibetan Buddhists inhabit the Great Himalayas from Ladakh to northeast India.

In central Nepal, in an area between about 1830 and 2440 m (between about 6000 and 8000 ft), the Indian and Tibetan cultures have intermingled, producing a combination of Indian and Tibetan traits. The eastern Himalayas in India and nearby areas of eastern Bhutan are inhabited by animistic people whose culture is similar to those living in northern Myanmar and Yunnan province in China. People of western Kashmir are Muslims and have a culture similar to the inhabitants of Afghanistan and Iran.

The economy of the Himalayas as a whole is poor with low per capita income. Much of the Himalayas area is characterized by a very low economic growth rate combined with a high rate of population growth, which contributes to stagnation in the already low level of per capita gross national product. Most of the population is dependent on agriculture, primarily subsistence agriculture; modern industries are lacking.

Mineral resources are limited. The Himalayas has major hydroelectric potential, but the development of hydroelectric resources requires outside capital investment. The skilled labor needed to organize and manage development of natural resources is also limited due to low literacy rates. Most of the Himalayan communities face malnutrition, a shortage of safe drinking water, and poor health services and education systems.

Agricultural land is concentrated in the Tarai plain and in the valleys of the Middle Himalayas. Patches of agricultural land have also been carved out in the mountainous forested areas. Rice is the principal crop in eastern Tarai and the well-watered valleys. Corn is also an important rain-fed crop on the hillsides.

Other cereal crops are wheat, millet, barley, and buckwheat. Sugarcane, tea, oilseeds, and potatoes are other major crops. Food production in the Himalayas has not kept up with the population growth.

The major industries include processing food grains, making vegetable oil, refining sugar, and brewing beer. Fruit processing is also important. A wide variety of fruits are grown in each of the major zones of the Himalayas, and making fruit juices is a major industry in Nepal, Bhutan, and in the Indian Himalayas.

Since 1950 tourism has emerged as a major growth industry in the Himalayas. Nearly 1 million visitors come to the Himalayas each year for mountain trekking, wildlife viewing, and pilgrimages to major Hindu and Buddhist sacred places. The number of foreign visitors has increased in recent years, as organized treks to the icy summits of the Great Himalayas have become popular. While tourism is important to the local economy, it has had an adverse impact on regions where tourist numbers exceed the capacity of recreational areas.

Historically, all transport in the Himalayas has been by porters and pack animals. Porters and pack animals are still important, but the construction of major roads and the development of air routes have changed the traditional transportation pattern.

Major urban centers such as Kathmandu, Simla, and Srinagar, as well as important tourist destinations, are served by airlines. Railways link Simla and Darjiling, but in most of the Himalayas there are no railroads. The bulk of goods from the Himalayas, as well as goods destined for places within the Himalayas, generally come to Indian railheads, located in the Tarai, by road. The pack animals and porters transport goods from road heads to the interior and back.

About Himalayas