Bumthang

Bumthang comprises a cluster of high valleys in central Bhutan, where glacial streams water wheat, buckwheat and pasture beneath forested mountains. Its name means “beautiful field,” and the broad valley floor made it a major center of settlement and agriculture in a country dominated by steep ridges.

Jambay Lhakhang was founded in the seventh century, and Kurjey is associated with Padmasambhava. During the period covered here, Bumthang became a leading center of Tibetan Buddhism: Longchen Rabjam founded Shingkhar Dechenling around 1350, and local monasteries accumulated land, tenants and religious authority. Bumthang was also one of several small kingdoms before Bhutan’s unification.

Ngawang Namgyal, the Zhabdrung, brought Bumthang under his rule in the seventeenth century. Jakar became the seat of a fortress and provincial administration; the first Trongsa Penlop subdued local lords and extended control over the central valleys. Monasteries, landed estates and the dzong system tied farmers and herders to a wider Buddhist state while preserving Bumthang’s place as a sacred valley and a route between central and eastern Bhutan.