The Untouched Beauty of Zhemgang District, Bhutan

• Helloཇ་བ་
  [ja-ba]
• Goodbyeཛང་ར
  [dang-ra]
• Yesདགས
  [dag]
• Noམེད
  [me]
• Please/You're welcomeཅིང་ཁའི་ལས
  [ching-kha'i-la]
• Thank youབསྐྱེད
  [say-kay]
• Excuse me/Sorryབཟོ་པ
  [zo-pa]
• How are you?ཁྱེད་ར་ཚོགས་ལ་སྤོ
  [khe-drak-tshog-la-so]
• Fine. And you?སྤོ་ཁྱེད. ཁྱེད་ར་ཚོགས་ལ་སྤོ?
  [so-khe. khe-drak-tshog-la-so]
• Do you speak English?གྲངས་ཀ་གཞི་ར་ཁྱེད་སྦོ?
  [drang-ka-gshi-ra-khe-so]
• I don't understandཁྱེད་ལ་མེད་འདྲ
  [khe-la-me-dra]

• I'd like to see the menu, pleaseབཟོ་ཕས་གླེང་གས་ཡོད་ཁ་ཁྱེད་སྦོ?
  [zo-pha-leng-ga-yo-kha-khe-so]
• I don't eat meatབཀོད་ར་སུ་མེད་འདྲ
  [ko-ra-su-me-dra]
• Cheers!གཏོང་སྐད
  [tong-ska]
• I would like to pay, pleaseབཟོ་དགས་པ་ཡོད་ཁ་ཁྱེད་སྦོ?
  [zo-dag-pa-yo-kha-khe-so]

• Help!དགས་སྤྱོད
  [dag-cho]
• Go away!དགས་སྤྱོད
  [dag-cho]
• Call the Police!དགས་སྤྱོད
  [dag-cho]
• Call a doctor!དགས་སྤྱོད
  [dag-cho]
• I'm lostདགས་སྤྱོད
  [dag-cho]
• I'm illདགས་སྤྱོད
  [dag-cho]

• I'd like to buy...བཟོ་ཕས་ཆོག དགས་པ་ཡོད
  [zo-pha-chog dag-pa-yo]
• I'm just lookingམི་སྟོབས་སྗི
  [mi-stop-ji]
• How much is it?དགས་མིག་ཤོག?
  [dag-mik-shog]
• That's too expensiveདགས་མིག་ཤོག?
  [dag-mik-shog]
• Can you lower the price?དགས་མིག་ཤོག?
  [dag-mik-shog]

• What time is it?དགས་སྤྱོད
  [dag-cho]
• It's one o'clockདགས་སྤྱོད
  [dag-cho]
• Half past (10)དགས་སྤྱོད
  [dag-cho]
• Morningདགས་སྤྱོད
  [dag-cho]
• Afternoonདགས་སྤྱོད
  [dag-cho]
• Eveningདགས་སྤྱོད
  [dag-cho]
• Yesterdayདགས་སྤྱོད
  [dag-cho]
• Todayདགས་སྤྱོད
  [dag-cho]
• Tomorrowདགས་སྤྱོད
  [dag-cho]
• 1གཅིག
  [gci]
• 2གཉིས
  [gni]
• 3གསུམ
  [gsum]
• 4ཙུང
  [tsung]
• 5ལྷ་
  [lha]
• 6དྷ་
  [dha]
• 7བད་
  [bda]
• 8བར་
  [bar]
• 9བད་པ
  [bdap]
• 10བཅུ
  [bcu]

• Where's a/the...?དགས་མིག་ཤོག?
  [dag-mik-shog]
• What's the address?དགས་མིག་ཤོག?
  [dag-mik-shog]
• Can you show me (on the map)?དགས་མིག་ཤོག?
  [dag-mik-shog]
• When's the next (bus)?དགས་མིག་ཤོག?
  [dag-mik-shog]
• A ticket (to ....)དགས་མིག་ཤོག?
  [dag-mik-shog]

Zhemgang District, historically known as Kheng, has a rich tapestry of early human settlement, with archaeological evidence suggesting that it has been inhabited since prehistoric times. The district's fertile valleys and strategic location along important trade routes made it a notable region for early communities who engaged in agriculture and trade.

The people of Zhemgang, known as the Khengpa, are believed to have a distinct cultural identity that dates back centuries. Historically, the Khengpa were known for their prowess in warfare and their ability to defend their territory against invasions. The region's rugged terrain provided natural fortifications, aiding the Khengpa in their defense efforts.

The spread of Buddhism in Bhutan had a profound impact on Zhemgang District. Guru Rinpoche, also known as Padmasambhava, is believed to have visited the area in the 8th century, bringing with him the teachings of Vajrayana Buddhism. Several sacred sites and temples, such as the Buli Lhakhang and the Shingkhar Dechenling Monastery, are attributed to his influence and are important pilgrimage sites even today.

During the 17th century, Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyal, the unifier of Bhutan, played a pivotal role in consolidating the various regions, including Zhemgang. The district became an important part of the larger Bhutanese state, contributing to the country's cultural and political unity. Fortresses or dzongs were established in the region to serve as administrative and religious centers.

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Bhutan faced increasing pressure from British India. Zhemgang, with its strategic location, witnessed several skirmishes and defensive actions against British incursions. The resilient spirit of the Khengpa played a significant role in maintaining Bhutan's sovereignty during this tumultuous period.

Post-1960s, Zhemgang has seen significant development in terms of infrastructure and education. However, efforts have been made to preserve its unique cultural heritage. The district is known for its vibrant festivals, traditional crafts, and the preservation of the Khengpa dialect. Annual festivals like the Zhemgang Tshechu are celebrated with fervor, showcasing the district's rich cultural tapestry.

Zhemgang District is located in central Bhutan. The nearest international airport is Paro International Airport, approximately 320 kilometers away. From Paro, you can take a domestic flight to Gelephu Airport, which is the nearest airport to Zhemgang. From Gelephu, the district can be reached by road, which takes about 6-8 hours. Alternatively, you can hire a taxi or take a bus from Thimphu or Phuentsholing to Zhemgang, though the journey may be long and winding.

Zhemgang District is primarily served by road transport. Local buses and taxis are available for inter-district travel. Renting a car with a driver is a convenient option for exploring the region, as public transportation may not reach remote areas. Be prepared for rough and winding roads, especially in the hilly terrain. It is advisable to arrange transportation in advance through a travel agency or your hotel.

The official currency in Bhutan is the Bhutanese Ngultrum (BTN). Indian Rupees (INR) are also widely accepted. Credit cards are accepted in some hotels and larger shops, but it is advisable to carry cash, especially in smaller establishments and rural areas like Zhemgang. ATMs are limited, so withdraw sufficient cash in Thimphu or another major city before traveling to Zhemgang.

Zhemgang District is generally a safe destination for tourists. However, standard precautions should be taken. Avoid walking alone at night in isolated areas and keep an eye on your belongings in crowded places. There are no specific high-crime areas targeting tourists, but always be vigilant and aware of your surroundings.

In case of emergency, dial 113 for police assistance, 110 for medical emergencies, and 111 for fire services. The local police station and a basic healthcare facility are available in Zhemgang. It is recommended to have travel insurance that covers medical emergencies. For minor health issues, there are pharmacies where you can purchase over-the-counter medications.

Fashion: Do dress modestly, especially when visiting religious sites. Avoid wearing revealing clothing. Religion: Do respect local customs and traditions. When visiting monasteries and temples, remove your shoes and cover your head. Public Transport: Do be respectful and give up your seat to elderly passengers. Don't eat or drink on public transport. Greetings: Do greet people with a slight bow, and say 'Kuzuzangpo' (Hello). Eating & Drinking: Do try local delicacies and accept food offerings graciously. Don't refuse hospitality, as it is considered impolite.

To experience Zhemgang District like a local, visit the weekly markets where you can buy fresh produce and traditional Bhutanese goods. Engage with locals, as they are often friendly and willing to share stories about the region's history and culture. Don’t miss visiting the Zhemgang Dzong and the Royal Manas National Park for a unique experience. Taking part in local festivals can also provide a deeper understanding of the local culture and traditions.