Bhutan's spiritual heartland — the valley of Guru Rinpoche's meditation caves, Bhutanese red rice paddies, and apple brandy distilled from highland orchards
Bumthang is a collective name for four highland valleys in central Bhutan — the spiritual heartland of the country, considered by many Bhutanese to be the soul of their kingdom. The valleys are dotted with the oldest temples and monasteries in Bhutan (many predating the unification of the country in the 17th century), including Jambay Lhakhang (built in 659 CE by the Tibetan king Songtsen Gampo) and Kurjey Lhakhang (built around the cave where Guru Rinpoche left a body imprint in rock). Bumthang is also Bhutan's most productive agricultural valley: red rice (the most prized grain in Bhutan),…
Bumthang's Chokhor Valley contains the oldest religious sites in Bhutan — temples reportedly built in the 7th century CE by the Tibetan king Songtsen Gampo as part of his campaign to pin down a demoness whose body covered the Himalayan region. Guru Rinpoche (Padmasambhava) is said to have visited Bumthang in 746 CE and left body imprints in the rock at Kurjey Lhakhang — making this one of the most sacred sites in Bhutanese Buddhism. The Bumthang valleys were the domain of the Choskhor kings before the unification of Bhutan by Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyal in the 17th century.