Trashigang

Trashigang (Dzongkha: བཀྲ་ཤིས་སྒང་།), or Tashigang, is a town in eastern Bhutan and the district capital of the Trashigang Dzongkhag (district).

This article is about a town in eastern Bhutan (2383 inhabitants). For the village in Himachal Pradesh, India, see Tashigang.
Trashigang

Main street, Tashigang, Bhutan
Trashigang
Location in Bhutan
Coordinates: 27°19′57.2″N 91°33′09.9″E
Country Bhutan
DistrictTrashigang District
Population
 (2005)
 • Total2,383
Time zoneUTC+6 (BTT)

The town lies to the east side of the valley above the Drangme Chhu river just south of where it is joined by the Gamri River. Trashigang is the eastern terminus of the Lateral Road, Bhutan's main highway leading to Phuntsholing in the southwest.

History

Trashigang Dzong was built in 1659 by Trongsa Penlop Minjur Tenpa and served for centuries as an administrative headquarters and monastery, though government offices mostly relocated by 2011. Its sinking eastern foundation and crumbling upper walls necessitated either relocation or total destruction and reconstruction. In October 2011, dzong, under renovation since 2007, was on the verge of collapse.[1] However, as of 2012, the Trashigang Dzong was still used for the town's yearly religious festival called tsechu.[2]

Administrative

Trashigang is the largest district in Bhutan. It has three sub-districts and fifteen gewogs. Sherubtse College was the first accredited college in Bhutan, founded in 1966 by a group of Jesuits under the leadership of William Mackey. As of 2003 it became part of the newly created Royal University of Bhutan system that comprises all public post-secondary schools in Bhutan.

Rangjung, Kanglung and Wamrong are some of the major towns under Trashigang district.

Demography

The population of Trashigang was estimated to about 3000 in according to the 2005 census.[3]

Transport
See also: India-China Border Roads

Trashigang is served by Yonphula Airport which is around an hour drive from the town.[4]

  • Trashigang Dzong (2011)
  • Town center, Trashigang, Bhutan (2008)
  • District court, Tashigang, Bhutan
  • Trashigang Dzong (2008)
  • Trashigang Chagzam bridge

See also

References
  1. Rinzin, Yangchen C (2011-10-29). "A Fortress That's About to Fall". Kuensel online. Retrieved 2011-10-29.
  2. "Tourism Council of Bhutan - Festival Dates 2012" (PDF). Tourism Council of Bhutan online. Retrieved 2012-12-17.
  3. "Bhutan: largest cities and towns and statistics of their population". World Gazetteer. Archived from the original on 2011-08-27. Retrieved 2008-07-11.
  4. "Drukair Domestic Flights to Bumthang & Yonphula".


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