Bumthang, Bhutan's spiritual heartland

About Bumthang

Bumthang feels different from western Bhutan: the valleys are broad and open, the villages built of stone and wood, and the fields grow buckwheat, potatoes and apples rather than rice. Its main town, Jakar, is small and friendly, with a brewery, a cheese dairy and a handful of cafés.

It is also where Bhutanese Buddhism took root. Guru Rinpoche meditated here in the 8th century, and the treasure-revealer Pema Lingpa, ancestor of the royal family, was born in the Tang valley in 1450.

Things to do in Bumthang

1. 1

   Jambay Lhakhang

   One of Bhutan's two oldest temples, traditionally built in 659 AD. Its autumn festival includes a midnight fire blessing that draws people from across the country.

2. 2

   Kurjey Lhakhang

   A complex of three temples around the cave where Guru Rinpoche meditated and left the imprint of his body in the rock. It is one of the most sacred sites in Bhutan.

3. 3

   Jakar Dzong

   The 'castle of the white bird' stands above Jakar town with views over the valley; one of the most impressive dzongs in central Bhutan.

4. 4

   Mebar Tsho (the Burning Lake)

   A pool in a gorge of the Tang river where Pema Lingpa is said to have dived in holding a burning lamp and resurfaced with sacred treasure, the lamp still alight.

5. 5

   Tamshing Lhakhang

   Founded by Pema Lingpa in 1501, with some of the oldest wall paintings in Bhutan and a chain-mail coat you can try to carry around the temple.

6. 6

   Ura village

   A cluster of stone houses and cobbled lanes in the highest of Bumthang's valleys, and one of the best-preserved villages in the country.

What to eat and drink in Bumthang

Rice doesn't grow well up here, so Bumthang eats buckwheat. Try khuli, thin buckwheat pancakes eaten with ema datshi or a chilli paste, and puta, buckwheat noodles tossed with butter or mustard oil. In spring you might get local asparagus fried in butter with a little salt, and in summer the hills are full of wild strawberries and raspberries.

Bumthang also has a Swiss connection. A Swiss family who settled here in the 1960s and 70s helped start a cheese dairy and a brewery in Jakar, and both are still going. Ask for Bumthang's Swiss-style cheese and a bottle of Red Panda, the valley's unfiltered wheat beer. There's local apple juice and honey too.

For more on local dishes, see our guide to Bhutanese food.

Yathra weaving in Chumey

On the way into Bumthang from Trongsa, the road passes through the Chumey valley, where women weave yathra, thick woollen cloth in bright geometric patterns. It started as a way to keep warm through Bumthang's winters and is now made into jackets, scarves, bags and blankets. You'll see the looms set up outside houses along the road, and buying straight from the weaver is the best souvenir you'll find in central Bhutan.

Walks and slower days

Bumthang's valleys are wide and flat at the bottom, which makes them ideal for easy walking and cycling between temples. A few favourites:

• The temple walk from Jambay Lhakhang to Kurjey Lhakhang, then across the river on a footbridge to Tamshing. It takes a morning and links three of the country's most important temples.
• Ngang Lhakhang, the 'swan temple', up the Chokhor valley, and the path beyond it towards the Phephe La pass through streams, meadows and bamboo.
• The Bumthang Owl Trek, a three-day walk through forest above the valley, named after the owls you hear calling at night.
• A bike ride along the valley floor. The roads are quiet, mostly flat, and pass farmhouses, apple orchards and prayer wheels.

Best time to visit Bumthang

Spring and autumn are best. Bumthang's great festivals, the Jambay Lhakhang Drup and the Jakar and Prakhar Tshechus, fall in October and November; see the festival calendar for the dates.

Winters are cold, with occasional snow; summer is green and wet but good for walking.

Month by month across the country: the best time to visit Bhutan.

Getting to Bumthang

By road, Bumthang is about seven hours from Punakha, usually broken with a night in or near Trongsa and its huge dzong. There are also short domestic flights from Paro to Bathpalathang airport, just outside Jakar, when schedules allow.

Bumthang is the heart of our longer journeys into central and eastern Bhutan.

Bumthang on the map