Mongar District (Dzongkha: མོང་སྒར་རྫོང་ཁག།; Wylie: Mong-sgar rdzong-khag) is one of the 20 dzongkhags (districts) comprising Bhutan. Mongar is the fastest-developing dzongkhag in eastern Bhutan. A regional hospital has been constructed and the region is bustling with many economic activities. Mongar is noted for its lemon grass, a plant that can be used to produce an essential oil. It also has a hydroelectric power-plant on the Kuri Chhu river. Mongar is notable for having the longest work time in all the dzongkhags of Bhutan.
Languages
thumb|View of Mongar town
thumb|Regional Referral Hospital, MongarMongar is home to a variety of Bhutanese languages and dialects. In the east, the East Bodish Tshangla (Sharchopkha) is the dominant language, also used as a regional lingua franca.
In southwestern Mongar, residents speak Khengkha, an East Bodish language closely related to Bumthangkha languages including Kurtöp. Bumthangkha itself is also spoken by the natives of extreme northwest Mongar. Residents of the Kuri Chhu valley of northern Mongar speak Chochangachakha language, a Central Bodish language very closely related to Dzongkha, the national language.
Administrative divisions
Mongar District is divided into seventeen village blocks (or gewogs):
- Balam Gewog
- Chaskhar Gewog
- Chhali Gewog
- Drametse Gewog
- Drepung Gewog
- Gongdue Gewog
- Jurmey Gewog
- Kengkhar Gewog
- Mongar Gewog
- Narang Gewog
- Ngatshang Gewog
- Saleng Gewog
- Sherimung Gewog
- Silambi Gewog
- Thangrong Gewog
- Tsakaling Gewog
- Tsamang Gewog
Geography
The western Mongar District contains part of the Thrumshingla National Park (the gewogs of Saling and the Tsamang) and the northeastern Mongar District contains part of the Bumdeling Wildlife Sanctuary (the gewog of Sharmung).
The Kuri Chhu river flows through the Mongar District valley. The Kuri Chhu, a major river of eastern Bhutan, is a tributary of the Manas River system, which is the largest river in Bhutan and a major tributary of the Brahmaputra River, the waterway that drains most of the eastern region.
Tourism
- Aja Ney
- Thekchok Namdrol Ugyen Choeling Dratshang, Drametse
- Drakar Choeling Goenpa, Larjab
- Nga Gyur Tsakaling Samten Choeling Gomdey
- Aja Menchu
- Nagtshang, Wengkhar
- Sa Nga Choeling Lhakhang, Yakgang
thumb|[[Kuri Chhu River]]
Climate
See also
- Districts of Bhutan
- Kurtoed Province
- Kurmaed Province
- Thrumshing La
- Kuri Chhu