Bhutan Districts

Bhutan is a small Himalayan kingdom between Tibet to the north and the Indian states of Assam, West Bengal and Sikkim to the south, and its map runs from subtropical plains to peaks above 7,000 metres in a few days' drive. Its 20 districts (dzongkhags) cover the country without a gap, and they are the unit that the national census, the road network and the festival calendar are all organised around.

The quiz: Name to place, on the map
Grouped by: The West, the Central valleys, the South West and the East
In the game: 20 districts

Start

What you are looking at

The 20 districts of today, named in their usual English spelling. Thimphu, the capital, sits in the west beside Paro, which has the country's only international airport. The largest districts are in the thinly populated north and centre, while the smallest are the ones packed into the western valleys and along the southern edge, which is what makes the map harder than the count suggests.

The groups are not an official classification. They are the four parts of the country it is usually described in, and a way to learn the map a piece at a time: the West around Thimphu and Paro, the South West on the Indian border, the Central valleys of Bumthang and Trongsa, and the East.

How to place one

Start in the west. Haa and Paro lie against the Chinese border, with Thimphu to the east of them and Punakha and Gasa further along the same line of valleys.
Follow the Indian border. Samtse, Chukha, Dagana, Tsirang, Sarpang and Samdrup Jongkhar run along the south.
Find the heart. Trongsa, Bumthang and Zhemgang are the central districts, and Trongsa is the one that links east and west.
Fill in the east last. Mongar, Lhuntse, Trashigang, Trashiyangtse and Pemagatshel are the five eastern districts above Samdrup Jongkhar.

Every district, by group

West6 districts: Gasa, Haa, Paro, Punakha, Thimphu, Wangdue Phodrang
Central4 districts: Bumthang, Sarpang, Trongsa, Zhemgang
South West4 districts: Chukha, Dagana, Samtse, Tsirang
East6 districts: Lhuntse, Mongar, Pemagatshel, Samdrup Jongkhar, Trashigang, Trashiyangtse

Worked examples

Thimphu

The capital

Thimphu is a central western district, with Paro to its west and Punakha to its east, and it holds the capital and the largest share of the population.

Wangdue Phodrang

The largest

Wangdue Phodrang is the largest district, a long north to south block in the middle of the country that reaches from the high Gasa border down towards the southern foothills.

Samdrup Jongkhar

The eastern corner

Samdrup Jongkhar fills the southeast corner, running along the Indian border below Pemagatshel and Trashigang.

Frequently asked questions

How many districts does Bhutan have?

20, and all of them cover land: the game has no territory outside them.

Does Bhutan group its districts into regions?

Not in a way this game relies on. The groups here are the four parts the country is commonly described in, and they will not match every list you find.