Dagana District
District
Native nameདར་དཀར་ནང་རྫོང་ཁག།
CountryBhutan
HeadquartersDagana
Unit prefMetric
Area total1,713 km²
Population total24,965
Population as of2017
HDI (2019)0.607[1]
medium · 13th of 20
Time zoneBTT (UTC+6)
Websitewww.dagana.gov.bt

Dagana District (Dzongkha: དར་དཀར་ནང་རྫོང་ཁག།; ; also དར་དཀར་ན་རྫོང་ཁག།) is one of the 20 districts of Bhutan. Covering an area of 1,713 km2 (661 sq mi), it is located in the lower foothills of the mid-Himalayan ranges. The district had a population of 24,965 people as of 2017, living across 14 gewogs (village blocks). Economically, Dagana's population follows mixed subsistence agriculture and livestock rearing.

History

The history of Dagana district is centered around the castle of Daga Dzong. The dzong, a prominent feature of the district, was originally established in 1651 by Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyal, the unifier of Bhutan. The dzong serves as the administrative and religious center of the district.[2][3] There are three megaliths– Do Namkhai Kaw (sky pillar rock), Do Kelpai Genthey (rock of ancient steps), and Tha Namkhai Dzong (frontier sky fortress), associated with the legend of the building of the dzong. The district has several Buddhist monasteries, major of which are the Shathong Lhakhang and Nyindukha Lhakhang.[2]

Geography

Dagana District is located in the southern part of Bhutan.[2] It borders Sarpang District to the east, Tsirang District to the north, Chukha District to the west, and the Indian states of Assam and West Bengal to the south.[4][5][6] The district covers an area of approximately 1,713 km2 (661 sq mi).[6] Dagana is located about 252 km (157 mi) away from the Bhutanese capital of Thimphu. About 80% of the district is covered by forests, and hardwood trees dominate the region.[7] Portions of the Dagana district forms part of the Phibsoo Wildlife Sanctuary in southern Bhutan.[8][9]

Climate

The district has a warm temperate climate, with most of the rainfall in summer. It is classified as Cwb in the Köppen-Geiger climate classification.[10]

Administrative divisions

Dagana District itself is divided into fourteen village blocks (or gewogs):[11][12]

In April 2007, Lhamoy Zingkha Dungkhag (sub-district) was formally handed over from Sarpang Dzongkhag to Dagana Dzongkhag.[13][14]

Demographics

The district had a population of 24,965 people as of 2017, with 51.9% male, 48.1% female. The population is spread across various communities and settlements, with 81% of the population residing in rural areas.[6][15] The district is home to diverse ethnic groups, and the population is mainly composed of Lhotshampas and Ngalops.[2] The economy is based on smallholder mixed farming and livestock management.[16] The district has several cultural and religious sites, and is the centre of the annual Tshechu festival.[2][7]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Sub-national HDI - Area Database - Global Data Lab". hdi.globaldatalab.org. Retrieved 2018-09-13.
  2. ^ "About Dzongkhag". Government of Bhutan. Retrieved 30 June 2025.
  3. ^ "Daga Dzong". Drukasia. Retrieved 1 June 2023.
  4. ^ "Dagana district". Mineral Data. Retrieved 1 June 2025.
  5. ^ "Ethnobotanical Practices among the People of Dagana District, Bhutan". Asian Plant Research Journal. 7 (3): 286–299. April 2022.
  6. ^ "Dagana district". City Population.de. Retrieved 17 June 2025.
  7. ^ "Dagana". Truly Bhutan. Archived 10 November 2025 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 1 June 2025.
  8. ^ "Bridging nature and people". World Wide Fund for Nature. Retrieved 1 June 2025.
  9. ^ "Parks of Bhutan". Bhutan Trust Fund for Environmental Conservation. Bhutan Trust Fund. Archived from the original on 2 July 2011. Retrieved 26 March 2011.
  10. ^ "Dagana district". Climate data. Retrieved 1 June 2025.
  11. ^ "Administrative layout". Dagana Dzongkhag Administration. Retrieved 17 June 2025.
  12. ^ "Chiwogs in Chukha". Election Commission, Government of Bhutan. 2011. Archived from the original on 2011-10-02. Retrieved 2011-07-28.
  13. ^ "News Detail". Sarpang Dzongkhag Administration. Archived from the original on 19 March 2008. Retrieved 1 June 2011.
  14. ^ "Chiwogs in Dagana". Election Commission, Government of Bhutan. 2011. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 1 June 2011.
  15. ^ "District population & households". Government of Bhutan. Retrieved 17 June 2025.
  16. ^ "Agricultural production stats". NSB Agriculture Survey Report. Retrieved 17 June 2025.