Punakha District is one of the 20 dzongkhag

Dzongkhag

A dzongkhag is an administrative and judicial district of Bhutan. The twenty dzongkhags of Bhutan are further divided into 205 gewogs. Some larger dzongkhags have one or more of an intermediate judicial division, known as dungkhags , which themselves comprise two or more gewogs...

s (districts) comprising Bhutan

Bhutan

Bhutan , officially the Kingdom of Bhutan, is a landlocked state in South Asia, located at the eastern end of the Himalayas and bordered to the south, east and west by the Republic of India and to the north by the People's Republic of China...

. It is bordered by Thimphu

Thimphu District

Thimphu District is a dzongkhag of Bhutan. Thimphu is also the capital of Bhutan and the largest city in the whole kingdom.-Languages:...

, Gasa

Gasa District

Gasa District or Gasa Dzongkhag is one of the 20 dzongkhags comprising Bhutan. Its capital is Gasa Dzong near Gasa. It is located in the far north of the county and spans the Middle and High Himalayas. The dominant language of the district is Dzongkha, the national language...

, and Wangdue Phodrang Districts. The dominant language in the district is Dzongkha, the national language.

Culture

Pungtang Dechen Photrang Dzong at Punakha

Punakha

thumb|right|Punakha Dzong and the [[Mo Chhu]]Punakha is the administrative centre of Punakha dzongkhag, one of the 20 districts of Bhutan. Punakha was the capital of Bhutan and the seat of government until 1955, when the capital was moved to Thimphu. It is about 72 km away from Thimphu and it...

, the administrative and religious center of the district, is the winter home of Bhutan's Dratshang Lhentshog

Dratshang Lhentshog

The Dratshang Lhentshog is the Commission for the Monastic Affairs of Bhutan. Under the 2008 Constitution, it is the bureaucracy that oversees the Drukpa Kagyu sect that is the state religion of Bhutan...

 (Central Monk Body). Since the 1680s the dzong has also been the site of a continuous vigil over the earthly body of Shabdrung Ngawang Namgyal, the founder of the country, which lies in a special chamber in the dzong. Punakha dzong was the capital of Bhutan during the time of Shabdrung Ngawang Namgyal. The Punakha Dzong is one of the most historic dzongs in the whole country. Built by Shabdrung Ngwang Namgyal in the 17th century, it is located between the confluence of two rivers: Pho Chhu (male) and Mo Chhu

Mo Chhu

Mo Chhu is a major river in Bhutan. The word "Chhu" means "river" or "water" in Dzongkha, the official national language in Bhutan. The river rises in Gasa Dzongkhag near the border between Bhutan and Tibet. From there, the Mo Chhu flows generally southward to Punakha in central Bhutan, where it...

 (female).

Geography

Punakha is divided into eleven gewog

Gewog

A gewog, or geog refers to a group of villages in Bhutan. Gewogs form a geographic administrative unit below dzongkhag districts , and above thromde municipalities. Bhutan comprises 205 gewogs, which average 230 km² in area...

s:

• Barp Gewog
  Barp Gewog
  Barp Gewog is a gewog of Punakha District, Bhutan....
  
  
• Chhubu Gewog
  Chhubu Gewog
  Chhubug Gewog is a gewog of Punakha District, Bhutan....
  
  
• Dzomo Gewog
  Dzomo Gewog
  Dzomi Gewog is a gewog of Punakha District, Bhutan....
  
  
• Goenshari Gewog
  Goenshari Gewog
  Goenshari Gewog is a gewog of Punakha District, Bhutan....
  
  
• Guma Gewog
  Guma Gewog
  Guma Gewog is a gewog of Punakha District, Bhutan....
  
  
• Kabjisa Gewog
  Kabjisa Gewog
  Kabisa Gewog is a gewog of Punakha District, Bhutan....
  
  
• Lingmukha Gewog
  Lingmukha Gewog
  Lingmukha Gewog is a gewog of Punakha District, Bhutan....
  
  
• Shenga Bjime Gewog
  Shenga Bjime Gewog
  Shenga Bjemi Gewog is a gewog of Punakha District, Bhutan....
  
  
• Talo Gewog
  Talo Gewog
  Talog Gewog is a gewog of Punakha District, Bhutan....
  
  
• Toepisa Gewog
  Toepisa Gewog
  Toepisa Gewog is a gewog of Punakha District, Bhutan. It was formerly part of Thimphu District....
  
  
• Toewang Gewog
  Toewang Gewog
  Toewang Gewog is a gewog of Punakha District, Bhutan....
  
  

Over half of Punakha (Chhubu Gewog

Chhubu Gewog

Chhubug Gewog is a gewog of Punakha District, Bhutan....

, Goenshari

Goenshari Gewog

Goenshari Gewog is a gewog of Punakha District, Bhutan....

, Kabisa

Kabjisa Gewog

Kabisa Gewog is a gewog of Punakha District, Bhutan....

, Toewang Gewog

Toewang Gewog

Toewang Gewog is a gewog of Punakha District, Bhutan....

s) lies within Jigme Dorji National Park

Jigme Dorji National Park

The Jigme Dorji National Park, named after the late Jigme Dorji Wangchuk, is the second-largest National Park of Bhutan. It occupies almost the entire Gasa District, as well as the northern areas of Thimphu District, Paro District, Punakha, and Wangdue Phodrang Districts...

, one of the protected areas of Bhutan. The dzongkhag also contains biological corridors along the Thimphu District

Thimphu District

Thimphu District is a dzongkhag of Bhutan. Thimphu is also the capital of Bhutan and the largest city in the whole kingdom.-Languages:...

border.