Pemagatshel is located in the south east of Bhutan with an area of 517.8 km and has a total of 2,547 households. The dzongkhag is characterized by highly dissected mountain ranges, steep slopes and narrow valleys with little flat land. The elevation in the dzongkhag ranges from 1,000 meters to 3,500 meters above the sea level. The dzongkhag experiences an average annual rainfall of 1500 mm to 3000 mm.
The dzongkhag is administratively divided into eleven gewogs. Rugged terrain and scattered settlements make the delivery of services in the dzongkhag both difficult as well as expensive.
About 53% of the total area is under forest cover, mainly coniferous and broadleaf species. With about 45% of the total land area under cultivation, the dzongkhag has a good percentage of arable land. Land holdings are, however, dominated by Tseri cultivation with only negligible wetland farming activities. Dry land cultivation is also a dominant agricultural practice with maize grown as the main cereal crop.
The potential for the development of horticulture crops like cardamom, ginger and oranges exist in some gewogs like Khar, Dungme and Chongshing Borang but is constrained by the lack of access to roads and markets. Other problems faced by most farmers include the lack of water sources for irrigation and extensive wildlife crop depredation.
In 2001, education was provided to 3740 students by a total of 16 schools ranging from primary to middle secondary schools while health services were delivered by a dzongkhag general hospital, four basic health units and 22 outreach clinics. A total of 88 rural water supply schemes provide piped drinking water facility. Agriculture and livestock extension services are provided by six RNR extension centers, two agriculture extension centers, two Livestock Extension center and a one fodder seed production center.
Inadequate power supply, limited road accessibility and market outlets constitute major challenges to development in the dzongkhag. Off-farm employment in gypsum mines; roads and other construction works constitute an important source of income for the people. The production of cultural and religious items such as jalings, dhungs, Thonphupoe, ngazhing jurmo tea leaves, and Yurung bura (textile) also generate cash income. The commissioning of Kurichu Power Project and the provision of adequate electricity supply can go a long way in accelerating economic and social development activities in the dzongkhag.
SOME OF THE TOP ATTRACTIONS ARE :
YONGLA GOEMBA
An 18th century Buddhist monastery, Yongla Goemba (or Yongla Riwo Pelbar Dargey Choeling Gonpa or the Pelri Gonpa) is tucked away in the eastern dzongkhag of Pemagatshel in Bhutan. Built on the orders of the second Yongla Lam Dorji Jamtsho in 1736 to commemorate Khedrup Jigme Kuendel who identified, meditated and blessed this place, this religious site is one of the oldest and holiest shrines in Eastern Bhutan.
Legend has it that the founder of this sacred site, Khedrup Jigme Kuendel, was instructed by Jigme Lingpa, a great tertoen (treasure revealer) and Nyingma master, to find a place that resembled Tsari in Tibet, and that was built in the shape of a ritual dagger (phurpa). He was asked by Jigme Lingpa to preach and spread the teachings in the land which he would discover, and thus, Jigme Kuendel journeyed across Tibet and reached Yongla, crossing Bumthang along with a companion, Khandro Dechen.
Upon arriving at this holy site, Kuendel asked Khandro if it was the same place prophesied by Jigme Lingpa, to which Khandro replied, ‘Yong Yong’, meaning, ‘Yes Yes.’ Thereafter, it came to be called Yongla. Jigme Kuendel then meditated here, and with time became extremely popular amongst locals, who would come to seek his blessings. He then later opened a meditation centre in Yongla which gained rapid popularity. After a certain period, a nunnery was also established in Yongla.
Yongla Goemba is perched on a dagger-shaped hill and is even visible from the junction of Tshelingore, where the road diverts and leads to Pemagatshel on Samdrup Jongkhar-Trashigang Highway. It is said that during the Duar War, Jigme Namgyel (the father of the first King Ugyen Wangchuk), the Trongsa Penlop (Feudal Lord), used this Buddhist monastery as an operation base for launching raids upon the British troops.
The famous Yongla Phurpai Drubchen, a traditional form of meditation retreat in Tibetan Buddhism that lasts for about ten days, has been held here in September every year since the time of Jigme Kuendel. Around 16 successive Lams have served as the abbot of Yongla Gonpa, and several Buddhist masters and luminaries have blessed this sacred place in the past. The monastery has also faced severe damage in the 6.1 magnitude earthquake in 2009, and its reconstruction in full swing began in 2012. Yongla Goemba, though unknown to the outside world, is quite popular in Bhutan as religious site, and as a site where the locals perform all the religious rites.
