Wangchuck Centennial Park, Protected area in northern Bhutan
Wangchuck Centennial National Park covers 4,914 square kilometres across Bumthang, Lhuntse and Wangdue Phodrang districts, from blue pine forests at 2,500 metres to alpine meadows at 5,100 metres. It holds the headwaters of the Punatsang Chhu, Mangde Chhu, Chamkhar Chhu and Kuri Chhu, and borders Tibet to the north.
Wangchuck Centennial National Park was established on 12 December 2008, the centenary of the Wangchuck dynasty that has ruled Bhutan since 1907. It became the kingdom's tenth national park, and its creation pushed Bhutan's protected land past 50 percent of the country's area. It is the only national park in Bhutan co-managed by the WWF and the government since its founding.
The Nomads Festival is a two-day event the park organizes with various stakeholders, gathering nomadic highlanders from across Bhutan to celebrate their culture and traditions. The Bumthang Cultural Trek, an easy three-day route, passes Buddhist temples and Phebila pass.
The park headquarters is at Nasiphel in the upper Chamkhar Chu basin of Bumthang District, reached by a 22 km farm road from Chamkhar town. Three range offices and two guard posts serve the 4,914 km² area. Visitors need a permit from the competent authorities before entering.
Wangchuck Centennial is the only national park in Bhutan managed jointly by the WWF and the government since its founding in 2008. The Tibetan wolf is recorded nowhere else in the country, and 42 butterfly species have been logged inside the park and its buffer zones.
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