The road approaching Mongar is one of the most spectacular journeys in the country. It passes over sheer cliffs and through beautiful fir forests and green pastures. A regional hospital has been constructed and the region is bustling with many economic activities. Mongar is noted for its lemon grass, a plant that can be used to produce an essential oil. It also has a hydroelectric power-plant on the Kuri Chhu River. Mongar is home to a variety of Bhutanese languages and dialects. In the east, the East Bodish Tshangla (Sharchopkha) is the dominant language, also used as a regional lingua franca.
Central Mongar is the only region where the East Bodish Chali language is spoken, by about at total of 8,200 people in Wangmakhar, Gorsum and Tormazhong villages, mainly in and around Chhali Gewog on the east bank of the Kuri Chhu River.
Southern Mongar is likewise unique for its 1,000 Gongduk speakers living in a few inaccessible villages of Gongdue Gewog near the Kuri Chhu River. The language appears to be the sole representative of a unique branch of the Tibeto-Burman language family and retains the complex verbal agreement system of Proto-Tibeto-Burman.
In southwestern Mongar, residents speak Khengkha, an East Bodish language closely related to Bumthangkha languages including Kurtöp. Bumthangkha itself is also spoken by the natives of extreme northwest Mongar. Residents of the Kuri Chhu valley of northern Mongar speak Chocha nga cha kha, a Central Bodish language very closely related to Dzongkha, the national language.
Travelers passing this route will have the opportunity to visit the Rhododendron garden. There are countless varieties of rhododendrons here and on clear days you can even catch a glimpse of Gangkhar Puensum (7541 m), a strong candidate for the world’s highest unclimbed mountain.
Mongar district covers an area of 1,954 sq. km with elevations ranging from 400m to 4,000m and has a population of about 38,000. The landscape is spectacular with stark cliffs and deep gorges set amidst dense conifer forests. The region is known for its weavers and textiles, and fabrics produced here are considered some of the best in the country.
The western part of Mongar district contains part of the Thrumshingla National Park, and northeastern part of Mongar district contains part of the Bumdeling Wildlife Sanctuary (the gewog of Sharmung).
In the past, this region was known as the bastion of the Zhongarps as it produced some of the finest administrators in the country whose descendants still continue to play an active part in the political scene of Bhutan.