When it happens
The festival has no lunar date. The Zhemgang district administration holds it on Gregorian days in mid-November, over two or three days.
Its timing is tied to 11 November, the Fourth King’s birthday, which is also marked as Constitution Day.
Where it happens
The festival is held in Tingtibi, a roadside town in Zhemgang, 36 km from Zhemgang town. It is not held at Zhemgang Dzong, which has its own festival, Zhemgang Tshechu, in spring.
The town is remade for each festival.
The setting matters more than the ground. Zhemgang lies in south-central Bhutan and borders three protected areas: Royal Manas National Park, Jigme Singye Wangchuck National Park and Phrumsengla National Park. The district is part of the wildlife corridor they form. 357 bird species have been counted in the region, among them Pallas’s Fish Eagle, Satyr Tragopan, Rufous-throated Hornbill, Spotted Elachura, Blue-capped Rock Thrush and White-bellied Heron.
History
The festival is meant as an annual signature festival for community-based ecotourism in Zhemgang. It has three stated aims: to celebrate the Fourth King’s birth anniversary and pay tribute to his leadership in conservation in Bhutan, to promote community-based ecotourism in Zhemgang through river journeys and birdwatching, and to give local people a chance to take part in the festival and add to their income.
The district treats the festival as part of a wider plan. Its key strategies open with accelerating high-end community-based ecotourism.
What happens
The district administration runs activities that participants register for, such as a birdathon, a cyclothon, a photographic trip, photo framing and a trip to Duenmang Tshachu. What is offered varies.
The festival is not a cycle of cham (sacred masked dances). The cultural side of the festival celebrates Kheng culture. Zhemgang’s people are noted for their folk songs and dances, and for bamboo craft and pottery.
Being there
The festival is often described as a birding festival first and a cultural one second, and as built around a birdathon rather than dances in a courtyard. Zhemgang is billed as “the Eco-Tourism Capital of Bhutan”.
Zhemgang is about a six-hour drive from Thimphu. A four-kilometre bypass now links Tingtibi and Goling, replacing a seven-kilometre stretch of road.
Some of Zhemgang’s own people travel a long way to attend. Residents of Gongphu village, almost 40 km away, come every year, though transport makes it hard for them to bring goods to sell.