Gasa

When visitors first see the jagged white mountain teeth that line Gasa district's northern border with Tibetan China, so razor sharp in the distance, awe is the most common reaction. Seeing them for oneself puts the scale of it all in perspective. They were here long before us, and will be around long after we're gone. At the mountains' feet lie hundreds of glacial lakes that source Bhutan's mother and father rivers, the Mo Chhu and the Punatsang Chhu, which converge at Punakha Dzong to the south. Exemplifying the sort of wisdom that still sometimes eludes other countries, Bhutan has designated the entirety of this district, the country's largest, as environmentally sacrosanct land. Jigme Dorji Wangchuck National Park is most of it, home to snow leopards, blue sheep, red pandas, and takins (the national animal), as well as many rare flora. Gasa's northeast is all Wangchuck Centennial National Park. Just 3,200 people or so live in Gasa's 3,082 square miles, giving it by far the lowest population density in a country where you can drive for hours off the main Lateral Road and pass only a car or two. It's also the least developed district in Bhutan. Motorable roads are few, winters are very long and cold, and only about one-third of households have electricity. The isolation ha...