Cheeses of Bumthang
Bhutan's central valleys, home of datshi for ema datshi and of a Swiss-founded dairy that makes European-style cheese.
Made, aged and sold here
Best time: March to May and September to November.
Bumthang is a group of four high valleys in central Bhutan, with Jakar as its main town. It is farming and herding country, where buckwheat replaces rice and cattle and yaks graze the slopes. Datshi, the soft cheese that goes into Bhutan's national dish, is made in nearly every farmhouse, and a dairy started with Swiss help also makes cheese in the Alpine way.
Datshi and chugo
Datshi is made from the buttermilk left after churning butter. The buttermilk is heated, the curds are gathered in a cloth and squeezed, then rolled into balls or pressed into rounds. It melts into ema datshi, the dish of chillies and cheese eaten at almost every meal, and into kewa datshi with potatoes. Chugo, the hard dried cheese, is strung on cords and chewed.
Swiss cheese in the Himalaya
In the late 1960s a Swiss settler, Fritz Maurer, helped start a farm project in Bumthang that grew to include a cheese dairy, a brewery and a honey business. Its Emmental-style and Gouda-style cheeses are sold in Jakar and Thimphu. The valleys are also among the holiest in Bhutan, with temples such as Jambay Lhakhang and Kurjey Lhakhang.
A trail idea for Bumthang
- Jakar town Look for local datshi and the valley's European-style cheese.
- Jambay Lhakhang One of the oldest temples in the kingdom, site of an autumn festival.
- Kurjey Lhakhang Temples tied to Guru Rinpoche, a short walk up the valley.
- A farmhouse visit See butter churned and datshi made where visits are offered.
Written by the EveryCheese desk with AI assistance. Background: "Bumthang District" on Wikipedia. Opening hours, markets, caves and tours change; check locally before travelling. If something is wrong, tell us.
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