Location of Bumthang dzongkhag within BhutanBumthang is one of the 20 dzongkhag (districts) comprising Bhutan. It is the most historic dzongkhag if the number of ancient temples and sacred sites is counted. Bumthang consists of the four mountain valleys of Ura, Chumey, Tang and Choekhor (also known as Bumthang valley), although occasionally the entire district is referred to as Bumthang valley.

Bumthang is also the name of the language spoken there. It is a Tibeto-Burman language closely related to Dzongkha, the national language of Bhutan.

"Bumthang" directly translates as "beautiful field". "Thang" means field or flat place, and "Bum" is said be an appreviation of either "bumpa" (a vessel for holy water, thus describing the shape and nature of the valley), or "bum" ("girl", indicating this is the valley of beautiful girls).

Cultural and historic sites in the dzongkhag include:

Mebar Tsho (Burning Lake), where sacred scriptures hidden by Guru Rimpoche in the 8th century where later recovered by Pema Lingpa in the 15th century

Kurje Monastery

Jakar Dzong, adjacent to the main town of Jakar

Jambay Lhakhang, one of the two most ancient temples of Bhutan, built in the 7th century by Songtsen Gampo, the king of Tibet.

Tamshing Lhakhang, the most important Nyingmapa temple in the country

Bumthang farms yield buckwheat, dairy products, honey, and apples among other products.

The language of Bumthang is Bumthangkha which is partially comprehensible to speakers of Dzongkha, the national language which originated in valleys to the west of Bumthang. Each valley speaks its own dialect, and the remnants of the Kheng kingdom to the south in Zhemgang speak Khengkha which may be classified as a dialect of Bumthangka.