Samtse (older spelling Samchi), is one of the 20 dzongkhag (districts) comprising Bhutan.

History and culture Historically, Samstse was sparsely populated as the mountain-dwelling Bhutanese considered the low-lying district to be prone to tropical disease. During the early 20th century the district experienced a large influx of Nepalese who were invited to the area to assist in forest-clearing. Overall the district population has recently been increasing, and there presently is a housing shortage in Samtse as reported by Kuensel.

Samste is home to the Lhopu people, a little-studied ethnic group of approximately 1000 persons. The Bhutanese believe them to be the aboriginals who predated the Tibetan migration from the north. The Lhopus are noted for their animistic religious beliefs, their practice of marrying cross-cousins, and their unique burial customs.

Economy and education

Samtste has an abundance of natural deposits of talc, dolomite and other resources which are exported on a regular basis. It also houses a number of industrial and manufacturing units. Cardamom and oranges are the predominant cash crops, although most farmers practice subsistence farming.

Samtse is the site of one of the two campuses of the National Institute of Education, a college for teachers which is part of the Royal University of Bhutan system.

Geography

With an area of approximately 1500 sq. kilometers it is a little more than twice the size of Singapore. It shares an international border with the Indian states of Sikkim to the west and West Bengal to the south, and internal borders with Haa and Chukha dzongkhag.

Denchukha gewog has 193 households and covers an area of approximately 123 square kilometers.It has one primary school and one Basic Health Unit.
Paddy is cultivated in the wet land which counts or about 571 hectares of tatal cultivable land area. Tseri cultivation is prevalent, where maize is grown.
Denchukha gewog is one of the remotest and isolated gewog of the dzongkhag and is three days of walk from the dzongkhag headquarters. Because of this, the gewog does not have supply of electricity and adequate rural water supply. moreover, it dosent receive adequate and effective RNR services and facilities.
Though wetland is the major land use in the gewog, gewogs does not have irrigational facilities and cultivation is dependent on monsoon.

1. Bara Gewog : This gewog lies around two and half hrs from the nearest road point.