Paro (city)
Paro | ||
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Coordinates | 27 ° 26 ' N , 89 ° 25' E | |
Basic data | ||
Country | Bhutan | |
Paro | ||
ISO 3166-2 | BT-11 | |
height | 2400 m | |
Residents | 15,000 |
Paro is a small town in the west of Bhutan in the Paro district with about 15,000 inhabitants at an altitude of approx. 2400 m.
history
Since the 17th century, the Bhutans had to repeatedly defend themselves against attacks by the Tibetans. Paro played an important role in the conflicts between Bhutan and Tibet , as an ice-free land connection from Tibet to Paro leads via the Chumbi Valley (today in the Indian state of Sikkim ). Paro thus fulfilled a strategically important function in the defense of Bhutan against attempts by Tibet to conquer the country.
In the domestic political conflicts over political power in Bhutan, the vault of Paro played an important role at the end of the 19th century. The power struggle was finally decided in favor of Ugyen Wangchuk (the great-great-grandfather of the current King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck ), who was able to assert himself with the help of the colonial power of England and was elected the first king of Bhutan in Punakha in 1907 .
economy
With the construction of a road connection between the border town of Phuntsholing and Thimphu with a branch to Paro in the 1960s, the caravan trade that had dominated until then was replaced by the transport of goods by road. In 1958 the Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru had to travel with his daughter Indira Gandhi on the back of a yak from Sikkim to Paro in order to pay a state visit to the then King Jigme Dorje Wangchuk .
Today the economic basis of the Paro Valley, which is blessed with fertile soils, is not only the cultivation of rice, but also the production of apples and potatoes. The tourism plays a significant role (hotels, restaurants, airport).
Located in the Paro Valley, Paro Airport is the country's only international airport.
tourism
The social highlight for the residents of Paro is the annual monastery festival (Tsechu), which takes place every spring and which also attracts hundreds of visitors from abroad. In 2004 the most expensive hotel in the Kingdom of Bhutan to date was opened in the Paro Valley.
gallery
Attractions
- Dungtse Lakhang (Buddhist temple, 17th century)
- Drukyel-Dzong (ruins of a monastery fortress)
- Kyichu Lhakhang (Buddhist temple, 7th century)
- National Museum of Bhutan
- Paro-Dzong (monastery fortress, 17th century)
- Taktshang (Tiger's Nest Monastery, 8th century)
- Traditional farmhouses
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Average monthly temperatures and rainfall for Paro
Source: WMO
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sons and daughters of the town
- Lenchu Kunzang (* 1992), marksman