Gelephu (; Wylie: ''dge-legs-phu''), also spelled as Gelyephug, Gelegphu, Gaylegphug, or Gaylephug, is a

town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

Thromde A Thromde (Dzongkha: ཁྲོམ་སྡེ་; Wylie: ''khrom-sde'') is a second-level administrative division in Bhutan. The legal administrative status of thromdes was most recently codified under the Local Government Act of 2009, and the ...

Sarpang District Sarpang District (Dzongkha: གསར་སྤང་རྫོང་ཁག་; Wylie: ''Gsar-spang rdzong-khag''; also known as "Geylegphug") is one of the 20 dzongkhags (districts) comprising Bhutan. Sarpang covers a total area of and stretche ...

Bhutan Bhutan, officially the Kingdom of Bhutan, is a landlocked country in South Asia, in the Eastern Himalayas between China to the north and northwest and India to the south and southeast. With a population of over 727,145 and a territory of , ...

. It is located on the Indian border, about 30 km to the east of

Sarpang Sarpang, also transliterated as Sarbhang or Sarbang, is a thromde or town in Sarpang District in southern Bhutan Bhutan, officially the Kingdom of Bhutan, is a landlocked country in South Asia, in the Eastern Himalayas between China to ...

, the

Dzongkhag The Kingdom of Bhutan is divided into 20 districts (Dzongkha: ). Bhutan is located between the Tibet Autonomous Region of China and India on the eastern slopes of the Himalayas in South Asia. are the primary subdivisions of Bhutan. They pos ...

(District) headquarters, and has a population of 9,858 as per the 2017 census. It is one of the border market and road entry points into Bhutan from India; Phuntsholing to its west and

Samdrup Jongkhar Samdrup Jongkhar (Dzongkha:བསམ་གྲུབ་ལྗོངས་མཁར་) is a town and seat of Samdrup Jongkhar District in Bhutan. The town is located at the south-eastern part of Bhutan and borders the Indian state of Assam ...

to its east are two other border market road entry points into Bhutan. Gelephu Special Administrative Region (GeSAR), also known as Gelephu Mindfulness City (GMC SAR), is a planned economic hub and special administrative region in Gelephu, separate from Bhutan's existing laws. Strategically located on the border with India to leverage regional connectivity betweem

South Asia South Asia is the southern Subregion#Asia, subregion of Asia that is defined in both geographical and Ethnicity, ethnic-Culture, cultural terms. South Asia, with a population of 2.04 billion, contains a quarter (25%) of the world's populatio ...

and

South East Asia Southeast Asia is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, southeastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of China, east of the Indian subcontinent, and northwest of the Mainland Au ...

, it will cover an area of 2,500 square kilometers three times the size of Singapore.भूटान में बन रहा 'नई दुनिया' का अनोखा शहर, सिंगापुर से 3 गुना बड़ा आकार, दिखेगा प्रकृति का असली स्वरूप
indiatv.in, 21 Jan 2025.

History

The history of Gelephu dates back to the 1960s when the original settlement was moved from the banks of

Mo Chhu Mo Chhu is a major river in Bhutan. The word "Chhu" means "river" or "water" in Dzongkha, the official national language in Bhutan. The river rises in Gasa Dzongkhag (district) near the border between Bhutan and Tibet. From there, the Mo Chhu flo ...

to the present area, which used to be known as Hati Sahar (elephant place). On 5 September 2004,

insurgents An insurgency is a violent, armed rebellion by small, lightly armed bands who practice guerrilla warfare against a larger authority. The key descriptive feature of insurgency is its asymmetric nature: small irregular forces face a large, well ...

bombed a

marketplace A marketplace, market place, or just market, is a location where people regularly gather for the purchase and sale of provisions, livestock, and other goods. In different parts of the world, a marketplace may be described as a ''souk'' (from ...

in the town, killing two people and injuring twenty-seven others.

Urban development

Planning area

Gelephu Thromde has 11.52 km² planning boundary area which can be increased further. It has 6 sub zones (Demkhong) listed as 1. Trashiling, 2. Namkhaling, 3. Jampeling, 4. Rabtengling, 5. Samdrupling, 6. Sonam Gatsel. Core market area is very close to the Indo-Bhutan border. Ashish Kumar Chauhan is also one of the Urban Planner while delineating the boundaries of Industrial Area Plan and Local Area Plan 4 & 5.

Urban recreational park

One theme of the Gelephu Plan is to develop inter-linked open-green spaces for use as recreation, sports, walking, cycling, exercising and play gardens that can provide an excellent opportunity to promote planned growth of Gelephu unlike many other settlements.

Gelephu Mindfulness City

In December 2023, during the 116th National Day celebration, King

Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck (born 21 February 1980) is the fifth Druk Gyalpo (Dragon King) of Bhutan. His reign began in 2006 after his father Jigme Singye Wangchuck abdicated the throne. A public coronation ceremony was held on 6 November ...

unveiled a project to establish a Special Administrative Region in Gelephu called the Gelephu Special Administrative Region. The project is developed by BIG, Arup, and Cistri, spans 1,000 square kilometers. Inspired by

Bhutanese culture Cradled in the folds of the Himalayas, Bhutan has relied on its geographical isolation to protect itself from outside cultural influences. A sparsely populated country bordered by India to the south, and China to the north, Bhutan has long mai ...

and

Gross National Happiness Gross National Happiness, (GNH; ) sometimes called Gross Domestic Happiness (GDH), is a philosophy that guides the government of Bhutan. It includes an index used to measure a population's collective happiness and well-being. The Gross National Ha ...

principles, the plan includes an international airport, railways, a hydroelectric dam, and diverse public spaces.

CDCL Workshops

The Construction Development Corporation Limited (CDCL), fully owned by the Royal Government of Bhutan, following a 1996-1997 merger and subsequently upgraded the Gelephu workshop which now serves CDCL's Sarpang, Phuentsholing, and Zhemgang Field Divisions, covering a wide central region, with field support from workshops in Sarpang and Mangdechu.

Trade and commerce

The location of Gelephu is favorable for cross-border trade between India and Bhutan. From that Indo-Bhutan border gate

Bongaigaon Bongaigaon () is an industrial town in the Indian state of Assam. Its urban area spans across Bongaigaon and Chirang district. It also acts as the district headquarters of Bongaigaon district and commercial and industrial hub of the west par ...

, the sixth largest city of Ainamssamerging as business node for the economics affairs i.e., business dealing & logistic supports is 78 km away.

Transport

Gelephu Airport was completed in 2012, after being planned in the early 2000s. In 2023, it was announced that a new international airport would be built as part of the proposed Gelephu Special Administrative Region. The existing domestic airport will remain operational.

Gelephu Tourism

Key attractins include the Gelephu Tshachu (a hot spring in the southern plains of Gelephu known for its miraculous healing power and properties, inaugurated by the Third King

Jigme Dorji Wangchuck Jigme Dorji Wangchuck (, ; 2 May 1928 – 21 July 1972) was the 3rd Druk Gyalpo of Bhutan. He began to open Bhutan to the outside world, began modernization, and took the first step towards democratization. Early life Jigme Dorji Wangchuck wa ...

in 1962), Royal Manas National Park, Phibsoo Wildlife Sanctuary, Nyimalung Monastery, Tali Monastery, and Threma Lhakhang (temple).

Climate

References

External links

{{sister project links , voy=Gelephu
Gelephu Structural Plan
Populated places in Bhutan Bhutan–India border crossings Sarpang District