Khaling

Khaling sits on a gentle south-facing slope above the Drangme Chhu. The village, a loose collection of buildings spread across the sunny hillside, is most well-known as home to the National Institute for the Visually Impaired. This institute, established in the 1970s, draws its students from across the country, and has successfully established a Dzongkha version of Braille. Just outside the village on the road to the Indian border is the National Handloom Development Centre, which works with local women to produce cotton cloth that is sold as far afield as Thimphu. Khaling also lends its name to the Khaling Wildlife Sanctuary, a hundred kilometers (63 miles) further south.