  wangdue phodrang district (dzongkha: à½à½à½à¼à½ à½à½´à½¦à¼à½à½¼à¼à½à¾²à½à¼à½¢à¾«à½¼à½à¼à½à½à¼; wylie: dbang-'dus pho-brang rdzong-khag; previously spelled "wangdi phodrang") is a dzongkhag (district) of central bhutan. this is also the name of the dzong (built in 1638) which dominates the district, and the name of the small market town outside the gates of the dzong. the name is said to have been given by the shabdrung ngawang namgyal who was searching for the best location for a dzong to prevent incursions from the south. the word "wangdue" means unification of country, and "phodrang" means palace in dzongkha. wangdue phodrang is bordered by dagana and tsirang dzongkhags to the south, tongsa dzongkhag to the east, thimphu and punakha dzongkhag to the west, and gasa dzongkhag and a small section of border with tibet to the north.  ==wangdue phodrang dzong== thumb|350px|dzong at wangdue phodrang, bhutan. an historic dzong built by shabdrung ngawang namgyal in 1638 was located at wangdue phodrang. the dzong was burnt down by a fire in june 2012. however, as the dzong was being renovated at the time of the fire, most of the historic relics had been put into storage and so were saved from destruction. ==languages== thumb|350px|right|buddhist novices in wangdue phodrang dzong, bhutan the dominant language in wangdue phodrang is dzongkha, the national language, spoken in the western two-thirds of the district. communities along the border with bumthang district in the northeast speak lakha. along the same border, in central wangdue phodrang, inhabitants speak nyenkha. in southeast wangdue phodrang, remnants of the autochthonous 'olekha (black mountain monpa) speaking community barely survive. ==transport==  there are three paved roads in wangdue phodrang dzongkhag. the lateral road enters from the west at dochu la pass, crosses the sankosh (puna tsang chhu) at wangdue phodrang dzong, and continues east to tongsa. one spur road heads north from wangdue phodrang to the dzong at punakha and slightly beyond. this road eventually becomes the trail to gasa. a second spur departs the lateral road near the pele la pass halfway between wangdue and tongsa, traveling south a short distance to gangteng monastery 
Districts_of_Bhutan