About

Gelephu Mindfulness City is a Special Administrative Region in southern Bhutan, announced by King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck on National Day in December 2023. The project covers 2,500 square kilometers, roughly three times the size of Singapore, and is located on the India-Bhutan border in a strategically important corridor connecting South and Southeast Asia.

The city operates under a 'One Country, Two Systems' framework with its own executive, legislative, and judicial powers, separate from Bhutan's existing laws. The masterplan was designed by BIG (Bjarke Ingels Group) in collaboration with Arup and Cistri, and features eleven mandala-inspired neighborhoods organized around the 35 rivers and streams that flow through the site.

Buildings will be low-rise, using local materials like wood, stone, and bamboo, and the development preserves biodiversity corridors for elephants and other wildlife. Bhutan is the world's only carbon-negative country, and the city is designed to maintain that status through hydroelectric power, clean mobility, and carbon-neutral building design.

The project received endorsement from Nobel laureates Joseph Stiglitz and Michael Spence, architect Bjarke Ingels, and Snap CEO Evan Spiegel at the Bhutan Innovation Forum in 2024. Dasho Dr.

Lotay Tshering, Bhutan's former Prime Minister, was appointed Governor. Joi Ito, former Director of MIT Media Lab, chairs the investment corporation.

The city is organized around seven economic clusters: spirituality, health and wellness, education, technology and innovation, sustainable industry, culture, and finance. In December 2025, Bhutan launched a gold-backed digital token called TER on the Solana blockchain, issued through the GMC framework and managed by DK Bank, Bhutan's first licensed digital bank.