Six Senses Bumthang Completes the Bhutan Circuit

Six Senses has opened Six Senses Bumthang, the fifth and final lodge of Six Senses Bhutan, completing a circuit that runs across the western and central valleys of the kingdom. The group announced the opening on 4 March 2020, less than six months after the debut of Six Senses Gangtey in the Phobjikha Valley.

The project began in October 2018, when the first three lodges opened in Thimphu, Punakha and the Paro Valley. Each has its own architectural nickname: Thimphu, the largest, is the “Palace in the Sky” inspired by dzong fortresses; Punakha is a “Flying Farmhouse Amidst Rice Fields”; Paro sits beside the stone ruins of an old dzong; and Gangtey is the “Traditional Birdwatching Bridge”.

Bumthang, the gateway to eastern Bhutan, is regarded as the country’s spiritual heartland and holds some of its oldest monasteries. The lodge is set in pine forest on a hillside above a trout-filled stream, and is called the “Forest Within A Forest”: the buildings were placed around the existing trees rather than clearing them.

There are eight suites with large balconies facing the valley, each with a pine sapling planted in an open-air vestibule at its centre. A two-bedroom villa of 225 square metres adds living and dining areas and private spa treatment facilities. Interiors use earth tones, handwoven fabrics and weathered timber with hand-carved details.

The signature restaurant, Tongtshang (“pine forest”), has a fireside dining room and a terrace where trees grow through the stone floor. Its menu is built on local buckwheat and barley with valley ingredients such as freshwater algae, hazelnuts and mushrooms. The spa offers the traditional dotsho hot stone bath and a Bhutanese-inspired Hingsangsa Zoni bathing ritual using Himalayan salts.

Guests can combine all five lodges in a single journey, or khamsa, across five valleys. A 35-minute daily flight links Bumthang to Paro, removing the long overland drive back west. Details are on the Six Senses Bumthang website.