Six Senses Bhutan
Thimphu, Punakha, Paro, Gangtey (Phobjikha) and Bumthang valleys, Bhutan
Photo: Six Senses Press image
Five lodges, 82 suites and villas, one journey: a valley-to-valley circuit across western and central Bhutan.
Why we recommend it
Bhutan is a country best understood by moving through it, and the lodges are built for that. The standards and the programme continue from one valley to the next: meditation at sunrise, the lighting of butter lamps, readings by an astrologer, and hikes to monasteries and villages. A week or more allows all five; a shorter journey can take the three western lodges alone.
The lodges differ enough to make each stop distinct, from the warm rice valley of Punakha to the pine forest of Bumthang, the country's spiritual heartland. The Bhutan guide covers the country, and our Experiences describe the Trans Bhutan Trail and the tshechu festivals, both of which fit a circuit of this kind.
Location
The five lodges are spread across the western and central valleys of Bhutan. Paro has the country's only international airport; Thimphu, the capital, and Punakha are reached from it by road, as is Gangtey in the Phobjikha Valley. Bumthang, the gateway to eastern Bhutan, was linked to Paro by a short domestic flight when the circuit was completed, which avoids the long drive back west; check the current schedule.