Destinations · Bhutan
Bhutan
The Last Himalayan Kingdom
7 to 12 Nights · Three to Five Valleys · Six Senses & Amankora
Destinations · Bhutan
The Last Himalayan Kingdom
7 to 12 Nights · Three to Five Valleys · Six Senses & Amankora
The Kingdom of Happiness
Bhutan keeps the door narrow on purpose. It is the one country in the world that measures itself by Gross National Happiness, where the forest is protected by the constitution and the only way to travel is slowly and well. We take you across it on the Six Senses Khamsa, a "royal stroll" from valley to valley, with a stay in each of the five Six Senses lodges from the capital in the west to the high pine forest in the east. A private guide, car and driver throughout, every flight and transfer handled, and the visa, the permits and the country's Sustainable Development Fee all built into the price. You walk to Tiger's Nest, stand inside Punakha Dzong, watch the black-necked cranes circle Phobjikha, and finish in Paro. Gay-owned, and welcoming to all.
Where the journey begins, high above the only capital in the world without a traffic light. The lodge looks across to the great gold Buddha Dordenma, and the first days are for settling in, the wellness screening, and the city below.
Down over the Dochula Pass to the lowest, warmest valley, where the lodge floats like a farmhouse over the rice paddies. The river, the great Punakha Dzong at the meeting of two waters, and the long suspension bridge over the Mo Chhu.
The highest and most remote of the lodges, eight suites above the glacial Phobjikha Valley. From late autumn through early spring the black-necked cranes winter here in their hundreds, circling the Gangtey monastery before they roost.
The most easterly valley and the spiritual heart of the country, a forest within a forest by the Chamkhar Chhu. The oldest temples in Bhutan, the pilgrimage trail, and the quiet that comes with the pines. The flight to Paro leaves from here.
The finish, on a sixteenth-century stone fortress above the valley. This is the gateway to Taktsang, the Tiger's Nest monastery clinging to the cliff, and the climb to it is the one every journey to Bhutan is built around. The last valley, before the flight home.
A Shorter Way In
Seven nights across the three western valleys, the shortest Khamsa that still does Bhutan properly. Thimphu, Punakha and Paro, with the climb to Tiger's Nest at the finish.
The shortest Khamsa, with the heart of the journey intact. Two nights in Thimphu, two in Punakha for the great dzong and the river, and three in Paro for the climb to Tiger's Nest, in a Lodge Suite throughout. The same private guide, car and driver, the same full board, and the same visa, permits and Sustainable Development Fee built in, with the round-trip Drukair flight from Bangkok. The shortest way into Bhutan that still does it properly.
Book the Seven-Night JourneyWhere You Stay
Ten nights, two in each of the five Six Senses lodges, from Thimphu in the west to Paro in the east. A Lodge Suite throughout, full board at every lodge, a private guide, car and driver from the first day to the last, and the short flight from Bumthang back to Paro. Or step up to the Flagship, just below.
The "Palace in the Sky," set on fifteen acres at 8,695 feet, looking across to the great gold Buddha Dordenma. The arrival lodge, where the journey, and your wellness, begins.
The "Flying Farmhouse," the lowest and warmest of the lodges at 4,595 feet, set over the rice paddies with the river below. The great Punakha Dzong and the long suspension bridge are at your door.
The "Bird Watching Bridge," the smallest and most remote lodge, just eight suites above the glacial Phobjikha Valley at 9,678 feet. In winter the black-necked cranes are right below you.
A "Forest in a Forest," the most easterly lodge at 8,860 feet, set among the pines by the Chamkhar Chhu in the spiritual heart of the country. The oldest temples in Bhutan are a short walk away.
The "Stone Ruins," built into a sixteenth-century fortress on fifteen acres above the Paro Valley. The gateway to Tiger's Nest, and the last lodge of the journey before the flight home.
The Classic Journey · 10 Nights
The Journey Itself
The Khamsa is fully guided, valley to valley, with your Six Senses host beside you the whole way. The sightseeing, the temples, the dzongs, the walks and the daily wellness are all part of the journey. These are the days it is built around.
Every guided day, with your private Six Senses guide, the car and driver, and all site and museum entry, is part of the Khamsa, included throughout.
Six Senses Wellness
Every Six Senses begins with you, not the room. On arrival in Thimphu a wellness screening shapes the days ahead, and the program follows you down the valleys: daily movement and meditation, altitude and sleep looked after, and a spa in every lodge tuned to where you are. It is a high-Himalayan journey, and the whole point of the Khamsa is to take it gently.
A screening at Six Senses Thimphu sets the pace, and the extra night here eases the altitude before you go higher. Daily yoga, meditation and movement run through the whole journey, lodge to lodge.
The traditional Bhutanese hot stone bath, river stones heated in the fire and slid into the water with mineral steam and artemisia. By candlelight at Bumthang and Gangtey, the warm finish to a high cold day.
A spa at each of the five lodges, each its own: couple treatment rooms in Thimphu, the Swedana steam huts at Gangtey, the foot massage and meditation huts at Punakha, the hot stone bath at Bumthang, the sauna and yoga at Paro.
Bhutan, at the very summit.
Or, Bhutan at its most rarefied
Aman is the most rarefied name in travel, and Amankora is its Himalayan masterwork: five intimate lodges strung across the valleys, lived as one seamless, private journey. Twelve nights in the finest suites Bhutan offers, your own guide and car the whole way, and a spa ritual or a private experience woven into every single day. All-inclusive to a degree nothing else in the kingdom approaches.
In nearly four decades, Aman has opened only thirty-six retreats across twenty countries, each in one of the most extraordinary places in the world.
Amankora is Aman's sole presence in the kingdom: five intimate lodges, one journey across the valleys, found nowhere else.
The seclusion, the room to breathe, and a depth of personal attention that defines the very top of the category.
The gateway to Tiger's Nest, in a quiet blue-pine forest above the Paro Valley. Three unhurried nights here for the climb to Taktsang and a recovery day after, the calm bookend of the journey before the flight home.
The most easterly lodge, in the spiritual heart of the country, on the grounds of the Wangdicholing palace. The oldest temples in Bhutan, the Tang Valley, and the open-fire lounge for the cold, clear high nights.
The remote lodge high above the glacial Phobjikha Valley, all glass and stone over the open meadows. In the cold months the black-necked cranes winter below, and the Potato Shed dinner is laid out under the stars.
Down into the warm subtropical valley, a converted farmhouse by the Mo Chhu river. Three nights in the Mo Chhu One-Bedroom Suite, the finest room on the whole journey, with the great dzong and the long suspension bridge a short walk away.
The capital lodge, in a blue-pine forest above the only capital in the world without a traffic light. The close of the journey, the great gold Buddha Dordenma across the valley, the city's craft and astrology a short drive below.
There is luxury, and then there is Aman.
The Amankora Flagship · 12 Nights
The Amankora Journey
What sets Amankora apart is not only where you sleep, but how the days are made. On the flagship, every day brings a private signature experience or a spa ritual of your choosing, arranged quietly in advance and yours alone. A few of them, valley to valley.
One private experience or spa ritual each day is included throughout the Amankora flagship. We arrange your choices with the lodges before you arrive.
Good to Know
Spring, March through May, is the high season: clear skies, the rhododendrons in bloom, and the festivals.
Autumn, late September through November, is the other peak, with the clearest mountain views and the cranes arriving into Gangtey.
Bhutan has one international gateway, Paro, reached on the round-trip Drukair flight from Bangkok that is built into your price. We arrange the in-country flight between Paro and Bumthang as well, so the whole journey across the valleys is handled. The visa, the permits and the Sustainable Development Fee are all included.
Every flight, every transfer, the private guide, car and driver, the visa and the country's fees, all arranged before you leave. You arrive to the wellness program, the right suite in each lodge, and the kind of details you only know to ask for once you have been.
Gay-owned · Welcoming to all
Elevida is gay-owned. We build the trip we would want for ourselves: the right lodges, the right suites, every flight and transfer handled, and the kind of details you only know to ask for once you have been. Tell us your dates and we will shape this journey around you.
