Luxury Vacations in Bhutan

In Bhutan, blue-skinned demons and snow lions roam the forests and hillsides. This is the land of the thunder dragon, where certain mountains can’t be climbed for fear of disturbing the spirits that live there… and then there’s the takin, half-goat half-cow, an actual creature that can be seen in its own preserve in Thimphu.

In Bhutan, Buddhist belief and mythology and everyday life blurs. This is a land with its head in the clouds, a remote mountain kingdom that enjoys an almost legendary status among travellers and adventurers. A destination that’s the poster child for sustainable travel; only open to travellers 50 years ago, it’s the first carbon-negative country in the world, charging visitors a daily fee to plow back into conservation. The landscape is pristine and dramatic, contoured by rice terraces, with snow-capped mountains crossed by yak herders, and monasteries that cling like fungi to jagged cliffsides. Recently, a Trans-Bhutan Trail stitched together 250 miles of overgrown pathways linking east and west to create one of the most incredible routes in Asia. The people, meanwhile, are inquisitive, friendly, with an infectious sense of humor, as you’d expect from a place that measures contentment with an index of Gross National Happiness. A country with an unimpeachable sense of community, this is quite possibly the world’s most mindful destination.