Amankora is a journey of five lodges across the western and central valleys of Bhutan, at Paro, Thimphu, Punakha, Gangtey and Bumthang, designed to be travelled in sequence. Gangtey is the smallest and most remote. The lodge sits above the Phobjikha Valley, a broad glacial bowl of farmland and marsh, looking across the valley floor to the 16th-century Gangtey Goemba, one of the important monasteries of the Nyingma school. There are just eight suites of 52 square metres, each with a wood-burning stove, a king-size bed, a window seat and a terrazzo bathtub. Meals are served family-style in the dining room or on its terrace, and candlelit dinners can be laid in a traditional potato shed. The spa has two treatment rooms and a Bhutanese hot stone bath with views down the valley, and there is a kitchen garden. Days are spent hiking and cycling the valley trails, visiting the community school, joining a meal offering at the monastery or a Buddhist fumigation ritual, with yoga to end the day. The black-necked cranes that winter in the valley are the emblem of the place.
- Nearest airport
- Paro International Airport (PBH)
- Rooms
- eight suites
Insider tip Book the hot stone bath at sunset, when the light runs down the Phobjikha Valley towards the monastery.
Why I choose it Eight suites in a quiet glacial valley, the most intimate stage of the Amankora circuit and the closest to rural Bhutan.