Amankora, Bhutan | Overview & AMA with Head Guide, Pema
Hey friends! Currently writing this from the car traveling from Punakha to Paro on my 6-night Amankora journey!
I’m going to do a full review here/FAT once I’m back and can digest everything - but wanted to give people the opportunity to ask questions and lay some foundations for this journey and the country as there is a ton of detail to cover.
I'm thrilled to let you know that we have the amazing Head Guide of Amankora, Pema, who has been with the lodge for 20+ years here to answer questions with me. There's not a single thing he doesn't know about Amankora. I've had the pleasure of traveling with him for the past 5 days and his knowledge and expertise in guiding the Amankora Journey is unparalleled. It has been such a pleasure to get to know him and have him guide our Journey, I'm so happy he has agreed to chat with our community :)
My usual disclaimer: ChubbyTravel is a fun and welcoming place to discuss luxury travel. We discuss a range of price points in here across the spectrum of luxury travel. Aman skews very luxe - but I know there’s a good deal of interest about this one from our community so want to give an opportunity to share and discuss.
Lastly, the team just informed me that we have a Pay 7, Stay 5 [**EDIT: Stay 7, Pay 5!**] promo that is available which to my knowledge has never been offered for this property before so a great way to price it out if it's a bucket list spot!
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Background on Amankora
Amankora refers to a series of 5 Aman lodges in Bhutan across 5 valleys: Thimphu, Paro, Punakha, Gangtey and Bumthang. It is an immersive introduction into the amazing country of Bhutan. It is a cultural, historical and natural journey unlike anything you've ever experienced. It focuses on the rich cultural heritage of the country along with it's stunning landscapes, diverse ecology and natural beauty. I can't wait to share the full experience when I am home. There are few places you can travel these days that feel truly authentic and minimally impacted by globalization, and Bhutan is one of those hidden gems. If Bhutan is on your bucket list, you need to make the trip. You will be blown away by what this country has to offer and if you are privileged to travel with Aman, you will have an experience like none other.
Amankora started in 2004 with the Paro lodge and then Punakha to follow. Thimphu came third followed by Gangtey and Bumthang is the last lodge to be built.
For a given journey, you string the lodges together based on your preference for what you'd like to see and the duration of your trip.
Overview of Bhutan
Bhutan is a small nation that borders the Himalayas in South Asia. It has a population of roughly 760,000 and borders Tibet to the north/west, China to the east and India to the south. It is a deeply religious country with the vast, vast majority of citizens being devout Buddhists (Tibetan tradition).
While the country is today a democracy, that is a recent shift and in fact - Bhutan is the first country to ever have a peaceful transfer of power from the royals to democracy. This is because they change to democracy was pushed by the king himself. In his effort to modernize the country he forced the country to a democracy - a change which citizens don't actually prefer. The love and respect for the royal family runs incredibly deep here. And while they aren't in charge of government anymore, they are deeply, deeply loved. Their photos are displayed on the mantel in nearly every household.
Cultural tradition and heritage is extremely important to the population and the royals in Bhutan. In fact, traditional clothing - I will share more photos in my formal review - is required for everyone at school and work. This helps to preserve their traditions while still allowing people to express their individuality of fashion choices outside of school/work. Similarly, their tradition of amazing hand made items and crafts are being preserved by the royals with grants to keep trade schools and craft shops open. I will share photos in my later reviews - but their hand made items are absolutely stunning - from their ornate paintings to weaving to paper making. Their culture is preserved and passed down through these items so keeping the tradition of these works alive is critical.
Bhutan opened to the world in the 1960s and brought in international tourism. But certain things, like mountain climbing, are still very much forbidden as mountains are scared to the Bhutanese. So none of Bhutan's peaks have been climbed.
The economy of Bhutan is very small, only $3B and they heavily rely on aid from India. This is because 1/ it's not a country with significant natural resources but 2/ they are extremely protective of their environment. Their biggest revenue generation is from hydropower and second to that is agriculture.
As I said, Bhutan fiercely protects their environment. 75%+ of all land must be under forest cover. They do not allow hunting or fishing. They have grown their tiger population by 2x in the last twenty years and they are a haven for a number of endangered species such as the red panda. As an animal and nature lover myself, I have never before experienced a nation that is so incredibly, deeply respectful of their natural environment and fellow beings as Bhutan. It's truly incredible and at times has nearly made me want to cry for how this country truly understands the critical importance of respecting our earth and the other creatures that inhabit it with us. When you experience Bhutan, a huge part of that is the natural beauty and diverse set of animals that live here from leopards to tigers to elephants to monkeys to otters to the red panda.
Bhutan is truly such a special place and after this trip will always hold a place in my heart. I hope you can experience it yourself.
There is so so much more to cover on the culture, heritage, history, politics and experience of interacting with locals but just wanted to drop a bit to kick this off!
And with that, please AMA!
- Please drop your questions in - Pema and I will get back to you as soon as we can
- Just a PSA, we are 11 hours ahead of East Coast time so I'm dropping this now and plan to get back with the answers to questions either super late tonight if I can or tomorrow during the day our time. So please be patient with us as we navigate the time zone challenges.
