&Beyond Punakha River Lodge
Nine suites suspended above the Mo Chhu — river, mountains, and the safari lodge sensibility applied to Bhutan.
Six tented suites and a private River House on the bank of the Mo Chhu from a group that knows wilderness hospitality.
&Beyond built its reputation in East Africa — decades of safari camps in Tanzania, Botswana, Kenya, the camps that redefined what wilderness luxury means. In Punakha, they have applied exactly that thinking to a river valley in the Himalaya: tented suites suspended above the Mo Chhu on traditional Bhutanese timber frames, each one with an ensuite that includes both an indoor and an outdoor shower, a private verandah, and a star bath — the outdoor tub open to the sky. The proportions, the materials, the light — it reads differently from every other property in Punakha.
The River House is a private structure for couples: ground-floor lounge, dining room, kitchen, and upstairs a bedroom with a freestanding bathtub and a private hot tub on the veranda, with a double daybed directly above the river. It is, by some margin, the most intimate accommodation in all of Punakha. The Family Suite connects two suites with a shared lounge, a personalised bar, and an outdoor deck with a private pool.
Activities are arranged around the river: whitewater rafting on the Mo Chhu, kayaking, guided hikes, archery. The kitchen works from a small organic vegetable garden and serves meals outdoors — by the river, in a paddy field, by the pool — depending on the evening.
The River House is the most private and most unusual night available in Punakha, and for a couple who have been travelling together and want one stay that will stand apart from everything else on the trip, this is what I would recommend. The &Beyond approach to hosting, from their Africa experience, brings a warmth and an attentiveness that is different from the Bhutanese property management style, and guests who value that find it very welcome here.
Kinley, founder
Where it sits
On the Mo Chhu riverbank, Punakha valley, at approximately 1,300 metres. Fifteen minutes to Punakha Dzong. Rafting and kayaking from the lodge directly. Warm valley climate year-round.
Stay here on a private journey.
Tell us roughly when you would like to come and how many you are. We will weave &Beyond Punakha River Lodge into a journey designed entirely around you.
Plan your journey with our team