Constructed on a financial institution of the Mo Chu River, a brief drive from Bhutan’s iconic whitewashed Punakha fortress, AndBeyond Punakha River Lodge is equal components welcoming and wild. Down a bumpy dust street, previous the rice paddies that inventory the property’s kitchen, discover an immersive retreat designed by Fox Browne Artistic, the place hand-cut stone partitions are adorned in one-of-a-kind antiques and artworks and safari-style tents dot the wild, unmanicured panorama.
andBeyond Punakha River Lodge
(Picture credit score: Courtesy of andBeyond)
The 50-acre property as soon as belonged to a member of Bhutan’s royal household after which was slated to change into a rafting camp. However in 2016, AndBeyond set its sights on the bird- and boar-inhabited acreage. It tasked Fox Browne Artistic, in collaboration with a bevvy of Bhutanese craftspeople, to overtake the present buildings and add a pool, spa, yoga studio, and extra – all utilizing native structure and protecting about 80 per cent of the land unsullied by artifical buildings.
(Picture credit score: Courtesy of andBeyond)
(Picture credit score: Courtesy of andBeyond)
In a nod to AndBeyond’s African safari heritage, six of the eight lodging have been designed as canvas-and-timber tented suites constructed inside a body of rammed earth – the development type of conventional Bhutanese houses. For extra expansive quarters, reserve the two-bedroom villa with a personal pool or the one-bedroom Riverhouse with a personal plunge pool and stream entry.
(Picture credit score: Courtesy of andBeyond)
(Picture credit score: Courtesy of andBeyond)
Within the spirit of AndBeyond’s aim of treading calmly, the grounds are largely unmanicured. Tall grasses, timber, and birdsong envelop the suites in 360 levels of wilderness. The interiors, nonetheless, are something however wild. Sofas clad in cobalt velvet recall to mind Bhutan’s nationwide flower, the blue poppy.
View from the lodge terrace
(Picture credit score: Courtesy of andBeyond)
(Picture credit score: Courtesy of andBeyond)
Vibrant woven headboards have been made by Renew, a Bhutanese nonprofit that gives skills-training to widowed and divorced girls, whereas the overwhelmed brass panels across the beds and bathtubs have been spearheaded by craftsman Ap Gembo in Thimphu. Native wood flooring and woven bamboo panels heat up the area, and a hovering skylight spotlights the standalone bathtub within the rest room. Talking of bathing, you’ll be spoiled for alternative: fancy the slate-lined indoor bathe or outside bathe shielded by woven bamboo matting?
(Picture credit score: Courtesy of andBeyond)
(Picture credit score: Courtesy of andBeyond)
In the primary constructing, the restaurant serves set menus based mostly on components equipped by native farmers paid to work a portion of AndBeyond’s land. The lounge, restaurant, and bar circulation collectively seamlessly, all adorned in antiques akin to cane or leather-based baskets and non secular masks. An open-air Bhutanese kitchen festooned in necklace-like strands of dried yak cheese cubes and chilis can also be open for nightly demonstrations.
(Picture credit score: Courtesy of andBeyond)
(Picture credit score: Courtesy of andBeyond)
(Picture credit score: Courtesy of andBeyond)
AndBeyond Punakha River Lodge is positioned at Punakha River Lodge, andbeyond.com
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