You’re dreaming at…
AMANKORA
Bhutan
A mountain sanctuary suspended in cloudlight where ancient wisdom and elemental elegance flow in meditative stillness
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WILDLY PLACED: Paro Valley – nestled in a pine forest at 2,250m, overlooking ancient ruins and winding Himalayan trails.
EDITORIAL VIBE: Cistercian monk meets off-duty Vogue editor.
CORE PILLARS: Soul-deep quiet, forest immersion, sacred minimalism.
MUSE MOOD: She bathes in stone, rises with incense, and writes in the margins of old prayer books.
BEST TIME TO GO: March - May and September - November for rhododendron trails and soul-stirring crispness.
THE LOOK: Pale rammed-earth lodges with floor-to-ceiling windows, antique linens, and the scent of cypress and stone.
WHO’S IT FOR: Solitude-seekers, spiritual resetters, design pilgrims.
INDULGENCE SPECTRUM: From USD$2,000 per night – includes all meals, treatments, and time to recalibrate.
There are hotels you visit and forget. And then there are sanctuaries like Amankora Paro - places that carve themselves into your memory like smoke on stone.
Built into a pine forest just outside Bhutan’s most sacred valley, this lodge feels less like a hotel and more like a modern-day hermitage. The scent of resin clings to the air. The rooms are quiet - not just in volume, but in intention. There are no televisions, no distractions. Only space. Breath. Stillness.
The lodge’s design pays homage to Bhutanese dzong architecture: thick white-washed walls, tall windows, pitched timber roofs. Inside, everything is pared back - handmade linens, neutral tones, flickering fireplaces. There’s no art on the walls because the view through the glass is the art: rolling hills, drifting clouds, and pine trees so tall they feel like guardians.
Mornings here begin early and soft. A silent walk through forest trails. Butter tea on the deck.
A hot stone bath prepared by hand - warmed river stones dropped into wooden tubs until steam curls into the sky. If you want sound, it comes from the wind in the trees or the slow rhythm of a drum from a distant monastery.
Days are unscripted. You might trek to Tiger’s Nest Monastery, winding up sacred paths with a private guide who knows the history by heart. Or you may choose to stay close - read, journal, eat slowly, be massaged with warm oil and herbs. Amankora’s spa doesn’t promise transformation. It promises return - to body, to breath, to being.
Meals are simple and elegant - farm-sourced buckwheat noodles, wild mushrooms foraged from the forest, saffron-infused stews. Dinner is served by firelight, often in silence, and you realise just how rich a conversation can be without words.
This isn’t a place to be seen. It’s a place to vanish. To watch your edges dissolve and your rhythm reset. In a world that rushes, Amankora Paro pauses - and dares you to do the same.
AMANKORA’S BEATING HEART
A monastery of mist and timber, Amankora Paro is a spiritual exhale - a place where walls breathe, food nourishes beyond the plate, and stillness becomes a kind of scripture.
The SLOJOURN spark
FIRST. Earth-built lodges softened by pine, fog, and firelight - architecture that doesn’t just shelter you, but slows your pulse.
SECOND. A Bhutanese hot stone bath ritual, steeped in centuries of healing, drawn under the forest canopy and warmed by river stones.
THIRD. Guided pilgrimages to temples hidden in clouds - not for spectacle, but for stillness - if and only if your spirit leans in.
Where you dwell
LOVED UP COUPLES or LONE RANGERS
Lodge Suite
The suites at Amankora Paro feel monastic in the most luxurious way. Think: wood-burning stoves, window walls, deep terrazzo bathtubs, and handwoven wool blankets folded just so. There’s no noise, no tech - only texture.
Each space is both deeply personal and wildly expansive. You’ll find moments - like standing barefoot on the timber floor as snow begins to fall outside - that feel more like prayer than place.
DON’T SLEEP ON THESE ROOMS (BUT DO SLEEP IN THEM)
GROUPS OF FRIENDS
Lodge Suite with Valley View
LA FAMILIA
Multi-Suite Buyout
The art of living
Begin with ritual: forest walks, spa treatments warmed by river stone, slow ceremonial meals. Let your days unfold in meditation, in hot water, in the company of nothing but your own presence. Here, every moment is designed for quiet expansion - no itinerary required.
The forever lens
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WATER: Rainwater harvesting and natural spring-fed systems ensure pristine hydration and minimal waste.
WASTE: Glass bottled water, no single-use plastics, on-site composting and kitchen waste repurposed for local gardens.
ARCHITECTURE: Earth-built lodges crafted with traditional Bhutanese techniques and sustainably sourced pine.
ENERGY: Passive solar gain, high-efficiency wood stoves, and low-impact design aligned with local climate cycles.
The together lens
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Amankora collaborates with local communities to support weaving cooperatives, herbal medicine cultivation, and monastery-led restoration projects. Their Bhutanese staff don’t just serve — they share, often guiding guests through sacred traditions with quiet authority and deep pride. Each stay supports education and heritage initiatives that extend far beyond the lodge.
The take it with you
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A bundle of juniper incense gifted at departure
A hand crafted Bhutanese name plate
The shape of Tiger’s Nest, sketched in your notebook
A sense of pace that no airport can shake
A wool shawl scented with pine, smoke, and memory
The first page of a journal you finally began
WE SLOJOURNED HERE
“Paro stripped it all back. It wasn’t about design or dining or views - though it had all three. It was the way the quiet spoke to me. Like I was being remembered by the land. I came here to retreat. I left like I’d been rewritten.”
The ways you can move
SLOJOURN is a members-only platform for the new vanguard of conscious travellers. That’s you.
In that vein, we support a multitude of ways to book your travel.
Book directly with SLOJOURN’S travel team (we just don’t book flights, friend).
Book via our preferred travel partners that we can connect you with.
Use this as your guide and DIY your way through the world (love that for you, just take note of the destinations that prohibit this such as Bhutan, Socotra… etc.)