Built on a bank of the Mo Chu River, a short drive from Bhutan’s iconic whitewashed Punakha fortress, AndBeyond Punakha River Lodge is equal parts welcoming and wild. Down a bumpy dirt road, past the rice paddies that stock the property’s kitchen, find an immersive retreat designed by Fox Browne Creative, where hand-cut stone walls are adorned in one-of-a-kind antiques and artworks and safari-style tents dot the wild, unmanicured landscape.
andBeyond Punakha River Lodge
The 50-acre property once belonged to a member of Bhutan’s royal family and then was slated to become a rafting camp. But in 2016, AndBeyond set its sights on the bird- and boar-inhabited acreage. It tasked Fox Browne Creative, in collaboration with a bevvy of Bhutanese craftspeople, to overhaul the existing structures and add a pool, spa, yoga studio, and more – all using local architecture and keeping about 80 per cent of the land unsullied by manmade structures.
In a nod to AndBeyond’s African safari heritage, six of the eight accommodations were designed as canvas-and-timber tented suites built inside a frame of rammed earth – the construction style of traditional Bhutanese homes. For more expansive quarters, reserve the two-bedroom villa with a private pool or the one-bedroom Riverhouse with a private plunge pool and stream access.
In the spirit of AndBeyond’s goal of treading lightly, the grounds are largely unmanicured. Tall grasses, trees, and birdsong envelop the suites in 360 degrees of wilderness. The interiors, however, are anything but wild. Sofas clad in cobalt velvet bring to mind Bhutan’s national flower, the blue poppy.
Colourful woven headboards were made by Renew, a Bhutanese nonprofit that offers skills-training to widowed and divorced women, while the beaten brass panels around the beds and bathtubs were spearheaded by craftsman Ap Gembo in Thimphu. Native wood floors and woven bamboo panels warm up the space, and a soaring skylight spotlights the standalone bathtub in the bathroom. Speaking of bathing, you’ll be spoiled for choice: fancy the slate-lined indoor shower or outdoor shower shielded by woven bamboo matting?
In the main building, the restaurant serves set menus based on ingredients supplied by local farmers paid to work a portion of AndBeyond’s land. The lounge, restaurant, and bar flow together seamlessly, all adorned in antiques such as cane or leather baskets and religious masks. An open-air Bhutanese kitchen festooned in necklace-like strands of dried yak cheese cubes and chilis is also open for nightly demonstrations.
AndBeyond Punakha River Lodge is located at Punakha River Lodge, andbeyond.com
