Amankora's Paro and Punakha lodges reopen this September with a transformative wellness renewal

Amankora, Bhutan.

Paro: Where the Forest Becomes Sanctuary

Set at 2,250 metres within a hush of blue pine, Amankora Paro has always served as a threshold between Bhutan's sacred monasteries and the traveller seeking meaning beyond sightseeing. Its renewal arrives through an entirely new chapter of Aman Wellness, conceived by Kerry Hill Architects as a standalone Spa House hidden within the forest itself.

Here, guests step into a private hammam steam room, a hot bath, a cold plunge, and an outdoor pool, all wrapped in pine-scented stillness. The 60- or 90-minute rituals draw from centuries-old hammam traditions, blending exfoliation, cleansing, and therapeutic touch into an experience designed as much for reconnection between two people as for solitary reflection.

Just beyond, by the river's edge, a new banya sauna crafted from Canadian Hemlock honours Eastern European and Scandinavian heritage. Here, intense heat gives way to cold immersion in pool or river, followed by the traditional venik ritual using oak and birch branches, an ancient practice of circulation and renewal performed beneath a canopy of towering pines and distant monastery silhouettes. It is wellness as pilgrimage, heat and cold as twin teachers of presence.

The existing spa retains its five treatment rooms, yoga studio, and sauna, each refinished in warm timber, with private terraces and traditional hot stone baths extending the experience into open air. A new yoga pavilion now joins the deck already celebrated for the Forest & Fortress Barbecue, offering practice beneath open sky with views toward the ancient dzong.

All 24 suites have been reborn in timber and natural texture, enhanced with Lutron mood lighting, heated TOTO toilets, and refined in-room comforts, while the lodge's communal heart, its lounge, bar, dining room, and library, has been reimagined for intimacy, now welcoming up to 36 guests within a softer, more contemplative atmosphere.

1) Amankora, Bhutan – Spa & Wellness, Aman Spa Punakha, Spa yoga and movement studio

2) Amankora, Bhutan- Punakha Lodge, Aman Spa, Aman Essentials

Punakha: A Farmhouse Awakened

In the subtropical valley to the north, where rice fields shimmer beneath jacaranda blooms, Amankora Punakha centres on a 300-year-old farmhouse once home to a former Je Khenpo, Bhutan's chief abbot. Its renewal honours that lineage with reverence.

All twelve suites have been refreshed with new timber finishes and quietly elevated comforts, achieving a residential warmth while safeguarding the farmhouse's original character. The first floor now holds an intimate dining room for eighteen guests alongside a dedicated Aman retail space, while the second floor preserves its sacred altar room, where a resident monk continues centuries of prayer and blessing. Nearby, a new library, media room, and lounge invite quieter hours of reflection.

The lodge's wellness sanctuary has expanded significantly, with three treatment rooms and a yoga studio above, and below, an entirely new hydrotherapy floor featuring a steam room, Jacuzzi, cold plunge, and bucket shower, a complete ritual of contrast and release within the farmhouse's storied walls.

A Living Devotion

What emerges from this renewal is less a renovation than a continuation, Amankora's enduring role as guardian of Bhutanese heritage, spirituality, and ritual, now expressed through architecture built for restoration in its truest sense. Both lodges welcome guests once again from 15 September, offering a journey inward as much as a journey through the kingdom.