Wellness and meditation · 8 nights
Wellness and meditation retreat
Slow down at altitude in two of the kingdom's quietest valleys.
Overview
Haa and Phobjikha are valleys where very little happens, which is the point. This retreat moves between them with a day in Thimphu for the traditional medicine hospital in between, and fills the hours with mindful walking, meditation taught by monks, hot stone baths and food from the fields outside. There is a Tiger's Nest, but it is the last morning, when you are ready for it.
Day by day
9 days, loosely held.
Every day can bend. This is the shape we would start from.
From the airport the road climbs to Chele La at 3,988 m, the highest road pass in Bhutan, with Jomolhari on the skyline, then falls into the Haa valley, which was closed to visitors until 2002 and still feels it. The retreat sits among willow and farmland at 2,700 m. The first evening is a hot stone bath and an early night.
Stay: Haa Valley Retreat · placeholder name
A mindful walk along the Haa Chhu to Lhakhang Karpo and Lhakhang Nagpo, the two temples said to have been built where a white and a black dove landed. Breathing practice on the riverbank, lunch in a farmhouse, and the afternoon free for the garden or the river.
Stay: Haa Valley Retreat · placeholder name
A longer walk up through the forest to a hermitage above the valley, where a resident monk leads a morning of silent sitting. Return through the villages of the upper valley in time for a cooking lesson and an evening of nothing in particular.
Stay: Haa Valley Retreat · placeholder name
Back over Chele La and on to the capital. At the National Institute of Traditional Medicine, a consultation with a drungtsho, a physician of the sowa rigpa tradition, who reads the pulse and prescribes from the herbs dried on the hillside above. The evening is a hike to the hermitage of Cheri at the head of the valley, where the walking is the meditation.
Stay: Thimphu Boutique House · placeholder name
The long drive of the retreat, softened by a stop at the 108 chortens of Dochula and a picnic lunch in the rhododendron forest. The road climbs at last into the bowl of Phobjikha, where the lodge looks across the marsh to Gangtey Goemba and the air is thin and clean.
Stay: Phobjikha Wellness Lodge · placeholder name
A morning of meditation at Gangtey Goemba with one of its monks, then the nature trail down through pine to the marsh. The afternoon is for the lodge: a hot stone bath infused with artemisia, and a slow dinner of buckwheat and local greens.
Stay: Phobjikha Wellness Lodge · placeholder name
A guided day of silence, beginning before dawn with sitting at the lodge and continuing through a long mindful walk to the villages on the far side of the valley. Speech returns at dinner, if you want it to.
Stay: Phobjikha Wellness Lodge · placeholder name
The drive back over the passes to Paro, with lunch in Punakha and an afternoon arrival. A gentle evening: Kyichu Lhakhang at dusk and a last hot stone bath.
Stay: Paro Valley Lodge · placeholder name
For those with an afternoon flight, the climb to Taktsang at first light, when the path is empty and the monastery is at its most still. Then the airport, and your guide at the door.
Inclusions
What is in the price, and what is not.
Included
- Sustainable Development Fee (SDF) for every night in Bhutan, the per-person-per-night fee that funds free healthcare, education and conservation and keeps the kingdom high value, low volume. Verify against https://www.bhutan.travel before launch.
- Bhutan visa fee and visa processing, arranged by our Bhutanese partner operator. Verify against https://www.bhutan.travel before launch.
- Licensed Bhutanese guide throughout, required for all travel outside Thimphu and Paro and, in our view, the best reason to come.
- Private driver and private vehicle for the whole journey, from the airport steps to the airport steps.
- All meals in Bhutan: breakfast, lunch and dinner, from lodge dining rooms to farmhouse kitchens.
- All monument, museum and dzong entry fees.
- Accommodation as described, with upgrades available at every tier.
- Airport transfers in Paro and all transfers between valleys.
- Your dedicated Dzong House specialist, from the first message to the day you fly home.
- Daily guided meditation and mindful walking with monks and the retreat teams.
- Traditional hot stone baths on the evenings named, and a consultation at the National Institute of Traditional Medicine.
Not included
- International flights to and from Paro (we book them for you at cost; Paro is Bhutan's only international airport).
- Travel insurance, which we require for every traveller.
- Alcoholic and soft drinks beyond water, tea and coffee at meals.
- Tips for your guide, driver and lodge staff (we will suggest a range).
- Personal items, laundry and anything of a purely personal nature.
- Spa treatments beyond those named in the itinerary.
Pricing
Per person, sharing, all-in.
Every figure below includes the Sustainable Development Fee (100 USD per adult per night) and the 40 USD visa fee. Fees verified as of 2026-10-14.
Comfort
From $3,650
per person · 8 nights · SDF included · visa fee included
Simple retreat rooms and warm three-star hotels, private guide and driver, all meals and the daily practice. SDF and visa fee included.
Premium
From $6,500
per person · 8 nights · SDF included · visa fee included
Wellness retreats in Haa and Phobjikha, a boutique house in Thimphu, upgraded dining and private sessions. SDF and visa fee included.
Ultra luxury
From $13,200
per person · 8 nights · SDF included · visa fee included
The finest lodge in each valley, private practitioners throughout, helicopter transfers where useful. SDF and visa fee included.
Prices shown in your selected currency are approximate conversions from USD. Children and Indian nationals pay a different SDF; we adjust the quote accordingly. Verify fees at https://www.bhutan.travel.
Route
Where the road goes.
Map placeholder
Paro → Haa → Thimphu → Phobjikha & Gangtey
An interactive route map (Mapbox / Google Maps) slots in here.
Stays on this journey
Where you will sleep.
Placeholder names until partner agreements are signed.
Begin
Begin the Wellness and meditation retreat.
Tell us when and who. We reply with a first sketch within two working days.