PEMAKO PUNAKHA BHUTAN

In a valley where the earthly and the spiritual collide, a homegrown hotel exerts a profound pull. 

- Diya Kohli

The last time I'd seen Bhutan was from the hill town of Kalimpong in West Bengal, India, watching the clouds roll away to unveil a transcendent view across the Eastern Himalayas. It had seemed curiously distant, this kingdom I'd only experienced till then as a synecdoche via its jams, jellies, beers and food. Now, driving along the Punakha Valley, at the confluence of the Pho Chhu and Mo Chhu rivers east of Thimphu, it scarcely seems more real. As my guide, Chencho, delivers a crash course in Bhutan's history interspersed with declarations of affection for Indian food, chillies, and films, another world passes by: of prayer flags, memorial chortens, and little tsa tsa shrines dedicated to lost loves. Myths of the Divine Madman, gurus, and dragons are painted on to doors, homes and even the Paro Airport walls, creating a sense of the spiritual and temporal worlds coalescing.

I'm here to visit Pemako Punakha, the first top-end Bhutanese-owned and managed property in this scene-stealing valley in the kingdom that has drawn big-hitters like Aman, Six Senses, and most recently and Beyond. It's the second opening in quick succession from Pemako (the first was in the former Taj Tashi in Thimphu), a new brand owned by Dasho Wangchuk Dorji, chairman of Bhutan's largest private conglomerate, the Tashi Group. This property is a milestone for Bhutan's hospitality industry and there's a tangible sense of national pride around it.