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Allow us introduce Bhutan. This is a close as you can get to total peace and quiet without packing it all in and becoming a monk. Our six day experience will whisk you far way from the daily grind as you breathe in fresh Himalayan air, sleep under the stars, and relax with spa treatments to make you feel as good as new. And forget running out of the door with breakfast in hand, let alone staying awake until the wee hours of the morning. In Bhutan you’ll begin each morning with yoga rituals and end each day with meditation sessions. Calm, tranquil and rejuvenating, you’ll be sure to leave a different person
yoga galore
the entrance to uma paro hotel
Arriving into Paro, you’ll be whisked away to the Uma Paro Hotel, your bolthole for the next five nights, where you’ll meet your personal yoga instructor just in time for lunch. Together, you’ll put together the perfect yoga and meditation programme to suite your level, before picking your personal Como Shambala juice. Designed by the Umo’s Raw Food chefs, these juices are made to replenish, detox and energise after a yoga workout. From tangy juice concoctions to very berry smoothies, you’ll be hooked from day one.
kila goempa
nunnery blessings
Part of this experience is to delve deep within the wonders of Bhutan’s spirituality. So in between yoga rituals and meditation sessions, use your time to explore. After your first day settling in, hike through Paro’s stunning rhodendron forests, passing shaggy yaks and fluttering prayer flags, where you’ll find an ancient nunnery, Kila Goemba, sitting pretty on a craggy patch of a mountain side. Here Buddhist nuns study, pray and meditate and, if you’re lucky, will give you a blessing you before you descend back into Paro. And as if your prayers were answered, a mountain bike will be waiting for you to free-wheel straight down through the valley. Talk about an easy ride.
happy camping
spin the prayer wheels
If you think camping only ever involved getting lost, spending hours pitching a tent and baked beans for tea, then you’re in for a treat. Setting off from Uma Paro with your yoga instructor and guides in hand, you’ll hike through blossoming apple orchards, small villages and ancient pine forests before reaching a yak pasture surrounded by a whaleback ridge. While your guides help set up camp, why not continue your trek up the ridge and pop in at Jele Dzong, an crumbling temple where monks still live today, or simply sit back and admire the beauty of Bhutan’s Himalayas as a feast is prepared for you by the campfire. And what better way to end this day than with a silent meditation under the starry night sky. Bliss.
the magical orange tree at kyichu lhakhang
magic trees and meditation caves
Arising in your camp to the smell of hot brewing tea, enjoy a yoga session in the shadow of the Himalaya Mountain range before being picked up by car to return to Paro Valley. Stop off along the way to pay respects at Kyichu Lhakhang, one of the oldest temples in Bhutan where a magical orange tree bears fruit all year round. Arriving back at Umo Paro, indulge your self in Uma Paro’s signature Como Shambala massage or hot stone bath. After all, you’ll need it for the next day’s trek to Tiger’s Nest. One of the Bhutan’s most sacred places to visit, here you’ll partake in a unique opportunity to meditate in an ancient temple near Guru Rinpoches meditation caves – where monks take turn to meditate for three years at a time. Awe inspiring to say the least, this trip is guaranteed to give you a completely new (calm) outlook on your busy life. We guarantee you’ll return home a more serene, centred version of yourself.
