Bhutan - Lindsay Brown [112]
Hotel Zangto Pelri (Map; 584125; hotzang@druknet.bt; s/d Nu 1100/1320, cottage s/d Nu 1200/1440) Named after the paradise of Guru Rinpoche, this hotel is 6km south of Punakha, 1.2km up a side road, on a hill above the Punakha valley. There are 45 rooms in the central building and quieter surrounding cottages (upper-floor rooms are best), with a neglected swimming pool on the grounds below the hotel. Service is lacklustre at best.
Amankora (Map; 584222; www.amanresorts.com; s/d full board US$925/1000; ) This is the smallest and most intimate of these über-luxury resorts, with only eight rooms in three buildings (rooms are identical in all Bhutan’s Amankoras). The main farmhouse (now the restaurant and reading room) was the former residence of the queen mother and has some charming touches, including a traditional altar room. The spa reception area is in the former farmhouse kitchen. The lovely outdoor dining area is surrounded by rice fields and orchards. Park at the suspension bridge over the Mo Chhu and take a golf cart up to the resort (ring in advance to arrange this).
Damchen Resort (Map; 584354; s/d Nu 1200/1400) On the banks of the Punak Chhu, below Khuruthang, this riverside resort was being rebuilt and expanded in 2006. It has a good location near the Khuruthang Goemba but on Saturdays brace yourself for the disco in the underground Blue River Club.
In Khuruthang there are several basic local guest houses, including Hotel Welcome (Map; 584106; s/d Nu 200/300) and the better Kunga Hotel (Map; 584128; r without/with private bathroom Nu 300/450). Best is the Damchen Lodge (Map; 584650; d Nu 1400), where some rooms have balconies overlooking the goemba.
Hotel Y.T. ( 376012; hotelyt@druknet.bt; s/d Nu 1300/1500) Above the road department complex in Lobesa, 2km from Metshina en route to Wangdue Phodrang, this intimate family-run hotel has great views of the valley and a comfortable Bhutanese-style sitting room. The friendly owner is an ex-forester, which is why the gardens are stuffed with mango, avocado and papaya trees. He is planning a new hotel 1km along the road towards Wangdi.
Eating
You can get curries, momos, rice and dal at several small restaurants in Khuruthang, of which the best are at the Kunga Hotel and Hotel Welcome. Otherwise, your guide will book lunch at one of the tourist hotels.
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WANGDUE PHODRANG DZONGKHAG
The scenic dzongkhag of Wangdue Phodrang is centred on the town and dzong of that name and stretches all the way to the Pele La and Phobjikha valley.
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PUNAKHA TO WANGDUE PHODRANG (21KM)
It’s a half-hour drive from Punakha to Wangdue Phodrang. Follow the road back to Metshina and drive 1.5km to Lobesa, following the Punak Tsang Chhu.
Soon the dramatic Wangdue Phodrang Dzong comes into view, draped along the end of a ridge above the river. There is a police and immigration checkpoint before the bridge across the Punak Tsang Chhu. A road leads from the bridge south to the Basochhu hydroelectric project and the southern region of Tsirang.
The original bridge over the Punak Tsang Chhu is said to have been built in 1685. Old photos show a wooden cantilever structure with massive turrets. Floods washed it away in 1968, and now a two-lane Swiss-engineered bridge spans the river downstream of the remains of the original structure.
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WANGDUE PHODRANG
02 / elev 1240m
Legends relate that the Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyal met a small boy named Wangdi playing in the sand on the banks of the Punak Chhu and was moved to name his new dzong Wangdi – later Wangdue – Phodrang (Wangdi’s Palace). The town is still known colloquially as Wangdi.
The small town of whitewashed wooden shops and restaurants has a ramshackle but untouched air. Many houses in town have roofs made from slate that was mined at Tashi Chholing and Tseshinang,