The COMO Uma Punakha: An earthy brown gem set amid a lush, emerald backdrop

The rich vintage mud hues of the walls and buildings of COMO’s smallest lodge, the Uma Punakha, set amid emerald forests overlooking green rice terraces—which turn gold in the fall—makes one feel as if one has stepped through time into an idyllic village scene, albeit filtered through a refined sensibility

The gem-like lodge sits atop a small hill at the western end of the Punakha valley, high above the Mo-Chhu river. Arriving at this place, you might be excused for feeling as if you’re breathing the rarefied air of a modern fairytale.

Light and airy rooms with handcrafted Sheesham-wood furniture open out to balconies where one can easily while away an afternoon lost in daydreams or contemplating the many moods and sounds of the meandering river in the valley below.

Or you may prefer, instead, to have breakfast on the outdoor terrace with the liquid sounds of the valley’s babel of birds as your soundtrack, the dragon’s teeth of the Gasa mountains above the horizon. It is as the property’s management claims: “[With the]…marvelous blend of traditional Bhutanese architecture and [its] clean contemporary designs, the elegance of COMO Uma Punakha astounds.”