Creative residencies in Bhutan

“I arrived still answering emails in the car from the airport. By the third day I had stopped checking altogether. Haa was where I really felt the change. It was quiet, beautiful and there was absolutely nothing I needed to solve.”

“I run my own company and genuinely thought eight days was too long to be away. It turned out to be exactly right. Nothing about the trip felt like a corporate wellness retreat. I simply had room to think again.”

“The morning at the nunnery was unexpectedly powerful. There was no big revelation, which I actually appreciated. I just remember sitting there after meditation and realising how tired I had been for a very long time.”

“I came to Bhutan completely depleted. I left rested, but more importantly I left with perspective. The work was all still waiting for me when I got home. I just didn’t feel quite so controlled by it anymore.”

“I hadn’t realised how much I needed time away from everything until I was there. I came home knowing what I wanted to change.”

“The women we met were the part I wasn’t expecting. We had completely different lives, but so much in common.”

“There’s something about walking for hours in the mountains that puts everything else into perspective. Things that felt enormous at home suddenly didn’t.”

“I thought I was coming to Bhutan for an adventure. I didn’t expect to learn quite so much about myself along the way.”

“I came to Bhutan to find myself. Instead, I found phalluses everywhere. Not a bad destination for a solo woman traveller.”

“Bhutan gave me something I didn’t realise I was missing: space. There was no pressure to be anywhere or achieve anything. I slept better, walked for hours, ate incredibly well and came home feeling noticeably calmer.”

“I expected beautiful scenery, but what stayed with me was how unhurried everything felt. Mornings in Phobjikha, conversations with people we met along the way, the hot stone baths, even the long drives. For once, I wasn’t thinking about what I needed to do next.”

“This was exactly what I needed after a very intense year. It wasn’t a wellness retreat and nobody was asking me to transform my life. I simply had time to slow down, be outdoors and clear my head. By the end, I felt like myself again.”

“The eastern part of the journey was a real highlight. We visited places I would never have found on my own and met people in their homes and villages, but nothing felt staged. There was also plenty of time to disappear back to the lodge with a book and do absolutely nothing. That balance was perfect.”

“I had been to Bhutan before and thought I knew the country reasonably well. I was completely wrong. This journey took us into homes, workshops and conversations I would never have known how to access. It felt less like sightseeing and more like being invited in.”

“The afternoon with the Mongpa community was extraordinary. We sat listening to stories about their beliefs and history, watched the weaving and shared lunch together. Nothing felt performed for us. It was one of those rare days when you realise how little you knew before you arrived.”

“I loved that the journey never felt like we were ticking off attractions. We met historians, monks, artisans and conservationists, and every conversation added another layer to what we were seeing. By the end I understood Bhutan in a completely different way.”

“The private camp near Royal Manas was a highlight, but what I remember most are the people. Sitting with a weaver in her home, talking with monks, meeting the family at Ugyen Choling. There was a sense throughout the trip that doors were being opened for us that normally remain closed.”

“I wrote more in those two weeks than I had in the previous six months. Bhutan gave me new things to write about, but more importantly, it gave me the time to actually write.”

“I loved that it wasn’t a writing retreat where you sit in a room all day. We were out meeting people, seeing extraordinary places and filling notebooks as we went.”

“Meeting Bhutanese writers and artists was one of the highlights for me. We talked about where ideas come from, what makes a story worth telling and how differently we all see the world.”

“I arrived with half an idea and no idea what to do with it. Somewhere between the long drives, conversations and mornings with my notebook, it started becoming a story.”