Four-star One MICHELIN Key Upper Motithang, Thimphu, Thimphu
Zhiwaling Ascent
Twenty rooms on the ridge at Upper Motithang, designed by an Austrian architect to catch the sun all day, with an open-air bar on the roof that looks over the whole Thimphu valley.
Opens the hotel's own website. We have no arrangement with the hotel.
- MICHELIN
- One Key, new in 2026
- Rooms
- 20
- Opened
- 2017
- From the airport
- About 54 km from Paro
The hotel
A Bhutanese and Austrian house.
Zhiwaling Ascent opened in 2017, the sister of Zhiwaling in Paro, and Bhutan's tourism register calls it the country's first contemporary concept hotel. The Austrian architect Irene Ott-Reinisch drew it with Bhutanese partners, and the rooms were laid out to take in sunlight from morning to evening. It is wholly Bhutanese owned and run. There are twenty rooms in all, and the MICHELIN Guide added the house to its selection in 2026 with one Key.
It stands at Upper Motithang, on a ridge at the edge of the capital, next to the Royal Institute for Tourism and Hospitality, whose trainees work alongside the staff. Inside, the rooms are wooden and spare, with furniture and textiles made in Bhutan. On the roof, an open-air bar looks out across the valley in every direction. Downstairs there is a small spa with a sauna and a jacuzzi.
- Roof terrace An open-air bar under the roof with a 360-degree view of the Thimphu valley. Meals can be served up there too.
- Wellness A small spa, a sauna, a jacuzzi and a yoga room that turns into a cinema at night.
- Bicycles Bikes for guests to ride around Thimphu.
Good to know
Before you go.
- Arrival Check-in and check-out are both at noon.
- Children Welcome. Under-fives sharing their parents' room stay free with breakfast.
- Pets Not accepted.
Getting there
Flying to Thimphu.
Every flight into Bhutan lands at Paro, about 54 kilometres away by road; allow an hour and a half to two hours to reach Upper Motithang, our estimate. Paro opens from sunrise to sunset only, and private jets need Bhutan's approval and a crew certified for the approach.
- Kathmandu 50 min
- Kolkata 1 h 00
- Delhi 1 h 55
- Bangkok 2 h 50
- Dubai 4 h 50
Questions
What guests ask first.
- Does Zhiwaling Ascent have a MICHELIN Key?
- Yes, one Key. It entered the MICHELIN selection in 2026.
- How far is Zhiwaling Ascent from Paro airport?
- About 54 kilometres by road, an hour and a half to two hours by our estimate.
- Is Zhiwaling Ascent related to Zhiwaling in Paro?
- Yes, it is the sister hotel, also Bhutanese owned.
- Can SkyCourtage arrange the flight to Thimphu?
- Yes. We arrange Business and First Class seats on scheduled airlines and private jet charter to Thimphu, with one final price, our margin included. The hotel is booked with the hotel or through our booking partner.
Also in Thimphu
Other hotels worth the trip.
- Pemako Thimphu The former Taj Tashi, Bhutan’s first five-star hotel when it opened in 2008, in a building modelled on a dzong.
- Amankora Thimphu One of the five Amankora lodges, which share two MICHELIN Keys across western and central Bhutan.
- Six Senses Thimphu The capital’s lodge of Six Senses Bhutan, with hilltop views over the city and its own spa.
- Le Méridien Thimphu A modern hotel of 78 rooms within walking distance of the town’s markets and museums, its pool heated and under cover.
Staying at Zhiwaling Ascent?
Book the room, then the flight.
Rates and availability come from the hotel itself. For the journey to Thimphu, a Business or First Class seat or an aircraft of your own: tell us the date and we come back with one final price, our margin included.
Opens the hotel's own website. We have no arrangement with the hotel.