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Five-star Kabesa, Punakha valley, Punakha

COMO Uma Punakha

Ten rooms and villas on a rise above the Mo Chhu, a wood stove in the restaurant and terraced fields running down to the river.

Book with the hotel for COMO Uma Punakha (opens in a new tab) Fly to Punakha

Opens the hotel's own website. We have no arrangement with the hotel.

Rooms
Ten rooms and villas
Opened
September 2012
Architect
Cheong Yew Kwan
From the airport
About five hours from Paro

The hotel

COMO's second lodge in Bhutan.

COMO was among the first luxury hotel groups in Bhutan, with Uma Paro, and on 15 September 2012 it opened this second lodge at the entrance to the Punakha valley. The site is a hill above the Mo Chhu, looking over terraced fields, and the last stretch of road up to it is rough going. It opened with eleven rooms, including a one-bedroom villa and a two-bedroom villa for families; today there are ten rooms and villas, all facing the valley.

Cheong Yew Kwan, the Bali-based architect behind COMO Shambhala Estate and Uma Ubud, kept the building plain: pale walls, large beds, wood-burning stoves and panels painted by hand in the Bhutanese way. Guides from the lodge lead hikes to the temples of the valley, rafting on the river and cycling. The COMO Shambhala Retreat adds massage and a traditional Bhutanese bath heated with hot stones.

  • Hot-stone bath The COMO Shambhala Retreat pairs massage with a traditional Bhutanese bath heated with river stones.
  • Bukhari The restaurant takes its name from the Bhutanese wood stove and cooks Bhutanese and international dishes from valley produce.
  • COMO Villa garden The two-bedroom villa sits in its own glade of azaleas, rhododendrons, camellias and hydrangeas.

Rooms & suites

The valley from every window.

All ten rooms and villas look over the Punakha valley and the Mo Chhu.

  • Room Valley Room 27 to 34 square metres, with a lounge, a bathtub and a separate shower facing the river.
  • One bedroom One-bedroom Villa 51 square metres, with a separate living room and a terrace facing the sunset.
  • Two bedrooms COMO Villa 90 square metres, two bedrooms with their own bathrooms, a walk-in dressing room and a butler.

Recognition

Listed by the travel press.

  • Condé Nast Traveler Readers' Choice 2025, No. 2 among resorts in Asia
  • Condé Nast Traveller Gold List 2024
  • Tatler Travel Guide, 101 Best Hotels in the World 2024

Good to know

Before you go.

  • Arrival Paro is the only international airport. Allow most of a day for the drive over the Dochula pass.
  • Sister lodge COMO Uma Paro, five hours away by road, is the group's other hotel in Bhutan.

Getting there

Flying to Punakha.

All flights into Bhutan land at Paro, scheduled or private, and private jets need approval from the authorities first. From Paro the hotel gives about five hours by road; from Thimphu it is two and a half to three hours over Dochula.

Business & First Class Scheduled flights Scheduled seats into Bhutan are sold by its two carriers, Drukair and Bhutan Airlines, from Bangkok, Singapore, Dubai, Delhi, Kolkata, Kathmandu and Dhaka. There is no nonstop flight from Europe. Request a fare Private Jet Private jets Private jets fly into Paro once the authorities have approved the flight. The airport works in daylight and good visibility only, on a runway of 1,964 m, and only specially certified pilots may land there. Request a jet
Approximate flying time by midsize jet to Punakha
  • Kathmandu 50 min
  • Kolkata 1 h 00
  • Delhi 1 h 55
  • Bangkok 2 h 50
  • Singapore 4 h 40

Questions

What guests ask first.

How many rooms does COMO Uma Punakha have?
Ten in all: Valley Rooms, One-bedroom Villas and the two-bedroom COMO Villa.
Does COMO Uma Punakha hold a MICHELIN Key?
No. In the 2025 selection for Bhutan, the Keys went to Gangtey Lodge, Amankora and Six Senses Bhutan.
How long is the drive from Paro airport?
About five hours by road, the hotel says, over the Dochula pass via Thimphu.
Can SkyCourtage arrange the flight to Punakha?
Yes. We arrange Business and First Class seats on scheduled airlines and private jet charter to Punakha, with one final price, our margin included. The hotel is booked with the hotel or through our booking partner.

Also in Punakha

Other hotels worth the trip.

All of Punakha

Staying at COMO Uma Punakha?

Book the room, then the flight.

Rates and availability come from the hotel itself. For the journey to Punakha, 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.

Book with the hotel for COMO Uma Punakha (opens in a new tab)
Business & First Private Jet

Opens the hotel's own website. We have no arrangement with the hotel.