History, culture, serenity, and one of the most unique stays in the kingdom

Deep in the heart of central Bhutan’s Tang Valley, the Ogyen Choling Manor & Museum is an ancient 14th-century fortress that offers one of the country’s most authentic lodging experiences.

Originally home to regional rulers and nobility, Ogyen Choling today is run by Ashi Kunzang Choden Roder, the 20th-generation descendant of the founders, and her Swiss Forester husband, Walter Roder.

Together, the couple have reinvigorated this ancient Bhutanese landmark as a startlingly unique lodge, offering one of the rarest opportunities in travel—a genuine homestay infused with intimate local history, culture, and communal regeneration. Ashi Kunzang, as she’s affectionately known, lived, studied, and worked in various places around the world, including Nebraska in the U.S., Laos, India, and the Philippines. She is a celebrated Bhutanese author and literary figure who has produced such popular books as “The Circle of Karma,” “Bhutanese Tales of the Yeti,” and “Dawa: The Story of a Stray Dog in Bhutan.”

The guest house wing of Ogyen Choling offers environmentally conscious resource use, engagement with the local community, and authentic guest experiences. Solar power provides most of the heating, plastic bottles are discouraged, and the restaurant and guest services use only local produce grown on the grounds, with most items of daily life made within the immediate radius of the historic building. The full-fledged folk museum on the grounds has one of the most comprehensive collections in the country.

Accommodations include the Tshamkhang, or Hermitage, an independent cottage overlooking the Tang Valley with two bedrooms and a shared living room with a wood-burning stove; the Nubgothang or West Gate Field, with four rooms; the Shagor (two-storied building enclosing the central tower), which has eight guest rooms. All rooms have individual heating facilities, some with traditional wood-burning stoves unique to the region, called Bukhari, and others with electric heaters. All rooms have attached toilets and showers, with sanitary installations from Switzerland. (When traveling with us, you can only choose the rooms if booked a year or 12 months in advance. Fortunately, every type of accommodation comes with different noteworthy qualities, which is one of the delights of staying here.

Visitors can easily spend several days at this beautiful lodge relaxing amid the tranquil surroundings of Ogyen Choling, exploring the museum, walking to the several highly significant Buddhist sites and temples scattered around the valley, learning about and exploring the village folkways of agriculture and weaving; visiting the holy meditation cave of Longchen Rabjam, the 14th-century Buddhist teacher believed to have initially founded Ogyen Choling; and attending cooking classes, lectures and interactive sessions on various topics such as culture, gender, agriculture, storytelling, and weaving history, when periodically in session.