Tip Sheet.

Byline: Ron Gluckman, Sue Caporlingua, Marialuisa Plassmann

TRAVEL

Adventures In Luxury

By Ron Gluckman

The Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan remains one of the most remote places on earth. Sealed until the mid-1970s, Bhutan allows in just a trickle of tourists; less than 7,000 visited last year. All bookings must be made through travel companies in Bhutan or a handful of overseas agents. The kingdom has few hotels and is served by only one airline, the national carrier Druk Air, which has two 70-seat planes.

Slowly, it's becoming more accessible. Under the leadership of its forward-thinking king, Jigme Singye Wangchuck, Bhutan got television, and was first wired to the Internet, only within the last five years. Now, with the king's blessing, two luxury hotel chains are opening new resorts. Aman, a boutique chain with ultraposh resorts in Bali and Phuket, just opened Amankora Paro (www.amanresorts.com), the first of what will become six Bhutanese properties. Aman is investing $20 million, importing everything from earth-moving equipment to glass and linens. "Logistics are unbelievable," says spokeswoman Trina Dingler Ebert. "We have to move everything in overland from India."

No wonder the Amankora Paro, located 20 minutes outside the capital of Paro, costs $1,000 a day for lodging and exclusive tours. The 24 suites feature wood-paneled interiors and king-size beds, with dazzling views of the ruins of a 17th-century fortress and the 7,300-meter Mount Jhomolhari. By December, when properties open in Punakha, Bumthang, Thimphu and Gante, rates for lodging and a week's trekking around the kingdom will soar to $9,500 per couple--not including airfare. Still, bookings are brisk, Ebert says. "A lot of people wanted to go to Bhutan for so long but just didn't know how."