Upcoming Retreat · March 2027
Eight days in the country that dared to ask a different question: what if the true measure of progress is not GDP, but Gross National Happiness? We travel with Luis Miguel Gallardo — not as tourists, but as students of consciousness, wellbeing, and conscious leadership.
The Invitation
In 1972, His Majesty the Fourth King of Bhutan asked that question — and then did something extraordinary: he built a country around the answer. Bhutan developed a national framework rooted in wellbeing, cultural preservation, environmental stewardship, and collective flourishing.
GNH is not a philosophy or a marketing line. It is measured, governed, budgeted for. Every policy passes through a wellbeing screen. Education, urbanism, forestry, business — all sit under the same question: does this contribute to the flourishing of all sentient beings?
GNH in numbers
The Eight Days
Descent into the Paro valley — one of the world's most beautiful landings, threaded between Himalayan peaks. Opening circle at sunset. First taste of Bhutanese hospitality. We set the intention that will hold the whole journey: to travel not as tourists, but as students of a country that has organised itself around wellbeing.
We cross the Dochula pass, where 108 stupas and hundreds of prayer flags send merit out to all sentient beings. On a clear day, seven-thousand-metre summits stand at attention. Descent to fertile Punakha and its fortress-monastery at the confluence of the Mother and Father rivers.
Overland to Phobjikha, a wide glacial valley of extraordinary beauty and one of the last winter homes of the endangered black-necked crane. Silence practice in the pines. Evening dharma talk with a resident monk on impermanence and belonging.
The road climbs back through the Black Mountains toward Thimphu — the only capital in the world without traffic lights. Afternoon orientation to Gross National Happiness as a governing framework: its four pillars, nine domains, and the way it shapes education, urban planning, and public policy.
Guided visit and conversation at the GNH Centre — the institution that operationalises the GNH Index for the Royal Government. We meet researchers and practitioners, and study how a nation measures collective flourishing beyond GDP. Group dialogue: what would our own organisations look like if wellbeing were the metric?
A day with the Bhutan Teachers of Happiness initiative — the country's programme to weave wellbeing, emotional resilience, compassion and inner development into everyday classroom life. We do not observe from a distance: we sit in circles with teachers, share our own practice, and contribute to the Schools of Happiness field.
Sunrise pilgrimage to Taktsang — the Tiger's Nest — the monastery clinging to a cliff nine hundred metres above the valley floor. Each traveller carries a small marble egg from home: a symbolic seed of what they are ready to consecrate, release, or begin. In the outer temple, we place, bless, or take the egg back — a private rite inside the Thunder Dragon's country, completing the Nine Paths to One journey.
Morning meditation and closing circle in Paro. We leave with a written integration plan, a personal GNH map, and the felt memory of a country that dared to measure a different kind of wealth. Departure from Paro.
We travel with purpose
A central part of this expedition is our connection with the Bhutan Teachers of Happiness initiative. Participants directly support and engage with educators, schools, and local leaders exploring wellbeing in education, emotional resilience, compassion, inner development, and conscious leadership. The journey becomes contribution.
The inner journey
Bhutan calls itself Druk Yul — the Land of the Thunder Dragon. In its mysticism, the outer landscape mirrors an inner one: nine paths of contemplative practice — devotion, ethics, mind, service, wisdom, energy, presence, compassion and surrender — all converging into a single luminous point of Fundamental Peace.
Each traveller receives a small polished marble egg at the opening circle. Through the eight days it is carried in the pocket, blessed at Punakha, silenced at Phobjikha, tempered in the Thimphu circles — and finally borne up the cliff to Taktsang. There, each of us places the egg on a chosen ledge, or carries it home: a symbolic seed of what we came to consecrate, release, or begin.
What's included
€4,999 per person in double room. Pay in full or in 3 instalments of €1,699 (all completed before February 1, 2027). International flights not included.
Reserve your place
March 27 – April 3, 2027. Small circle so the container remains close, cared for, and transformative. Pay in full, or in 3 instalments of €1,699 — all three completed before February 1, 2027.
€4,999
One payment · double room · your place is confirmed instantly.
€1,699 × 3
Pay the first instalment now to secure your seat. The second and third are paid manually and must all be completed before February 1, 2027.
International flights not included. Single-room supplement available on request via the form below.
Have a question?
About visas, fitness, dietary needs, payment plans, or simply whether Bhutan is the right journey for you now. Luis or his team will reply personally within two working days.
