For those enamored of First World comforts, traveling the circuit of an eventual half-dozen Amankoras will be the only way to see the world's last surviving Himalayan Buddhist kingdoma heady mix of disquieting verticality, palpable spiritual energy, and unrivaled exclusivity (only 9,500 outsiders were permitted entry last year). Apart from experiencing the trademark Aman treatment (flawless service, understated luxe surroundings), guests are furnished with a full-time guide and driveressential in a country traversed mainly via a single-lane, guardrail-less road bracketed by a sheer cliff face and a precipitous drop-off. Above all, what a ticket aboard the Aman express buys is access: no chorten, nunnery, temple, or dzong (the nation's signature fortress-monasteries) is off-limits. And in a country widely thought to have the world's worst cuisine, chef Brandon Huisman's yak tartare is itself worth the trip.
When to go: April, when the rhododendron forests are in bloom.
Which room to book: Of the 24 rooms, even numbers up to 18 afford the best views of Drugytel Dzong and the surrounding Himalayas