“Where?”

My friend looks at me quizzically.

“Bhutan. It’s a kingdom in the Himalayas,” I said, not realising that I was – at this point – pronouncing it entirely incorrectly wrong (fyi: lean heavily into an ‘ahn’ sound when hitting the second syllable).

“Oh,” she says with a smirk. “So no Ibiza this year?”

I’m aware this has become my trademark. A jaunt to Glastonbury Festival swiftly followed by a blowout on the White Isle. It was the first thing I did post-pandemic. But, in that summer of 2022, the whole sequence, while fun, felt… a little unfulfilling.

I’m not alone in feeling this.

Research taken from the Wishing Wall – an interactive installation at our 2022 Stylist Live event where guests shared their hopes for the year ahead – showed that one in five Stylist women have completely changed their priorities in the last two years, with 60% saying they now want to concentrate on having more meaningful experiences. Words such as ‘exploration’ and ‘adventure’ were used repeatedly. It’s clear that when it comes to holidays, we’re all looking for something more.

Which brings me back to Bhutan. With a rich history rooted in Buddhism, ancient temples (called dzongs) and pine-covered mountainous vistas that look like something pulled from the pages of a fairy-tale book – is it any wonder that this magical place is fast becoming one of the most talked-about locations to help people reawaken the sense of adventure they’re so lacking?

So, I decided to spend six days exploring the Kingdom of Bhutan, and arguably, myself. Here’s what I learned.

“I made a vow to reclaim my sense of adventure in 2023. Here’s how a trip to Bhutan helped me do just that”