In a world where travellers can spot greenwashing from a mile away, the new luxury is restoration, not rhetoric. In Asia, a region of rich cultural heritage and fragile ecosystems, regenerative travel – an approach that not only sustains, but actively heals – is fast becoming the benchmark.
“Regeneration means going beyond maintaining the status quo to actively repair, replenish, and restore ecosystems, cultures and communities,” says Amanda Ho, co-founder of travel platform and marketplace Regenerative Travel, at the Asia Regenerative Travel Symposium in Singapore this July.
The philosophy is gaining momentum across the region, where independent hoteliers work alongside local communities to revive heritage crafts, restore degraded landscapes, and strengthen resilience for generations to come.
“For me, going beyond the norm was an ethical imperative,” says Melita Koulmandas, founder and CEO of Song Saa Private Island in Cambodia. “True luxury should offer a meaningful connection to the land, the sea, and the people who live there. My aspiration is that guests return home with new questions, commitments, and perhaps even new values.”
Across the continent, this ethos is redefining what it means to leave a place better than you found it. Here are five visionary properties that are consciously going off the beaten track.
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- MONGOLIA: THREE CAMEL LODGE
- NEPAL: THE DWARIKA’S, KATHMANDU
- CAMBODIA: SONG SAA PRIVATE ISLAND
- BHUTAN: GANGTEY LODGE, PHOBJIKHA VALLEY
- LADAKH: DOLKHAR
MONGOLIA: THREE CAMEL LODGE
Under the vast sapphire skies of Mongolia’s Gobi Desert, Three Camel Lodge offers travellers a rare chance to live among nomadic communities while treading lightly on the land. Every ger (yurt) on the property, a part of the Preferred Travel Group's Beyond Green portfolio, is handcrafted by local artisans, every meal highlights ingredients sourced from nearby farms, and every encounter – whether visiting herder families or watching traditional music and dance – connects guests to a culture that has thrived for centuries.
Its regenerative initiatives extend into the community and the wild, and include funding permanent water wells for herders, providing winter fodder in drought years, and actively promoting women into leadership roles to contribute to levelling the playing field. Its varied conservation partnerships protect endangered snow leopards via the reintroduction of native Bankhar dogs as a natural way to reduce human-wildlife conflict; safeguard golden eagles and Mongolia’s ancient falconry heritage; and have reforested the desert with over 12,000 trees. The lodge also supports palaeontology research, from funding expeditions to endowing scholarships, ensuring the country's natural and cultural heritage continues to be studied for generations to come.
threecamellodge.com
- MONGOLIA: THREE CAMEL LODGE
- NEPAL: THE DWARIKA’S, KATHMANDU
- CAMBODIA: SONG SAA PRIVATE ISLAND
- BHUTAN: GANGTEY LODGE, PHOBJIKHA VALLEY
- LADAKH: DOLKHAR
NEPAL: THE DWARIKA’S, KATHMANDU
The Dwarika’s in Kathmandu feels like a time capsule of Nepal’s soul. Intricately carved doorways, brass fixtures forged by local artisans and fragrant courtyards immerse guests in Kathmandu’s living traditions
Its origins trace back to the 1950s, when founder Dwarika Das Shrestha noticed how hand-carved wooden columns – living artefacts representing centuries of artistry – were stripped from old homes and used as firewood. Determined to save them, he began rescuing and restoring them, eventually creating a workshop where master carvers could pass on their skills to young apprentices. In 1972, his preservation project bloomed into a humble 10-room guesthouse.
Today, the property, now under the stewardship of his grandson Rene Vijay, has grown into a 2.5-acre, 80 key sanctuary that actively engages in initiatives to preserve heritage, nurture local skills, and support sustainable livelihoods with an all Nepali-team. Guests may enjoy tea with Vijay at the restoration workshop, dine on organic produce from the in-house farm, and maybe even sample native, heirloom crops that have been forgotten by modern, industrial farming.
dwarikas.com
- MONGOLIA: THREE CAMEL LODGE
- NEPAL: THE DWARIKA’S, KATHMANDU
- CAMBODIA: SONG SAA PRIVATE ISLAND
- BHUTAN: GANGTEY LODGE, PHOBJIKHA VALLEY
- LADAKH: DOLKHAR
CAMBODIA: SONG SAA PRIVATE ISLAND
Just 35 minutes by speedboat from Sihanoukville, arriving at Song Saa Private Island feels like slipping into a dream: Twin islands of emerald jungle and white sand, where overwater villas hover above glassy seas and rainforest trails hum with cicadas. It looks every inch the tropical idyll, but its roots are grounded in regeneration.
“When I first saw the islands, they were far from pristine – surrounded by a dying reef and covered in rubbish. But I didn’t see ruin; I saw potential,” recalls founder Koulmandas. That vision sparked one of Asia’s pioneering regenerative resorts, created together with local communities to restore ecosystems and livelihoods alike.
Guests can join marine biologists on reef surveys and patrols, kayak through protected mangroves, or visit villages where the Song Saa Foundation’s Boat of Hope missions bring healthcare, education, and environmental workshops to the locals. Knowing your stay helps safeguard 10,000 hectares of mangrove forest, fund school supplies, and support free annual medical care will no doubt add an understated richness to the barefoot luxury of the destination.
songsaa-privateisland.com
- MONGOLIA: THREE CAMEL LODGE
- NEPAL: THE DWARIKA’S, KATHMANDU
- CAMBODIA: SONG SAA PRIVATE ISLAND
- BHUTAN: GANGTEY LODGE, PHOBJIKHA VALLEY
- LADAKH: DOLKHAR
BHUTAN: GANGTEY LODGE, PHOBJIKHA VALLEY
Tucked into Bhutan’s remote Phobjikha Valley, Gangtey Lodge offers just 12 suites rooted in both nature and community. The valley itself is a conservation area and the winter home of the endangered black-necked crane, a bird so sacred it has inspired local folklore and annual festivals.
As part of the Small Luxury Hotels of the World Considerate Collection, the lodge is a living emblem of connecting physically, spiritually, and emotionally with its surroundings. Sustainability is woven into everyday life, from annual tree-planting initiatives to donating recyclable materials for reuse by the valley’s school and monastery. Even the lodge’s energy-efficient fireplaces use sustainably sourced firewood.
Guests are invited to immerse in the rhythms of valley life through farmhouse visits to meet the Phobjibs, who still speak the ancient Nyenkha tongu; and the Gangteps, descendants of those who once served the lamas. Spiritual enrichment is close at hand: The 17th-century Gangtey Goenpa monastery and Shedra Buddhist college sit a short walk away, where one can join daily prayers, meditation classes or witness rituals based on centuries-old traditions.
gangteylodge.com
- MONGOLIA: THREE CAMEL LODGE
- NEPAL: THE DWARIKA’S, KATHMANDU
- CAMBODIA: SONG SAA PRIVATE ISLAND
- BHUTAN: GANGTEY LODGE, PHOBJIKHA VALLEY
- LADAKH: DOLKHAR
LADAKH: DOLKHAR
For Rigzin Lachic, the boutique hotel Dolkhar is an answer to her grandmother’s lifelong question: “Will your education help give back to the people of our land?” After years abroad, Lachic returned to Ladakh following her grandmother’s passing, determined to honour a legacy of living in harmony with nature.
She converted the land where her grandmother’s property was located into the hotel – the old house was no longer structurally sound, but they repurposed as many of the materials as possible, like the wooden window panels and the stone from the original home.
Today, seven villas rise from locally sourced earth, willow, poplar, and stone, shaped by over 40 Ladakhi artisans. Interiors feature locally sourced woven textiles and repurposed timber, all created based on centuries-old craft techniques.
Here, regenerative travel is tangible: Each stay supports community livelihoods, revives local craft, and nurtures the land by spurring a return to organic farming methods. She reflects, “Tourism, though responsible for about eight per cent of global carbon emissions, is also what has enabled development in Ladakh – from better livelihoods to conservation of culture and craft. We must rethink tourism, not as a problem to eliminate, but as a system to realign.”
dolkharladakh.com
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