Gomo Adventures is a Bhutanese company, licensed and based in Thimphu, founded in 2008 by Punap Ugyen Wangchuk. Gomo is one of Bhutan’s guardian deities, and the ancestral protector of Ugyen’s family.
Ugyen began guiding in 2002, after thirteen years as a monk. Six years later he founded Gomo to create the kind of journeys he wanted to guide: private, unhurried, and built around real encounters rather than a checklist of sights. Nearly two decades on, almost every journey we run is still designed from scratch.
Every journey is designed around the people taking it. Some travellers come for the festivals and some for the mountains; some for photography, food, painting or meditation; many simply to understand a country that has chosen a different path. Tell us what interests you and we’ll shape Bhutan around it.
We care about how tourism lands here. Bhutan’s policy of high-value, low-impact travel is one we believe in, and we work with locally owned lodges, farm stays and village homestays wherever we can. Ugyen designed the Wangdue Eco-Lodge to show how traditional architecture can sit lightly in the landscape, and the Punakha district is now developing community-based tourism from an idea of his, so that more of what travellers spend reaches the villages they visit.
Founder & lead guide
Punap Ugyen Wangchuk
Ugyen grew up in a close-knit farming community in Thambji, in the Punakha valley – hence ‘Punap’, a nod to his birthplace. He spent thirteen years as a monk, an education that still shapes how he guides: the warm welcome he receives at monasteries across the country is earned.
He has travelled the length of Bhutan since 1997 and became a cultural guide in 2002. A chance meeting with a visiting photographer at nineteen had already sparked a love of photography, and over twenty years he has become one of Bhutan’s best-known photographers. The Royal Government asked him to photograph the Royal Wedding, the Coronation of the Fifth King and the SAARC summit in Bhutan – work he gave for free. He has guided His Majesty’s personal guests, and his images have been used on Bhutanese postcards and in books.
Ugyen is the author of the Authentic Bhutanese Cookbook and Bhutan Portrait and Landscape, and is working on The Essence of Bhutan, a book of his photography. Bhutan’s Department of Tourism profiled him in its series celebrating people in hospitality.
2002Began guiding
2008Founded Gomo
2011Royal Wedding photographer
The people you travel with
Ugyen and the team
A small Bhutanese team, most of whom have worked with Ugyen for years. On a private journey you have your own guide and driver throughout; Ugyen guides many journeys himself and plans every one.
Punap Ugyen Wangchuk
Founder & lead guide
Born in Thambji in the Punakha valley, Ugyen spent thirteen years as a monk before he began guiding in 2002. He founded Gomo in 2008 and plans every journey.
Kuendhen
Guide
Ugyen's son, and a licensed guide.
Rinzin Namgyel
Culture & trekking guide
Rinzin guides our cultural journeys and treks, and the foraging journeys of Bhutan Mushroom Tours.
Tashi Dorji
Guide
Kinzang
Driver
Tashi
Driver
Wangdi
Driver
Sonam
Driver
Ugyen Wangchuk immediately placed into my top three guides of all time. His range of knowledge, across nature, religion, myth, history and culture, runs very deep.
Ruaridh Nicoll, travel writer
How we travel
High value, low impact
Bhutan’s tourism policy is one we believe in. We work with locally owned lodges, farm stays and village homestays wherever we can, so that more of what travellers spend reaches the places they visit.
Traditional building
Ugyen designed the Wangdue Eco-Lodge to show how traditional Bhutanese architecture can sit lightly in the landscape.
Community tourism
He is developing community-based tourism in the Punakha region, where he grew up, with village families as hosts.
Bhutanese hands
Our guides, drivers, cooks and crews are Bhutanese, and so are almost all the places you’ll stay.
Friends abroad
Our partners around the world
We work with a small group of friends and specialists abroad who know Bhutan well and help travellers plan with confidence.
James Wigdel
Honu Adventures · San Diego, USA
James met Ugyen more than twenty years ago in Hawaii. His company, Honu Adventures, helps American travellers plan authentic journeys to Bhutan with Gomo.
Jody J. Ballard & Dr Roy J. Panzarella
Strategic Wellness Group · Honolulu, USA
A therapist and painter, and a leadership coach with thirty years abroad, Jody and Roy bring a focus on wellbeing and cultural intelligence.
Joerg Huber
FernAktiv-Reisen · Germany
For more than twenty years Joerg’s company has designed private journeys to distant countries for German-speaking travellers.
Bhutan Mushroom Tours
Co-founded by Ugyen · bhutanmushroomtours.com
Small-group foraging journeys in Bhutan’s mushroom season, with village foragers and the National Mushroom Centre, run with Gomo on the ground.
Reviews
What our guests say
As a travel writer, I work with guides (and photographers) on a monthly, often weekly basis. Ugyen Wangchuk, who I met on an extraordinary and constantly evolving journey for the Financial Times, immediately placed into my top three guides of all time. His range of knowledge, across nature, religion, myth, history and culture, runs very deep. It emerges naturally and gently.
"My wife and I have travelled extensively internationally. Our time with Ugen
and Gomo Adventures was one of the best adventures we have ever had. Every
detail was attended to. At the outset we were presented with a detailed
itinerary printed on beautiful handmade paper. Ugyen was not afraid to
change this itinerary when even better opportunities arose. For example, we
had an unplanned visit with an 11year old Lama, the reincarnation of the
mind! I looking forward to the day I can return to beautiful Bhutan and stay
in Ugyen's brand new ecolodge."READ MORE
My wife and I have travelled extensively internationally. Our time with Ugyen and Gomo Adventures was one of the best adventures we have ever had. Every detail was attended to. At the outset we were presented with a detailed itinerary printed on beautiful handmade paper. Ugyen was not afraid to change this itinerary when even better opportunities arose – for example, an unplanned visit with an eleven-year-old lama.
"I travelled Bhutan for two weeks in March 2023. I am a professional photographer and was recommended Ugyen, who has worked as a guide and a photographer for two decades. Ugyen is a standout Bhutanese travel guide whose dedication and expertise make him an invaluable asset to any traveler. His deep knowledge of Bhutanese culture and tradition is evident in every interaction. "READ MORE
I travelled Bhutan for two weeks in March 2023. I am a professional photographer and was recommended Ugyen, who has worked as a guide and a photographer for two decades. Ugyen is a standout Bhutanese travel guide whose dedication and expertise make him an invaluable asset to any traveller.
"Discovering Bhutan through the lens of a camera was an unforgettable experience, all thanks to my incredible guide, Ugyen. His deep knowledge of Bhutan's rich culture, breathtaking landscapes, and hidden gems made every moment a photography and travel enthusiast's dream come true.” READ MORE
Ugyen brings a traveller into the heart and soul of Bhutan. His knowledge of the history, culture, and spirituality of Bhutan is outstanding. His infectious laughter adds warmth and joy to this unique opportunity. His attention to detail makes the experience seamless.
"Ugyen Wangchuk, popularly known as Punap Ugyen Wangchuk - a nod to his birthplace, Punakha - is a tourist guide who is also an accomplished and passionate photographer. For most people, it’s their love for a craft that takes them on their career journey, but Punap Ugyen Wangchuk believes that it was fate that led him to photography and guiding."READ MORE
Enquire
Travel with us
Tell us a little about your plans and we’ll reply personally, usually within a day.