Unique Places to Stay in Asia

While we always love boutique city hotels and beautiful beachfront resorts, sometimes all you want to do is get off that beaten path and stay somewhere really different.

Our friends at bespoke travel agency Lightfoot Travel have compiled their top unique experiences around Asia – take your pick!

Beijing’s Great Wall by Campervan – Beijing, China

Head off the beaten track and escape the crowds in an overnight campervan! Depart the big city lights of Beijing as you immerse yourself in the scenic countryside, enjoying fantastic views and visiting small villages along the way. Visit less discovered sections of the Great Wall, without seeing any other tourists for miles! After a day exploring the wall, park for the night next to a beautiful lake for an evening’s stay. You will be made a simple dinner of Chinese cuisine by your guide and driver, before bedding down for the evening.

Chamba Camp Thiksey – Ladakh, India

Chamba Camp Thiksey is a very special place! Ladakh: the very name conjures up visions of stunning, vibrant colours; ancient monasteries; cobalt blue lakes; high altitude passes and nomadic tribes across an arid landscape surrounded by snow-capped mountains. Chamba Camp has a unique setting in a desert valley in the Himalayas, with fantastic views for miles around. The camp is made up of a number of tented camps, beautifully designed with huge beds, hot showers and amazing 360 degree views! There is an abundance of activities on offer here, including rafting, hiking, visiting monasteries, archery and visiting local villages.

Norden Camp – Gansu Province, China

Norden Camp provides a unique and special way to immerse yourself in the Tibetan countryside in comfort and style. Located 20 minutes from Labrang, a famous monastic town, venture off the beaten track to experience Tibetan culture and their famous hospitality in a beautiful setting. The camp site is a winter grazing ground for nomads that borders a winding river, and is home to many animals and birds. The camp features pine log cabins, as well as handwoven yak Khulu tents, offering something for everyone. There is a wide range of activities, including beautiful hikes, horse riding, visiting local Tibetan villages, and exploring historic monasteries.

Karnali Lodge – Bardia National Park, Nepal

Karnali Lodge is a beautiful escape where one can unwind and relax in a remote area of Bardia, just outside the national park. Accompanied by one of the lodge’s expert naturalists, explore the park on foot, or head out by jeep to experience the ultimate river safari. Keep an eye out for an Asiatic elephant, a mighty tiger or a svelte leopard. Or instead choose to unwind in the sunny garden, the small library, or the comfortable rooms, built in the traditional Nepalese way using packed mud, giving the Lodge a very unique and authentic feel. The Lodge also has an elephant stable, with 10 of their own elephants who guests can bathe and feed; this will not disappoint!

Chena Huts – Yala National Park, Sri Lanka

Chena Huts is a unique and exciting new property in Sri Lanka that is both a safari experience and beachfront resort. In Sri Lanka’s deep south, the rustic farming villages round Tissamaharama are divided from the teeming animal and bird life of Yala, by a belt of semi-protected jungle running down to the sea. For centuries, people here have farmed small clearings in the jungle called chena, sleeping beside their crops in modest huts to protect them from hungry elephants. Overlooking a beach where sea-turtles come to lay eggs by moonlight and elephants wander down from the nearby jungle to play in the surf, Chena Huts is fringed on one landward side by tropical jungle and on the other by a saline lake where ibises, painted storks and even flamingos may be seen!

Lamima Private Yacht – Indonesia

Lamima Private Yacht sails through various regions of Indonesia including Raja Ampat and the Komodo Islands, and features four luxurious cabins sleeping 10-12 guests. There are a ton of activities for kids both on and off the boat including kite-making, crab races on the beach, wildlife-spotting, kayaking, snorkeling, kneeboarding, and there are also films and board games in the chill out area. It’s an incredible experience cruising through some of Indonesia’s most remote and diverse areas, pulling into deserted coves and sailing up to isolated beaches.

4 Rivers Lodge – Koh Kong, Cambodia

This eco escape combines nature and outdoor activity with luxury accommodation, offering peace and quiet, surrounded by virgin forest, rare orchards and fragrant frangipani. 4 Rivers Lodge engages the local community in promoting an environmentally aware footprint. Start your day waking up to the sights and muted sounds of the Cardamom mountains. As the mist clears over the water, there is little to disturb the natural calm other than the plop and splash of a feeding fish, the startled cry of a far-off bird and the growl of a predator returning home after a kill.