‘World’s happiest country’ is to open huge international airport in surprising move – see its incredible design including yoga rooms and a forest

The ‘world’s happiest country’ known for having minimal tourists is set to open a huge international airport.

Bhutan, a landlocked country in between India and China will open a new airport decked out with yoga rooms and sound bath zones. 

Gelephu International Airport will boast massive gardens and an open-air forest called the Forest Spine, which will split the domestic and international terminals.

It will also feature yoga spaces, outdoor lounges, meditation and sound bath areas. 

The airport designs show it will be made out of a series of wooden diamond structures, replicating a mountain range. 

While this will be the country’s second international airport, there are currently no direct flights from the UK to Bhutan – so this may pave the way for an influx of British tourists.

The airport will have the capacity for 123 flights a day, with a maximum of 1.3million passengers annually. 

An ambitious figure for a country that only has around 316,000 tourists a year. 

The airport designs show it will be made out of a series of wooden diamond structures, replicating a mountain range

Gelephu International Airport will boast massive gardens and an open-air forest called the Forest Spine, which will split the domestic and international terminals

Gelephu International Airport will also feature yoga spaces, outdoor lounges, meditation and sound bath zones

Most long-haul flights land into Paro International Airport in the city of Thimpu, which is the country’s capital. 

But only a few flights can land a day, most of which are short-haul, because it is located close to a mountain range. 

Gelephu is in southern Bhutan, near the border of India, making it more accessible. 

The architecture firm, The Bjarke Ingels Group, who designed the airport said it has been created to embrace Bhutan’s ethos of ‘gross national happiness’ – which uses residents well-being as a measure for quality of life. 

Founder and Creative Director Bjarke Ingels, said: ‘An airport is the first and last impression you get of a place you visit.

‘For the Gelephu International Airport, we have tried to embody the nature and culture of the country and the Mindfulness City.

‘The forests that cover the highlands are allowed to flow from the arrival plaza through the airport to the tarmac.’

Bhutan is considered the ‘world’s happiest country’ because of its Gross National Happiness Index.

The airport will have the capacity for 123 flights a day, with a maximum of 1.3million passengers annually

The architecture firm, The Bjarke Ingels Group, who designed the airport said it has been created to embrace Bhutan’s ethos of ‘gross national happiness’

The cost of the airport is unconfirmed but it could be as much as £178million with the hope to open it in 2029

The Gelephu International Airport has been designed to embrace ‘the nature and culture of the country’

Pictured: Bhutan’s King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck and Queen Jetsun Pema 

The index takes into consideration psychological well-being, health, education, governance, ecology, use of time, culture, living standards and community vitality to measure the population’s collective happiness. 

The cost of the airport is unconfirmed but it could be as much as £178million with the hope to open it in 2029.

Despite its complex location, several members of the royal family have visited Bhutan including King Charles in 1998 and the Prince of Wales and the Princess of Wales in 2016. 

Bhutan also has a royal family King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck and Queen Jetsun Pema, who has been dubbed the Kate Middleton.

Often hailed as ‘the most attractive royal couple in the world’, Queen Jetsun Pema and King Jigme Khesar have three young children – Prince Jigme Namgyel Wangchuck, Prince Jigme Ugyen Wangchuck, and Princess Sonam Yangden Wangchuck.