Top 7 Wellness Retreats in India To Heal And Rediscover Yourself
Travelling is a great way to take a break from the daily monotonies of life. Especially after being stuck at home during the Covid-19 lockdown, people all over the world are hoping to take a vacation every time they get a chance. We all need a break every now and then, right?
Wellness resorts have been there for quite some time now. Tourists from all around the world come looking for some of the best wellness retreats in India as the country is known for its cultural richness and age-old traditions of healing treatments that it offers. From yoga and meditation to Ayurveda and Naturopathy, you can enjoy whatever you want from many affordable wellness retreats in India.
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What are Wellness Retreats?
Wellness retreats are usually set in calm and serene locations that are far away from busy cities. Generally, these wellness retreats promote physical, mental and spiritual well-being by letting you connect with nature. Since they promote a sense of calmness and tranquillity, they are located in mountains, jungles, beaches, or the countryside. They offer residential programmes in which you can stay at these retreats and completely cleanse and heal your body, mind and soul. They can be a 2-day getaway or even extend for a month, depending on your needs!
Benefits of Wellness Retreats
Wellness retreats differ a lot from each other. However, there are some basic and primary purposes of visiting one. Here are a few benefits of wellness retreats that you can enjoy, no matter which one you go to:
1. Time to reflect: Taking a break and going to a wellness retreat gives you that much-needed time you have been wanting all your life. You can finally sit back, think, and make more meaningful decisions while also being excited about life.
2. Healthy way of stress control: Each one of us deals with stress in different ways. While not all ways can be healthy (for example, stress eating junk food), going to wellness retreats gives us a healthy way to deal with stress (meditation, yoga, art, etc.).
3. Conscious way of life: Retreats help you live a healthier and more conscious life by letting you indulge in different kinds of healing therapies, yoga, meditation, healthy meals and a calming environment. After spending time in a wellness retreat, you will feel energised and have more clarity when you go back to your daily life.
4. Away from daily routine: Wellness retreats are founded for you to forget about the daily hustle and bustle of life. It is perfectly set up in serene and scenic locations for you to connect with nature and unwind. Some wellness resorts also offer small trips to the neighbourhoods, so that you can explore and experience new cultures.
5. Access to expert advice: Wellness retreats have a team of experienced experts who can help you in your journey of healing. These healing and counselling sessions are personalized according to your specific needs and conditions.
What Should You Do When You Are in Wellness Retreats?
Each wellness retreat is different from the other in every way, be it the classes, the facilities, the workshops, the treatments or the meal plans. But the overall idea of a wellness retreat is to improve your overall well-being through holistic healing and relaxation. Unlike other forms of travel, wellness retreats always promote healthy distractions.
A typical wellness retreat routine may include:
- A yoga session,
- Some fun hobby-type activities like painting, sculpting or dancing, a massage or
- An energy treatment,
- All accompanied by some delicious and nutritious food.
You will get to meet many like-minded people who can connect with you and your thoughts on a personal level since they are on the same journey as you.
Top 7 Wellness Retreats in India
Located in some exotic places in the country and surrounded by lush greenery and coastal water, these 7 wellness resorts in India will prove both your time and money worth spending:
1. Ananda in the Himalayas
Overlooking the city of Rishikesh and the Ganga Valley, Ananda is a luxurious spa resort located in Maharaja Tehri Garhwal’s royal estate. Surrounded by sal trees in the foothills of the Himalayas, Ananda heals you completely just with its soothing ambience. Guests can enjoy customized treatment packages along with healthy and organic cuisine.
Specialities: Visitors can choose from over 80 varieties of spa treatments and fitness facilities offered by the resort’s team of health and wellness experts. Some of them include abhyanga, shirodhara, shloka, takradhara, mukh lepa.
- Price: Starting at Rs.57,000 per night
- Address: The Palace Estate, Narendra Nagar, Uttarakhand 249175
- Amenities: Game room, pool, spa, gym, laundry, business services, hot tub, housekeeping, free WiFi, bar, room service, 24/7 help desk
2. Somatheeram Ayurveda Resort, Kerala
Kerala is often recognized as the center of Ayurvedic practice in India. Somatheeram Ayurveda Resort is located near the coastal waters of Kovalam on the 15 acres of Chowara Beach. Setting the perfect spa ambience, Somatheeram Resort offers a wide range of Ayurvedic treatments for the body, mind, and soul. There is also an Ayurveda hospital and Training Centre located inside the resort, that provides you with excellent treatments for your ailments.
Specialities: Visitors can truly rediscover themselves with yoga, meditation and other treatments offered by the resort. Somatheeram is also known for manufacturing its Ayurvedic medicines through locally-sourced herbs.
- Price: Starting at Rs.5000 per night
- Address: Chowara, PO, Kovalam, Kerala 695501
- Amenities: Pool, evening entertainment, airport transportation, spa, free WiFi, 24-hour security
Did you know?
Somatheeram Ayurveda Resort is a 3-time National Award winner as the Best Wellness Centre in India.
3. Shreyas Yoga Retreat, Bangalore, Karnataka
If you are reading this blog article from Bangalore International Airport or somewhere around there, you are only a one-hour drive away from Shreyas Yoga Retreat. Nestled in the midst of everything green and clean, this yoga retreat in Bangalore is the perfect blend of modern and traditional in terms of architecture, facilities, and ambience.
Once you have meditated inside the cozy huts, jogged alongside a stretch of breezy trees or tried your hand at natural farming, we bet you would not dream of leaving from here anytime soon!
Specialities: At Shreyas Yoga Retreat, Hatha and Ashtanga Yoga are practised. They also provide gourmet organic vegetarian cuisine, nature farming, community service and voluntourism, Ayurveda & spa treatments, cooking classes and village tours.
- Price: Starting at Rs.25,000 per night
- Address: 5C56+J7J, Santoshima Farm, Gollahalli Gate Nelamangala, Bengaluru, Karnataka 562123
- Amenities: Infinity pool and jacuzzi, library, an open-air amphitheatre, meditation huts, gym, jogging trail, home theatre
4. Ashiyana: Yoga and Spa Village, Goa
Just the word ‘Goa’ is enough to make us all feel relaxed and comfortable. It is a much-loved vacation spot by too many of us. To make Goa feel therapeutic in the literal sense, Ashiyana offers signature Holistic Yoga Therapy (HYT) for its visitors. Located along Goa’s Madrem Beach, Ashiyana’s Yoga and Spa Village lets you indulge in their tailor-made yoga and massage sessions.
If you are looking to kickstart a healthy lifestyle with some sun and sand, Ashiyana will hit just the right spots!
Specialities: Ashiyana offers a wide range of creative activities and workshops like AcroYoga, inversions, Yoga Nidra, karma yoga, painting, essential oils, and creative writing.
- Price: Starting at Rs.7000 per night
- Address: Junas Waddo, Mandrem, Goa 403527
- Amenities: Free breakfast, evening entertainment, yoga room, beach, pool, free WiFi, private balconies, airport transportation
5. Atmantan- Luxury Wellness Resort, Pune, Maharashtra
If you are tired of living in loud and noisy cities and badly crave some peaceful unwinding, you can head straight to Atmantan Health and Wellness Resort in Pune, Maharashtra. Located on the banks of Mulshi River in the Sahyadri mountain range, it is the perfect place for you to seek some peace and calm. Atmantan is a luxury spa resort that specializes in offering therapies rooted in both Ayurveda and western treatments.
The wellness resort houses more than 100 guest rooms and villas and offers mouth-watering cuisine that just makes your heart happy.
Atmantan has also won the World Spa Award for ‘Best Wellness Retreat in India’ and the Conde Nast Traveller award for Best Destination Spa.
Specialities: Some fun facilities include a high-tech gym, spinning studio, saltwater pool, yoga, pilates and dance studios.
- Price: Starting at Rs.16,000 per night
- Address: Village Palse, Tamhini Ghat Rd, Mulshi, Maharashtra 412108
- Amenities: Free parking, free breakfast, free WiFi, business centre, fitness centre and gym, conference facilities, private balconies, pool
6. Vana Retreat, Dehradun
The Vana (forest) Retreat in Dehradun stays true to its name by offering its visitors the chance to live in sync with nature. Along with the various wellness therapies and yoga sessions the retreat offers, you can also live in harmony with nature and its surroundings by taking part in eco-friendly methods of waste management and water harvesting.
If you are an environmentally conscious person who would love some self-care and healing in the midst of a forest, this is your type of place!
Specialities: Vana Retreat is widely known for offering Sowa Rigpa, Tibetan’s century-old medicinal treatment. The retreat is one of the very few places in the world that still offers Sowa Rigpa in its true form.
- Price: Starting at Rs.25,000 per night
- Address: Mussoorie Rd, Malsi, Dehradun, Uttarakhand 248001
- Amenities: Pool, spa, sauna, tennis court, steam room/hammam, laundry, fitness centre, free WiFi
7. SwaSwara, Gokarna, Karnataka
Beach waves are healing on their own. But imagine a wellness resort along the beach in Gokarna that offers yoga, meditation, painting and sculpting sessions for you to relax, rejuvenate and heal. Doesn’t that sound tempting? SwaSwara is amazing like that. And adding to all these, the resort also encourages its guests to explore the surrounding area, go kayaking and hiking, and go on cultural tours. You can visit SwaSwara for 5 to 21 days and anywhere in between.
Specialities: If you are a fan of doodling, the resort also specializes in Zentange, a doodle-based art form.
- Price: Starting at Rs.17,000 per night
- Address: Om Beach, Donibhail, Gokarna, Karnataka 581326
- Amenities: Free WiFi, fitness centre, pool, airport transportation, yoga room, concierge, spa, beach, currency exchange, car hire
Conclusion
With more and more people realising the importance of mental health and self-care, fitness routines, wellness treatments and other therapies are becoming increasingly popular. And travelling to wellness retreats like these just makes it all better as they let you get away from the busy cities to sit back and de-stress.
These are some of the best wellness centres in India that you could visit to relax and get comfy. I hope you find some time to pack your bags and get away on that much-needed vacation!
About The Author
Gulshan Bafna
Gulshan Bafna is one of the luxury travelers in India. He, along with his wife, has traveled to many exotic places that one could dream. With their travel journey, they bring us the best face of those places. He compiles all of his travel journeys to give the taste of traveling to his readers. In his writing, he jots down the best things to do in all those places that he has visited. Reading these would help one know better about the place. He is also a seeker who loves exploring and discovering new places and share his experiences with everyone.