India’s Famous Luxe Wellness Retreat Is An Antidote To 21st-Century Life

09.05.2024 - 07:25 / forbes.com

Not long ago, on a hike to the Kunjapuri Temple in the foothills of the Indian Himalayas, retreat participants came upon a view of Rishikesh. Their guide what the city is famous for. “The Beatles,” I offered, knowing that Rishikesh is where the musicians went to meditate with the Maharishi in the 1960s.

This was not wrong, but the guide was looking for more relevant answer: Rishikesh is said to be the birthplace of yoga, where Patanjali wrote his Sutras more than 2,000 years ago.

Now it’s the landmark city for another kind of spiritual seekers—maybe not rock stars but often high-profile, and certainly successful—who travel in search of life change. Their destination is Ananda in the Himalayas, a luxury wellness resort that regularly scoops up awards.

Like other retreats along the Ganges River, Ananda takes yoga, Ayurvedic medicine and Vedanta (Hindu philosophy) as its main pillars. Unlike those other places, it does so in a natural setting that’s transcendent, with luxurious facilities to match. The crown jewel of the 100-acre estate is the palace built for Maharaja Narenda Shah in 1895.

Now the palace is where guests are welcomed to the estate—with marigold garlands and ceremonial blessings—and it sets the tone for the experience to follow. This mostly unfolds in a cluster of buildings below the palace, which were built around the year 2000.

They include a restaurant with a grand dining room indoors and a lovely shaded terrace, a 25,000-square-foot spa with 24 treatment rooms and a state-of-the-art gym, and a building with most of the 70 guest rooms. (The exception is one historic charmer in the old palace.) Although these are ready for their planned refresh, they have a grandeur of space and comfort, plus private balconies with views of the palace or the valleys below. That glorious nature, which is almost always in sight, remains central to the experience.

“It’s more than two decades since we first started out, with only a Palace at the edge of time, surrounded by acres of wild lantana and natural beauty. Back then, all I had was a dream—[a] picture of what I wanted to achieve and where I wanted to be,” says a statement from Ananda founder and managing director Ashok Khanna.

“As the world changed, so did we; but deep within us we have always upheld those beliefs and principles,” it continues. “That was the philosophy [that] brought Ananda in the Himalayas into being. My idea was to bring together the ancient remedies, practices and the deep-rooted wisdom of Indian culture and blend them all with the best of international practices…. This location served as an inspiration to bring alive the wellness destination that I had in mind.”

While the focus remains on yoga and Ayurveda—both of which they