When I tell people I’m heading to Ananda in the Himalayas, I’m surprised by how many are familiar with it. There are so many retreats across the world, particularly in India. Hundreds in North Indian city of Rishikesh alone. Ananda, as I discover, has renown beyond my wellness echo chamber.
Already excited, now I’m also intrigued. What does an Ayurvedic detox actually entail? Can a week in the Himalayas really be transformative? What is Ananda’s pull for it to have appealed to guests such as New Age guru Deepak Chopra, the UK’s King Charles and American chat show host Oprah Winfrey?
The welcome
As I exit Jolly Grant Airport in Dehradun, I already feel worlds apart from Jaipur, where I’ve travelled from.
I’m met by Rajpal, my driver for the next hour as we make our ascent into the mountains, the Ganges River below us. Like a walking (or driving) billboard, Rajpal radiates tranquillity. Doubling as a tour guide on the journey, he tells me that Rishikesh is known as the birthplace of yoga, and that he practises daily. “Yoga is medicine,” says Rajpal. “It calms the mind.”
The resort is nestled in the foothills of the Himalayas, and arriving at the grand main building – the Viceregal Palace, the former summer residence of the last Maharaja of Tehri-Garhwal – I’m presented with a flower garland and a cooling ginger and lemon drink.
Rather than a chaotic lobby or people swarming to assist, this is a gentle welcome. I’m welcomed by Neha into the stately drawing room turned lobby, where she gives me a rundown of what to expect.
Room to retreat
Before I begin my detox programme (which was recommended by the Ananda doctors after an initial online consultation weeks before), I’m granted a free Sunday afternoon to acclimatise. I head straight towards the Guest Block, where I’m handed the key to one of the retreat’s premium rooms with a garden view.
Built during the grounds’ transformation into a resort in 2000, the Guest Block was refurbished just shy of a decade ago. While regal touches remain, the overall design is much more grounded, with earthy tones, dark wood and light touches of gold.
At the foot of the king bed lies a small sofa in pale green, a writing desk and a chair, and a smart TV that remains off throughout my stay.
As Neha shows me around, I spot a book on my bedside table, Vedanta Treatise: The Eternities by A Parthasarathy, which soon becomes my free-time reading. While the kettle station is usually brimming, my prescribed caffeine-free diet means only chamomile tea is on offer.
The living space leads on to a balcony overlooking the lush green grounds, with the misty mountaintops in the background. It’s a view I will come to enjoy while unfurling on a sunlounger or soaking in the giant green marble bathtub.
But before I get too comfortable, Neha warns me: “Don’t leave your balcony door unlocked. The monkeys know how to open them, and they will come in and steal fruit and snacks.” Of course, I make this mistake on day one. Luckily, no monkey business ensues.
Detox dining
There’s one main communal dining space at Ananda, and I head down for lunch on my first day, taking a seat on the foliage-surrounded patio. Still to undergo my personal consultations, I’m free to choose between three options: the Vata, Pitta or Kapha main meals. I opt for a tofu Buddha bowl.
To start, I head straight for the salad bar over the soup. As a health-conscious vegan, it’s my ideal midday meal set-up: bowls of vegetables, leaves, pulses, nuts and seeds. Jars of pickles and kimchi (the chef later presents me with an envelope containing the recipe), alongside golden oils and various vinegars.
By the next evening, my dosha – the Ayurvedic classification of one’s governing bio-energy – is diagnosed as Pitta, associated with the fire and water elements. My meal options narrow once again. Yet, I’m more than happy with dishes such as tofu quesadillas and lentil dosas.
As I sip on room-temperature water, I observe how this space is as much about mindful eating as it is about food. Mealtimes are conducted quietly; the minority dining in groups speak in soft murmurs. There is no sense of rush, just a solo flute player responsible for the evening’s ambience. If food itself is the body’s medicine, then mealtime here serves as meditation for the mind.
Ayurvedic spa treatments
I spend a lot of time within the walls of Ananda’s extensive spa and wellness space. By the following weekend, the grand marble staircase leading from the reception towards the maze of treatment rooms becomes a familiar path.
On night one, I unwind with a grounding aromatherapy massage, but my tailored treatments (and real work) begin the next morning. I have a vitals test and a physiotherapy assessment before a thorough Ayurvedic consultation with Dr Sreelal Sankar, who interrogates every aspect of my well-being and lifestyle.
“My job is to see the body less as a list of symptoms and instead as an interconnected ecosystem,” he reassures me. Once complete, Dr Sankar finalises my schedule, ensuring a programme that grounds and soothes my naturally fiery nature.
My daily treatments include a detoxifying salt scrub, herbal compression therapy and an aroma cocoon treatment. But there are two – each deep-rooted in Ayurvedic tradition and new to me – that stay with me.
On day two, I try the Nayasam nasal detox. Here, gains aren’t achieved through a passive, relaxing experience.
It begins with a facial massage to relax the sinus area. Then, medicinal herbal oil is administered to the nostrils, which I (very inelegantly) need to expel back up as it hits the back of my throat. This process is followed by herbal smoke inhalation to completely clear the nasal passages.
It’s a treatment used for thousands of years to enhance focus and clarity by clearing a crucial energy gateway. At least in my experience, be it placebo or not, it works. My breath seems to inhabit my body in a way it didn’t before. My mind feels sharp.
Bookending the week is Shirodhara, or oil pouring. It’s an Ayurvedic treatment that’s been gaining popularity outside the Indian tradition in recent years.
Over an hour, a steady flow of warm herbal oils drips over my forehead – or third eye. My practitioner tells me it can aid sleep and support the body’s healing process as the oil is absorbed. It’s an unusual sensation, but it’s calming and definitely one of my most meditative spa experiences.
While treatments differ, they share the same ceremonial ritual. Therapists begin by washing my feet in a bowl of smooth stones and warm water. Next, a thali-style dish representing the earth’s elements, with candles, crystals, and incense, is presented as the therapist repeats mantras of blessings.
Each experience is a crash course in Ayurvedic bodily rituals, and I am charmed by this ancient school of well-being.
Mindfulness and movement
Still within spa walls, the middle of the week brings me to my most intense session yet: Emotional Healing. Such treatments, I’m later told, became a more central focus for the resort in 2022 alongside practices such as talking therapies and energetic cleansing. If the body is an interconnected system, it would only make sense that the mind plays a part in that, too.
As I’m eager to get the most from my experience and am attempting to be vulnerable, my consultation form is overflowing. I tell my hypnotherapist, Shikha Sud, that maybe it’s a little ambitious for one session. She agrees. But we make a start, and I journey through a tearful, eye-opening session. I leave with a little more clarity on patterns in my life.
Other private and open sessions through the week bring me back to the main palace building. This includes one-on-one breathwork, meditation and hatha classes, and a powerful sound-healing group session.
One morning, I join the daily group mantra meditation in the Hawa Mahal pavilion. Although this form of meditation – repeating a word or phrase – is among my favourites, I find it a little hard to recite the Sanskrit words confidently compared to my fellow meditators. Yet, as I hear the pitter-patter of the lush gardens being watered in the early-morning haze, my mental noise subsides, and I feel submerged within the collective group concentration.
Outside the grounds, I sign up for a hike along the Himalayan foothills. Another guest, the guide and I climb about 1,600 metres through farmlands and past schools to visit Kunjapuri Devi Temple. At this sacred Hindu shrine, we learn of the legends of Lord Shiva and Goddess Sati, as well as the myths that mark that very spot. I begin to sense this unique energy that I’m repeatedly told Rishikesh possesses. Back at the Ananda gift shop, I splash out on locally carved crystal deities to take home, hoping to bottle the feeling.
Several evenings are spent attending Vedanta talks, one of the six orthodox schools of Hindu philosophy. I find myself jotting down notes such as, “There is no end to acquisition; this will never fulfil us” and “As long as experience flows, there is life”.
Insider tip
While Ananda offers many retreat programmes, digital detox isn’t one of them. Much of the scheduling is done on the resort’s app, and guests should expect to spend a significant amount of time working with it.
The verdict
During one of my treatments, I’m struck by a familial sensation I wasn’t expecting: a sense of being nurtured. Maternal nurture, almost.
For overworked, overstressed, self-sufficient, high-achieving individuals looking for a luxury retreat, Ananda in the Himalayas can certainly deliver. But its luxury lies less in hedonism and indulgence, and more in the land, the tradition and the relinquishment of power.
Travelling from the UAE
Travellers from the UAE can fly with IndiGo, Air India or Air India Express to Jolly Grant Airport in Dehradun via connecting flights from Dubai International Airport (DXB), Zayed International Airport (AUH), Sharjah International Airport (SHJ), and Fujairah International Airport (FJR).
Other options include flying with carriers such as Etihad Airways or Emirates airline to one of the major layover cities in India, such as Delhi, Mumbai or Bangalore, and taking a domestic flight. Ananda in the Himalayas offers transfer services from Jolly Grant Airport.
The bottom line
Detox programmes range from $655 to $1,170 per night plus taxes, inclusive of consultations, treatments, meals and all group activities. Check in is from 2pm, and check out is at 11am.
This review was conducted at the invitation of the resort and reflects standards during this time. Services may change in the future