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From Ayurveda to Ashrams: 6 incredible wellness experiences in India
India was the birthplace of many of the world's best-loved healing traditions. From beachside yoga to Ayurveda, here are India's best wellness experiences.
India is the birthplace of yoga, meditation, Ayurvedic medicine and a host of other healing traditions that form the foundation of worldwide wellness practice today. The historical Buddha and his disciples practiced meditation in the 6th century BCE in the plains of northern India, and Indian yogis formulated the principles of Hatha yoga thousands of years before gyms started filling up with eager yoga students perfecting sun salutations.
Modern India is famous for its color, noise and bustle, but this is also a place of great serenity and profound spirituality, providing abundant space for inner reflection. Indeed, embarking on a spiritual or wellness journey is one of the top things to do on a trip to India.
Attend a meditation class at a Buddhist monastery in the high Himalayas or book in for a herbal treatment at a beachside Ayurvedic center in Kerala, and you’ll be plugging into traditions that have been keeping India well for as long as people have been keeping records.
From beach yoga sessions to luxury Ayurvedic treatments at tropical resorts, here is our pick of the best wellness experiences in India. 
1. Join a dawn yoga session overlooking the Ganges in Rishikesh
The River Ganges is the most sacred of Hinduism’s many holy rivers, and the point where the river symbolically leaves the Himalayas and enters the plains is a major hub for spiritual devotion. While Hindu pilgrims focus their attention on Haridwar, nearby Rishikesh has grown into one of the world’s most important yoga training centers, attracting everyone from aspiring yoga teachers to the Beatles.
The forest-backed banks of the Ganges at Rishikesh are studded with yoga schools, yoga ashrams and private coaching centers. If you just want to dip your toes, sign up for an introductory in-house yoga class at your hotel. For in-depth teaching from highly respected yogis, try Anand Prakash Yoga Ashram & Retreat Center for individual classes or Rishikesh Yogpeeth for longer residential courses that focus on lifestyle and diet as well as postures.
Planning tip: Continue your yoga initiation by attending the famous Ganges aarti ceremony, a daily evening ritual on the riverbanks involving rousing devotional music and flickering oil lamps illuminating the sacred river. It's a wondrous experience for those who have never seen it before, and best observed from Triveni Ghat (it’s appropriate to leave a small donation).
2. Begin your Buddhist meditation journey in Dharamshala
As the official home of the Central Tibetan Administration – the exiled government of Tibet – and the residence of the spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism, the Dalai Lama, the Himalayan town of Dharamsala is one of the world’s most important hubs for Buddhist practice.
Numerous monasteries and meditation centers offer drop-in introductory classes and long-term residential courses in Buddhist meditation and philosophy in and around the Tibetan government complex at Dharamsala and the nearby hippy outpost of McLeod Ganj.
Situated between McLeod Ganj and the tiny hamlet of Dharamkot, the well-regarded Tushita Meditation Centre offers 10-day residential introductory courses alongside advanced teaching and retreats for people continuing their journey into Mahayana traditions.
Be sure to investigate the public sessions and debates at the Tsuglagkhang Complex, where the Dalai Lama sometimes gives audiences and teachings, and join the prayer-wheel-spinning Buddhist pilgrims making a ritual clockwise kora circuit around the compound.
Learn more: Also here is the Tibetan Medical & Astro Institute – part of the Men-Tsee-Khang, the official body overseeing Tibetan traditional medicine and astrology – where you can learn about Tibet’s tradition of herbal and holistic healing and arrange a consultation or buy medicines and creams made from Himalayan herbs. 
3. Practice sun salutations on the beach in Goa
While Goa shows the strong influence of the Christian Portuguese, its gorgeous beach resorts and laid-back mood have also made this tiny state a popular spot for yoga retreats, with everything from drop-in sessions to long-term teacher training. However, many courses only run during the winter tourist season; in summer, teachers flee the rainy lowlands for the dry mountains of Ladakh and Himachal Pradesh.
In season, the golden sands at beach towns such as Arambol fill with yoga students greeting the morning sun with energy-releasing poses. Start your day with a drop-in yoga class at the Himalayan Iyengar Yoga Centre (with another center in Himachal Pradesh), or join a session at Yoga Village or Raj Yoga School, before putting in some less physical sun appreciation time on the sand.
Alternative practices: Experience a different kind of movement at Jungle Dance Double Dutch, a dance center that blends yoga techniques with the spontaneous rhythms of ecstatic dance. Nearby, Shunya Wellness offers ecstatic dance nights, weekly markets, vocal classes and martial arts workshops.
4. Meditate with Buddhists from around the world in Bodhgaya
While neighboring Nepal was the birthplace of the historical Buddha, it was at Bodhgaya in Bihar that Siddhartha Gautama attained enlightenment. Every visit should start with a visit to the Mahabodhi Temple, where devotees recite mantras beneath the branches of a fig tree genetically descended from the tree under which the Buddha grasped the Middle Way.
Immerse yourself deeper into Buddhist philosophy and self-realization by joining a dharma class at a local monastic school. Best known among foreign visitors is the soothingly peaceful Root Institute for Wisdom Culture, with a spacious garden campus and residential courses that include communal meals and comfy accommodation.
On the outskirts of Bodhgaya is the impressive Tergar Monastery, a veritable Tibetan village with a fortress-like prayer hall and a regular schedule of talks and classes. Its founder-abbot is the world-renowned teacher Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche, author of the bestselling The Joy of Living, which attempts to align the power of meditation with understandings from 21st-century science. 
5. Book in for a holistic treatment plan at a Kerala Ayurvedic resort
The Indian tradition of holistic Ayurvedic medicine appears in historical records dating back at least 3000 years, but it may be even older. The focus is on treating mind and body as one whole, using herbal medicines, special diets and treatments such as shirodhara, where warm oil is drizzled onto the forehead, the location of the spiritual “third eye.”
The southern state of Kerala is a particularly enticing place to sample its healing therapies, with luxury Ayurvedic resorts that place wellness and healthy eating at the heart of a sublimely relaxing beachside holiday experience.
One of southern Kerala’s original Ayurvedic resorts, Somatheeram is known for its prize-winning treatment plans and stylish and inviting cottage-style accommodation overlooking Chowara Beach, 7km (4.3 miles) southeast of the beach resort of Kovalam.
In central Kerala, try Niraamaya Retreats Backwaters & Beyond Kumarakom, a dreamy five-star Ayurvedic retreat on the eastern shores of Vembanad Lake in the backwaters north of Alleppey (Alappuzha). Northern Kerala’s best escape is Neeleshwar Hermitage near Bekal, a luxurious, sustainable beachfront resort that doubles as a highly regarded Ayurvedic retreat.
Other Ayurvedic centers: The reach of Ayurvedic medicine extends far beyond Kerala. You’ll find accessible Ayurvedic clinics and resorts in Goa, Karnataka, Uttarakhand and the Rajasthani city of Bundi, alongside many other places. 
6. Meditate in the rain shadow of the Himalayas in Leh
Ladakh is one of the last places in the world where Tibetan Buddhism is practiced free from restrictions, and the mountain-ringed city of Leh is a truly uplifting place to discover more about its ancient traditions. At centers such as the Mahabodhi International Meditation Center and Dhamma Laddha Vipassana Meditation Centre, you can join introductory meditation sessions or book in for long-term meditation training.
Leh is also an excellent place to delve deeper into the rituals of Tibetan Buddhism. There’s no better way to get a feel for Ladakh’s Buddhist culture than to attend morning prayers at one of the ancient Buddhist gompas (monasteries) dotted along the Indus Valley.
One of the best-attended assemblies is held at the big, beautiful, 15th-century Thiksey Gompa, about 18km (11 miles) from Leh, where prayer sessions filled with hypnotic mantras and thunderous trumpet blasts take place daily from around 6am (or later in winter).
This article was adapted from Lonely Planet’s India guidebook, published in November 2024.
