I Spent 5 Days at a Sustainable Ayurvedic Wellness Retreat in India — Here’s What It Was Like

As the author of the book “150 Spas You Must Visit Before You Die,” I’ve seen a spa or two…or 150. Spa is a broad term, ranging from a hot spring in nature to a luxury sanctuary where you can get a massage to a full-on, multiday wellness retreat. When I booked my stay at Six Senses Vana in northern India, though, I wasn’t sure what to expect. I had been to a Six Senses before and done a wellness retreat, but I knew this one would be different.

Vana was founded in 2014 by Veer Singh, and it underwent renovations to become a Six Senses property in 2023. Singh has always focused on sustainable farming along with Ayurveda and Sowa Rigpa (Tibetan traditional medicine) philosophies, and not much in the wellness realm changed under the Six Senses flag. I was eager to experience Ayurvedic philosophy in the place where Ayurvedic medicine was born, and I was especially intrigued by the Sowa Rigpa program, which was inaugurated by the Dalai Lama himself. In fact, it’s one of the only places outside of Tibet that practices Sowa Rigpa, and all practitioners are sent to train in Tibet for six months.

Core operating tenets, such as no personal electronic use outside your room, diverse menus featuring local and seasonal ingredients (many from the property itself), and community-supportive efforts, have flourished even more.

Packing for my trip was a breeze: All guests are encouraged to wear the provided sandals and white kurta pajamas, so I was thrilled to bring a not-even-full carry-on for five nights. Still, the unavoidable truth for any American going here is that it’s a long journey — the resort does offer a three-night retreat, but from this distance, that would not be enough (seven-, 14-, and 21-night retreats are the other options). One silver lining is that Air India flies directly to New Delhi from New York City, where I live. While Air India’s planes on this route are old, they are scheduled for a redesign and upgrade by the end of the year. I was disappointed that the business class seats weren’t private, but they did lie flat, and that was all I needed to sleep for most of the journey. (And the food was excellent.)

I still needed to travel from New Delhi to the northern state of Uttarakhand, where Vana is located. I took a domestic flight to Uttarakhand’s capital, Dehradun, and was picked up in a luxury SUV filled with homemade, healthy snacks, fresh juices, and fully functioning Wi-Fi for the hour-long drive to the hotel.

I arrived at night, and after a restful night in my large suite, the following day, I was scheduled bright and early for my wellness assessment and consult with Dr. Jayachandran. Dr. Jaya is one of those people with a calming, friendly presence, putting me at ease even as he assessed my dosha (Ayurvedic body balance) by feeling my pulse and informed me after my Western medicine assessments, like measuring my height, weight, and blood pressure, that I had too much stress and a blocked digestive system.

We had a long chat about my lifestyle and diet. Then, he set up various treatments and sessions for the coming days, ranging from reflexology and acupuncture to Ayurvedic and Sowa Rigpa massages to meditation and breathwork. He also recommended I avoid gluten and dairy at dinner and sugar at all costs. (Yes, I have a sweet tooth!).

We decided I would also meet with Dr. Sopa, a Tibetan traditional medicine doctor who assesses body imbalances. After feeling my pulse for several minutes, Dr. Sopa informed me that my birth energy pulse was Bedkan (an earth and water combination), but my current energy pulse was Tripa (fire), which controls digestion and metabolism. Mine was sluggish. Essentially, I needed to adjust my diet and lifestyle to kickstart my digestion and clear out my blockages and anxiety.

The next couple of days were a blur. I was still jetlagged, and I kept falling asleep during the incredibly relaxing treatments I was prescribed. I had a two-person, four-handed Ayurvedic Abhyanga massage that left me feeling like jelly (in a good way) and a reflexology session that I snored through, unfortunately. I also had my first of many Sowa Rigpa sessions with Ngawang.

Each Sowa Rigpa session begins with a monotonous-sounding chant that calmed me even without knowing what it meant. My first kunye, or Tibetan medicine massage, transported me in a way I had never felt before. It began with a coconut oil scalp massage (I soon learned to embrace my oily hair), and then several herbal poultices with cumin and nutmeg were placed on various pressure points. Ngawang focused on a knot in my foot that I hadn’t known was there, and her tough yet somehow soothing strokes were penetrating, not painful.

That night, at my first dinner, the menu offered an excellent selection of nourishing but not depriving dishes, both Indian and Western. When I tried to order what I thought was a sugar-free dessert, my waiter gently reminded me that the doctor had suggested no sugar, but if I wanted it, I could still have it. Ultimately, the chef made the rice pudding sugar-free, but that was my last foray with dessert for the rest of my stay. After day two, though, I didn’t miss it. I savored the flavorful soups and entrees and ended my meal with an herbal tea instead.

The following day, I returned to Ngawang for a Tibetan sound healing session. As a spa and wellness writer, I’ve been to more sound baths than I remember. I thought I’d seen — er, heard — it all. But this was an authentic Tibetan sound bath — where the trend originated — and I was in for something special. First, Ngawang led me in a fire ceremony. I wrote down any negative emotions I wanted to eliminate, and then we burned them.

“The mind is like a wild animal,” she told me. “It will go anywhere, anytime. We try to tame it.” Then I lay down and closed my eyes as she played a gong, singing bowls, and bells around me, sometimes placing a vibrating bowl in my palms or my stomach. It ended with what sounded like the waves of an ocean, and I felt my negative thoughts washing away.

I found myself thrilled that I was alone, able to focus on myself and my needs. Per the rules, I left my phone in my room and was glad to eat alone, lost in my thoughts instead of on social media. By the third day, I felt refreshed, my daily stresses melted away, and I was ready to tackle feeling good. The second half of my journey included private meditation and breathing sessions, which would equip me with tools to handle my anxiety and stress when it returned. I also met Dimple, an acupuncturist who managed to be both tender and no-nonsense, quickly getting to the root of my anxiety and performing two exceptional acupuncture sessions that allowed me to feel taken care of and restored in just one hour.

I left the resort only once, to do an early morning hike, although several excursions are available. My hike perfectly balanced natural beauty and exercise — the surrounding Himalayan foothills are steep and striking. When it came time to leave the resort for good, I had a final meeting with Dr. Jaya to review my goals and plan how to maintain my wellness in my own life. Six Senses Vana is, after all, a bubble protected from the stressors of modern daily life. I knew it wasn’t realistic that I’d maintain this feeling of bliss, but if I could manage a glass of green juice and 10 minutes of pranayama, I’d be happy.

Here’s my review of Six Senses Vana.

The Rooms

Three residential buildings are on site, plus several casas in a separate part of the resort. These are ideal for families who bring their children. (Yes, they are allowed.)

Spanish architectural company Esteva i Esteva designed the 66 rooms with muted, soothing tones, paper lanterns, wicker lamps and pendants, natural woods, and locally made artwork. All rooms have seating areas, balconies or terraces, and floor-to-ceiling windows with views of the surrounding native Sal forest, the gardens, or the mango orchards. Rooms have a king or twin bed if you’re coming alone and large marble bathrooms with separate showers and bathtubs.

There are also 16 spacious suites, which Esteva i Esteva also designed. I was in a Forest Suite with a massive balcony overlooking the forest, from which I spotted a monkey one morning. My bathtub and bed also overlooked the forest canopy. Suites have spacious living rooms with L-shaped couches and a writing desk, plus a separate kitchenette stocked with handmade snacks and glass bottles of drinking water that are filtered on-site.

The large dressing room/closet has slippers, robes, sandals or crocs, scarves, and the white kurta pajamas guests are encouraged to wear on the property.

I was surprised to find a television in my room (all rooms have one), but I suppose you don’t have to turn it on if you don’t want to use it. Unfortunately, I had to use my phone and computer while there, which was only allowed in my room.

Food and Drink

First, this is not your typical spa food — thank goodness. That said, if you tell your doctor at your assessment that you want to lose weight or deal with other diet-related health issues, they will put you on a prescriptive meal plan, and the kitchen staff will ensure you stick with it.

But even if you’re on a gluten-free, dairy-free, sugar-free diet, you will still eat well here. How? The constantly rotating menu of seasonal local dishes and the wide variety of options will leave no one wanting. Of course, there is a lot of Indian food (note that authentic, regional Indian food is very different than most Indian food you see abroad). Still, there are plenty of other Asian and Western dishes for breakfast, lunch, and dinner at Salana, the main restaurant open for all meals. Salana has a large dining room and a spacious terrace overlooking a tranquil lawn that many guests opt to eat at, myself included.

Breakfast and lunch feature large hot and cold buffets with various vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes, a rotating special table featuring made-to-order dishes like smoothies or ramen, and a menu for ordering even more. There were Western pastries for breakfast (although they were admittedly tiny), but there was so much else to choose from that I wasn’t tempted.

Instead, I would eat the best gluten-free sourdough bread and hand-churned butter I’ve ever had, tropical fruit with yogurt, and maybe a freshly made dosa or idly. At dinner, which is a la carte, you will never see the same menu twice in 21 days (which also happens to be the length of the longest retreat). Each night, it has a diverse selection of appetizers, entrees, and desserts featuring dishes made from vegetables, fish, poultry, and meat (usually lamb).

Anayu is the other restaurant, which was only open for lunch when I was there due to some maintenance work but is also typically open for dinner. It feels a bit fancier than Salana, with many gold accents. Anayu is the property’s Ayurvedic restaurant, and its daily prix fixe menu comes with three choices, each corresponding to a dosha, and guests are encouraged to select the meal that aligns with the dosha noted during their Ayurvedic assessment. Each meal starts with an amuse bouche of a spoonful of spices and a fruit elixir to cleanse the palate. Then, a thali (a platter with multiple dishes and bowls) is served with rice, dal, and roti, along with the appropriate dishes for your dosha. For my dosha of pitta, my thali had minted paneer, coriander chicken, a mushroom curry, and carrot poriyal, with a vegetarian option also available.

Every day, the Kila (the main gathering building) hosts an afternoon tea with tea and snacks. Upstairs in the library, an apothecary-style drink lab offers a small menu of medicinal and wellness elixirs, teas, other beverages, and snacks.

Activities and Experiences

While each guest’s custom itinerary will be filled with one-on-one spa, yoga, meditation, and other sessions, there is also a weekly calendar of daily group activities that are mostly complimentary. These include various yoga, breathwork, and meditation sessions that happen multiple times a day, as well as fitness classes ranging from power walking to weight circuit training to water workouts in the pool. There are also sports activities like badminton and tennis, craft workshops like pottery, sustainable upcycling crafts like making paper by hand, cooking classes, and things like “Mindful Tea.”

Each week, the temple typically hosts several puja or prayer sessions. In the evenings, various lectures and discussions on topics like longevity and traditional medicines are held, often with visiting experts. I enjoyed the daily morning yoga sessions and the afternoon raag therapy, which involved a flute player playing traditional Indian instrumentals while participants lay down and let the music wash over them.

Guests can also book off-resort excursions, including several hikes and a trip to Rishikesh to observe the daily aarti or ritual offerings. I did the Gulab Singh hike one morning, which was a highlight of my visit. It was technically a group hike, but I ended up being the only participant, so me and the guide, Deepak, did the beautiful hike alongside a river, through waterfalls, and to the small home of Gulab Singh perched on a ledge overlooking the foothills of the Himalayas. It was rigorous at times, with some steep inclines, and left my muscles a bit sore — in a good way.

The Spa

Six Senses Vana does not have a traditional spa building; instead, treatment rooms are spread between several buildings. The Ayurveda Center, a large stand-alone building with a central courtyard holding a reflecting pond and a statue of the Hindu god Vishnu, offers Ayurvedic treatments. The Sowa Rigpa Center, which has photos of the Dalai Lama’s visit, offers Tibetan treatments. All treatment rooms include private bathrooms with showers, baths, and changing areas and are decorated with soothing color palettes and simple textiles.

Reflexology appointments are given at the Natural Therapies Center, while acupuncture happens inside the Wellness Center connected to the Kila, where any doctor appointments occur. Finally, any watsu treatments take place in the Aqua Fitness center. And if you’re looking for a sauna or whirlpool, it’s next to the rooftop outdoor infinity pool. All this is to say the entire property is a sprawling spa.

In terms of the treatments you’ll receive, you can expect the best from skillfully trained experts in each discipline, whether it be Ayurveda, Sowa Rigpa, or Traditional Chinese Medicine. After your assessment, your doctor will craft your schedule with typically one to two treatments per day, and then you can add on more if you wish.

Some of the treatments I experienced were a four-handed Abhyanga performed by two therapists, which is a traditional Ayurvedic massage using oil and repetitive motions and acupressure points; several Tibetan kunye massages which use herbal pouches on acupressure points; a Tibetan sound healing session; and two acupuncture sessions. I experienced watsu for the first time, which is an aquatic therapy performed in a small, warm pool, where my therapist held me as I floated, helping me with passive stretches and gentle massage that had me so relaxed I briefly fell asleep while floating.

Family-friendly Offerings

Perhaps shockingly for a wellness retreat, the resort is soon debuting an outpost of the Grow with Senses Kids Club, which focuses on wellness. The kids club, which also features its own dining room, is separate from the rest of the property, and families are only allowed to stay in the casas, which are also removed from the main area. When it launches, it will be a novel way for parents to participate in a wellness retreat while not having to find separate childcare.

Accessibility and Sustainability

Six Senses is a brand known for its sustainability efforts, but even before it became a Six Senses, Vana was a leader in eco-initiatives. For example, they used scrap metal to make most of the metal sculptures and artwork around the property, including a beautiful tree in the yoga room. Since becoming Six Senses, they have employed a full-time sustainability director who manages everything from composting to staff sustainability initiatives to the water filtration and bottling plant that provides purified water in glass bottles for the entire property.

Every room has a stuffed elephant handmade by a local women’s co-op (and stuffed with recycled kurta pajamas) on display with a note about using the proceeds from the purchase for Vana’s sustainability fund. The fund sponsors three different projects in the community, including the conservation of the local river, aiding in human-wildlife co-existence with the elephants that reside in the nearby national park, and supporting a locally run cow shelter for abandoned dairy cows.

In January 2024, Six Senses added the Earth Lab, which helps guests learn about the hotel’s sustainability efforts and offers daily craft projects using upcycled materials, such as fallen bamboo turned into a flower sculpture.

Location

Six Senses Vana is in a native Sal forest near Mussoorie in Dehradun, which is the capital of the northern Indian state of Uttarakhand. It is about 1.5 hours northwest of Rishikesh, about an hour from the Jolly Grant Airport in Dehradun, and 30 minutes from the Dehradun Railway Station. You can fly to Dehradun from the Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi, or the property is about a five-hour drive from Delhi.