British GQ - 04.2020

Best for solo travel

A MASSAGE to India

Story by Stuart McGurk

Detox your life – from digital devices to diet – in the spectacular Himalayan resort of Vana

n the burgeoning health-retreat indus-

try, the choice is yours in terms of which

type of torture you’d prefer. Would you

like to “digital detox” for instance, and

thereby spend the entire retreat won-

dering if you’re not answering a crucial

work call that, unknown to you, is taking

your company down as you unwind? Or

would you prefer the kind of meditation

and mindfulness experience where sneez-

ing counts as an adrenaline rush? There

are “calorie restrictive” retreats where

you can call vegetable- flavoured water

your dinner. There are silent meditation

retreats where you can call no-one any-

thing because ­shhhhhhhh!­ No­ talking!

Each have their benefits, of course, yet

none exactly scream “relaxing break”.

And that, it turns out, is where Vana

comes in. Situated in northern India, at

the foothills of the Himalayas, think of it

as the centrist dad of the wellness world.

They have a strict no-electrical-devices

rule throughout their expansive grounds

• though you’re welcome to use your
  phone/laptop in your room. They have
  a vast array of wellness activities sched-
  uled each day – from pratah yoga and om
  chanting to raag therapy – but they’re
  optional, and you can attend as many
  or as few as you like. The food is aggres-
  sively healthy – not only is there no salt

and fat, there’s even no spice, for reasons

we could never figure out – but portion

size is normal, only shrinking for the

evening meal, so you won’t spend your

trip dreaming of cheeseburgers. And it’s

incredibly peaceful – entering the enor-

mous secluded campus is a little like arriv-

ing at Jurassic Park, minus the dinosaurs

• but there are no restrictions on chat. It
  might be one of the few wellness retreats
  that actually feels like a holiday. There’s
  even an infinity pool.
  Upon arrival, the first thing you’ll notice
  is you may have mistakenly arrived at
  a cult. Everyone at Vana is dressed in
  the same traditional white cotton kurta

Order any type of supremely

healthy smoothie while you

enjoy relaxing views from

Vana’s infinity pool

WELLNESS

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