Ananda in the Himalayas is a luxury destination spa in

Narendra Nagar Narendranagar is a town and a municipal board in Tehri Garhwal district in the Indian States and territories of India, state of Uttarakhand. Geography Narendranagar is located at . It has an average elevation of 1,020 metres (3,349 fe ...

Uttarakhand Uttarakhand ( , or ; , ), also known as Uttaranchal ( ; the official name until 2007), is a state in the northern part of India. It is often referred to as the "Devbhumi" (literally 'Land of the Gods') due to its religious significance and ...

, set in the Indian

Himalayas The Himalayas, or Himalaya (; ; ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the planet's highest peaks, including the very highest, Mount Everest. Over 100 ...

. Set in a Himalayan mountain estate set amidst

sal Sal, SAL, or S.A.L. may refer to: Personal name * Sal (name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name or nickname Places * Sal, Cape Verde, an island and municipality * Sal, Iran, a village in East Azerbaijan Province * Ca ...

forests, overlooking the river

Ganges The Ganges ( ) (in India: Ganga ( ); in Bangladesh: Padma ( )). "The Ganges Basin, known in India as the Ganga and in Bangladesh as the Padma, is an international river to which India, Bangladesh, Nepal and China are the riparian states." is ...

, close to the towns of

Rishikesh Rishikesh, also spelt as Hrishikesh, is a city near Dehradun in Dehradun district of the Indian state Uttarakhand. It is situated on the right bank of the Ganges River and is a pilgrimage town for Hindus, with ancient sages and saints meditati ...

and

Muni Ki Reti Muni Ki Reti is a town and a municipal council in Tehri Garhwal district in the Indian state of Uttarakhand. It lies close to the pilgrimage town of Rishikesh and is known for its ashrams, including the Divine Life Society of Sivananda Saraswat ...

, it was established in 2000, and was India's first destination spa. Ananda focusses on

Yoga Yoga (; sa, योग, lit=yoke' or 'union ) is a group of physical, mental, and spiritual practices or disciplines which originated in ancient India and aim to control (yoke) and still the mind, recognizing a detached witness-consciou ...

and

Ayurveda Ayurveda () is an alternative medicine system with historical roots in the Indian subcontinent. The theory and practice of Ayurveda is pseudoscientific. Ayurveda is heavily practiced in India and Nepal, where around 80% of the population repo ...

practices, combined with international spa therapies. The property includes the royal palace of

, of the Maharaja of Tehri Garhwal (an Indian

princely state A princely state (also called native state or Indian state) was a nominally sovereign entity of the British Raj, British Indian Empire that was not directly governed by the British, but rather by an Indian ruler under a form of indirect rule, ...

), and the restored Viceregal Palace which was added to the palace in 1910–11 by the Maharaja for an expected visit of the

Viceroy of India The Governor-General of India (1773–1950, from 1858 to 1947 the Viceroy and Governor-General of India, commonly shortened to Viceroy of India) was the representative of the monarch of the United Kingdom and after Indian independence in 19 ...

. Though the visit never materialized, the edifice remains, and went to accommodate the likes of

Lord Mountbatten of Burma Louis Francis Albert Victor Nicholas Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma (25 June 1900 – 27 August 1979) was a British naval officer, colonial administrator and close relative of the British royal family. Mountbatten, who was of German ...

, a later

.Ananda-in-the-Himalayas
/ref> In 2003 and 2007 it was considered one of the best spas in the world by ''

The Telegraph ''The Telegraph'', ''Daily Telegraph'', ''Sunday Telegraph'' and other variant names are popular names for newspapers. Newspapers with these titles include: Australia * ''The Telegraph'' (Adelaide), a newspaper in Adelaide, South Australia, publ ...

'' and rated No. 1 destination spa in the world by ''

Travel + Leisure Travel + Leisure Co. (formerly Wyndham Destinations, Inc. and Wyndham Worldwide Corporation) is an American timeshare company headquartered in Orlando, Florida. It develops, sells, and manages timeshare properties under several vacation ownershi ...

'' magazine in 2008.

Etymology

The lounge at Ananda - In the Himalayas spa, Narendra Nagar

The word '' ananda'' means happiness in

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...

History

Some years ago, given the impetus on health and rejuvenation in the world and after an exhaustive search located a site for a destination spa, Ashok Khanna, discovered the Palace of the Maharaja at Narendra Nagar, Tehri-Garwhal. It was decided that the property was to be called "Ananda in the Himalayas", a name that embodies the spirit and ethos of what Khanna wanted to offer to his guests. Soon the former Viceregal Palace close to the Royal palace of the Shah family, of the erstwhile

of Tehri Garhwal originally built in 1910–11,Ananda - In the Himalayas
''Asia's Legendary Hotels: The Romance of Travel'', by William Warren, Jill Gocher. Published by Tuttle Publishing, 2007. . ''Page 74''. was restored.

was the summer capital and the Palace, where the present viceregal suite of Ananda in the Himalayas is situated, is the official residence. Himalayan view from Ananda spa, Narendra Nagar

Himalayan view from Ananda spa, Narendra Nagar

Traditional Indian practices of

yoga Yoga (; sa, योग, lit=yoke' or 'union ) is a group of physical, mental, and spiritual practices or disciplines which originated in ancient India and aim to control (yoke) and still the mind, recognizing a detached witness-consciou ...

, meditation,

ayurveda Ayurveda () is an alternative medicine system with historical roots in the Indian subcontinent. The theory and practice of Ayurveda is pseudoscientific. Ayurveda is heavily practiced in India and Nepal, where around 80% of the population repo ...

and

vedanta ''Vedanta'' (; sa, वेदान्त, ), also ''Uttara Mīmāṃsā'', is one of the six (''āstika'') schools of Hindu philosophy. Literally meaning "end of the Vedas", Vedanta reflects ideas that emerged from, or were aligned with, t ...

are offered at the spa. Treatments include Ayurvedic spa treatments, Tibetan treatments and international therapies such as massage, body wraps and facials.

Visitors

Ananda has been frequented by many famous guests, including

Chris Froome Christopher Clive Froome ɹɪs fɹuːm (born 20 May 1985) is a Kenyan/British Road bicycle racing, road racing cyclist who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam . He has won seven Grand Tour (cycling), Grand Tours: four editions of the Tour de ...

and his wife Michelle Cound,

Oprah Winfrey Oprah Gail Winfrey (; born Orpah Gail Winfrey; January 29, 1954), or simply Oprah, is an American talk show host, television producer, actress, author, and philanthropist. She is best known for her talk show, ''The Oprah Winfrey Show'', br ...

Jerry Hall Jerry Faye Hall (born July 2, 1956) is an American model and actress. She began modelling in the 1970s and became one of the most sought after models in the world. She transitioned into acting, appearing in the 1989 film ''Batman''. Hall was th ...

Bill Gates William Henry Gates III (born October 28, 1955) is an American business magnate and philanthropist. He is a co-founder of Microsoft, along with his late childhood friend Paul Allen. During his career at Microsoft, Gates held the positions ...

and Melinda Gates,

Kate Winslet Kate Elizabeth Winslet (; born 5 October 1975) is an English actress. Known for her work in independent films, particularly period dramas, and for her portrayals of headstrong and complicated women, she has received numerous accolades, incl ...

, Frederick Forsyth,

Deepak Chopra Deepak Chopra (; ; born October 22, 1946) is an Indian-American author and alternative medicine advocate. A prominent figure in the New Age movement, his books and videos have made him one of the best-known and wealthiest figures in alternati ...

, Nicole Kidman, Jeremy Piven, Ricky Martin, Macklemore, Bharat Kavitha Golecha, Charles, Prince of Wales and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall.Jeremy landed at Ananda in the Himalayas

Discovery Channel Discovery Channel (known as The Discovery Channel from 1985 to 1995, and often referred to as simply Discovery) is an American cable channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery, a publicly traded company run by CEO David Zaslav. , Discovery Channe ...

Ratings

In 2005, ''

Condé Nast Traveler ''Condé Nast Traveler'' is a luxury and lifestyle travel magazine published by Condé Nast. The magazine has won 25 National Magazine Awards. The Condé Nast unit of Advance Publications purchased ''Signature'', a magazine for Diners Club memb ...

'' rated this spa as the 'Best Overseas Spa Retreat' with a score rating of 99.62 and the Readers choice world's Number 1 destination spa (2005, 2006, 2007, 2012, 2019, 2020) It is also the only spa in India to be awarded the 5 wave certificate by BISA (British International Spa Association). Highly recommended by many other travel journals such as ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', Travel and Leisure, While its judged as 'Top Spa in India' by Spa Finder, Inc. According to a reviewer of ''

'', Ananda "..mixes the healing principles of the East with the pampering needs of the West.".

Business

Ananda is owned and managed by IHHR Hospitality Pvt. Ltd. Ashok Khanna, the managing director of the company, is the grandson of legendary hotelier Rai Bahadur

Mohan Singh Oberoi Rai Bahadur Mohan Singh Oberoi (15 August 1898 – 3 May 2002)Mohan Singh Oberoi< ...

. Khanna is a graduate from the Cornell School of Hotel Administration and has over three decades of experience in hospitality. IHHR hospitality also founded a chain of luxury business hotels known as Ista Hotels. These hotels located in Hyderabad, Bangalore, Amritsar and Pune are now managed under the brand name "Hyatt".

Education

The Ananda spa institute, located adjacent to the Ista hotel in

Hyderabad Hyderabad ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana and the ''de jure'' capital of Andhra Pradesh. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part ...

, admitted its pilot group of students in the summer of 2008. This educational institution is the only one of its kind in the world that provides yoga, Ayurveda and international therapies under one roof. Realizing the importance of international certification, the institute has got the

International Therapy Examination Council ITEC is an international examination board offering a variety of qualifications worldwide. ITEC provides over 35 qualifications that are UK government accredited by the Office of the Qualifications and Examination Regulator (OFQUAL), on behalf of ...

(ITEC), Confederation of International Beauty Therapy and Cosmetology (CIBTEC) to prescribe the curriculum for the courses on international treatments and give the required certification. The curriculum for the Yoga and Ayurveda courses will be framed and certified by the institute itself. The institute plans to lead spa education in South East Asia and maintain high standards throughout the region with international cooperation. Josephine Wackett has been appointed Principal. She was earlier with the world-famous Steiner School in London, where she was principal of the Steiner Beauty School for the last 30 years. Josephine is also the CIDESCO International Board member for Education.

Sources

* "India: Mandarin group, Indian Hotels part ways on Himalayan resort," ''Businessline.'' Chennai: 27 December 2001. page 1. * "Ayurveda Meets Five-Star Splendor at New 'Ananda,'" by Lisa Tsering. ''India - West.'' 18 May 2001, Vol.XXVI, Isse 29; page C32.

References

External links

Ananda in the Himalayas official website

''

''. {{DEFAULTSORT:Ananda in the Himalayas Resorts in India Houses completed in 1911 Hotels established in 2000 Tourist attractions in Uttarakhand Tehri Garhwal district Palaces in Uttarakhand Destination spas