Ananda in the Himalayas | |
---|---|
General information | |
Location | Narendra Nagar, Uttarakhand, India |
Opening | 2000 |
Owner | IHHR Hospitality Pvt. Ltd. |
Website | |
http://www.anandaspa.com |
Ananda in the Himalayas is a luxury destination spa in Narendra Nagar, Uttarakhand, set in the Indian Himalayas.
Set in a 100-acre (40 ha) Himalayan mountain estate set amidst sal forests, overlooking the river Ganges, close to the towns of Rishikesh and Muni Ki Reti, it was established in 2000, and was India's first destination spa. [1] Ananda focusses on Yoga and Ayurveda practices, [2] combined with international spa therapies. [3] The property includes the royal palace of Narendra Nagar, of the Maharaja of Tehri Garhwal (an Indian princely state), [4] 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. Though the visit never materialized, the edifice remains, [5] and went to accommodate the likes of Lord Mountbatten of Burma, a later Viceroy of India. [6] [7] [8]
In 2003 and 2007 it was considered one of the best spas in the world by The Telegraph [9] [10] and rated No. 1 destination spa in the world by Travel + Leisure magazine in 2008. [11]
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, [12] 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. [13]
Soon the former Viceregal Palace close to the Royal palace of the Shah family, of the erstwhile princely state of Tehri Garhwal originally built in 1910–11, [5] was restored. Narendra Nagar was the summer capital and the Palace, where the present viceregal suite of Ananda in the Himalayas is situated, is the official residence.
Traditional Indian practices of yoga, meditation, ayurveda and vedanta are offered at the spa. Treatments include Ayurvedic spa treatments, Tibetan treatments and international therapies such as massage, body wraps and facials. [14] [15]
Ananda has been frequented by many famous guests, including Chris Froome and his wife Michelle Cound, [16] Oprah Winfrey, Jerry Hall, Bill Gates and Melinda Gates, Kate Winslet, Frederick Forsyth, Deepak Chopra, Nicole Kidman, Jeremy Piven, Ricky Martin, Macklemore, Bharat Kavitha Golecha, Charles, Prince of Wales and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall. [11]
In 2005, Condé Nast Traveler 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, [17] 2020 [18] ) 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 , [7] Travel and Leisure, [19] [20] While its judged as 'Top Spa in India' by Spa Finder, Inc. [21] According to a reviewer of The Telegraph , Ananda "..mixes the healing principles of the East with the pampering needs of the West.". [22]
Ananda is owned and managed by IHHR Hospitality Pvt. Ltd. [23] [24]
Ashok Khanna, the managing director of the company, is the grandson of legendary hotelier Rai Bahadur 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. [25] These hotels located in Hyderabad, Bangalore, Amritsar and Pune are now managed under the brand name "Hyatt". [26]
The Ananda spa institute, located adjacent to the Ista hotel in Hyderabad, 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), 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. [27]
Jaipur, formerly Jeypore, is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Rajasthan. As of 2011, the city had a population of 3.1 million, making it the tenth most populous city in the country. Jaipur is also known as the Pink City, due to the dominant colour scheme of its buildings. It is also known as the Paris of India, and C. V. Raman called it the Island of Glory. It is located 268 km from the national capital New Delhi. Jaipur was founded in 1727 by the Kachhwaha Rajput ruler Jai Singh II, the ruler of Amer, after whom the city is named. It was one of the earliest planned cities of modern India, designed by Vidyadhar Bhattacharya. During the British Colonial period, the city served as the capital of Jaipur State. After independence in 1947, Jaipur was made the capital of the newly formed state of Rajasthan.
Uttarakhand, also known as Uttaranchal, is a state in the northern India. It is often referred to as the "Devbhumi" due to its religious significance and numerous Hindu temples and pilgrimage centres found throughout the state. Uttarakhand is known for the natural environment of the Himalayas, the Bhabar and the Terai regions. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China to the north; the Sudurpashchim Province of Nepal to the east; the Indian states of Uttar Pradesh to the south and Himachal Pradesh to the west and north-west. The state is divided into two divisions, Garhwal and Kumaon, with a total of 13 districts. The winter capital of Uttarakhand is Dehradun, the largest city of the state, which is a rail head. Bhararisain, a town in Chamoli district, is the summer capital of Uttarakhand. The High Court of the state is located in Nainital, but is to be moved to Haldwani in future.
Chharabra is a small village situated approximately 8250 feet above sea level, 13 km from Shimla, India, on National Highway 22.
The Tons is the largest tributary of the Yamuna. It flows through Garhwal region in Uttarakhand, touching Himachal Pradesh. The Tons thrust is named after this river.
Tehri Garhwal is a district in the hill state of Uttarakhand, India. Its administrative headquarters is at New Tehri. The district has a population of 618, 931, a 2.35% increase over the previous decade. It is surrounded by Rudraprayag District in the east, Dehradun District in the west, Uttarkashi District in the north, and Pauri Garhwal District in the south. Tehri Garhwal is a part of the Himalayas.
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 meditating here in search of higher knowledge. There are numerous temples and ashrams built along the banks of the river.
Taj Hotels is a chain of luxury hotels and a subsidiary of the Indian Hotels Company Limited, headquartered in Mumbai, India. Incorporated by Jamsetji Tata in 1902, the company is a part of the Tata Group, one of India's largest business conglomerates. The company employed over 20,000 people in the year 2010.
Narendranagar is a town and a municipal board in Tehri Garhwal district in the Indian state of Uttarakhand.
Patanjali Yogpeeth is a yoga institute located in Haridwar, Uttarakhand, India. Founded in 2006 and named after the Rishi Patanjali, the purpose of the institute is to practice, research, and develop yoga and ayurveda. The institute is the flagship project of the yoga teacher and entrepreneur Ramdev.
Garhwal Kingdom was an independent Himalayan kingdom in the current north-western Himalayan state of Uttarakhand, India, founded in 688 CE by Kanak Pal, the progenitor of the Panwar dynasty that ruled over the kingdom uninterrupted until 1803 CE.
Diya Kumari is an Indian politician. She is a member of Indian Parliament from Rajsamand parliamentary seat, and a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party.
Samarth Yogi Arwind is a Mystic, spiritual leader, researcher of Vedas and Ayurveda, practitioner of Ashtanga Yoga and Kundalini Yoga, and a devotee of Hindustani classical music A proponent of Maitra Yoga, Arwind is an expert of Yoga Sutras of Patanjali and Vedanta. He is engaged in his sadhana at the Yogi Arwind Ashram at the foothills of Himalayas in Rishikesh. Yogi Arwind walked barefoot for many years in India & other countries. Arwind's philosophy of non-violence as a means of social change is derived from Ashtang Yoga principles. Presently, Yogi Arwind's focus is to plant 10 million Ayurvedic trees & educate people about them.
Bhubaneswar has roads in grid form in the central city. Bhubaneswar has approximately 1,600 kilometres (990 mi) of roads, with average road density of 11.82 square kilometres (4.56 sq mi). Baramunda Inter State Bus Terminus (ISBT) is the major bus terminus in the city from where buses ply to all the districts in Odisha as well as to neighbouring state's cities like Hyderabad, Kolkata, Visakhapatnam, Raipur and Ranchi. City bus service runs in public-private partnership between Bhubaneswar-Puri Transport Service Limited (BPTSL) and Dream Team Sahara (DTS) under JNNURM scheme. A fleet of 185 buses cover all major destinations including Cuttack, Puri and Khordha. Auto rickshaws are available for hire and on a share basis throughout the city. In parts of the city, cycle rickshaws offer short trips. To ease traffic jams, over-bridges at major road junctions and expansion of roads are under construction. In a study of six cities in India, Bhubaneswar was ranked third concerning pedestrian infrastructure. The city scored 50 points out of maximum 100. The government of Odisha introduced the much-awaited Bhubaneswar BRTS in Bhubaneswar.
Dinesh Dhanai is an Indian politician. He has run as an independent MLA in Tehri (2012-2017) and served as a minister in the last Congress government in Uttarakhand.
Global Hotel Alliance (GHA) is the world's largest alliance of hotel brands. Based on the airline alliance model, it was founded in 2004 by four hotel chains, Kempinski, Pan Pacific Hotels and Resorts, Rydges Hotels & Resorts, and Wyndham International. GHA uses a shared technology platform for its member brands, and operates a multi-brand loyalty programme, GHA DISCOVERY, which has over 11 million members, as of 2021. The alliance encompasses more than 500 upscale and luxury hotels, across 35 brands in 85 countries.
Raghunathji Temple in Devprayag, a pilgrimage town in Tehri Garhwal district in Himalayas in the North Indian state of Uttarakhand, is dedicated to Vishnu. It is located 73 km from Rishikesh on the Rishikesh–Badrinath highway. Constructed in the Deula style, the temple is glorified in the Nalayira Divya Prabandham, the early medieval Tamil canon of the Alvar saints from the 6th–9th centuries CE. It is one of the 108 Divyadesam dedicated to Vishnu, who is worshipped as Raghunathji (Rama) and his consort Lakshmi as Sita.
Maharaja Agrasen Himalayan Garhwal Universityformerly Himalayan Garhwal University is a State Private University located in Pauri Garhwal district, Uttarakhand, India. Maharaja Agrasen Himalayan Garhwal University (MAHGU) is established and incorporated by Government of Uttarakhand Act No. 33 of 2016. Vide Notification no. XXXVI (3)/2016/48(1)/2016) of Uttarakhand Shashan and under Section 2(f) of the University Grant Commission (UGC) Act, 1956. Himalayan Garhwal University is situated close to Garhwal ranges of Shivalik hills.
Yoga tourism is travel with the specific purpose of experiencing some form of yoga, whether spiritual or postural. The former is a type of spiritual tourism; the latter is related both to spiritual and to wellness tourism. Yoga tourists often visit ashrams in India to study yoga or to be trained and certified as yoga teachers. Major centres for yoga tourism include Rishikesh and Mysore.