Traveller Reviews

I arrived sceptical about Ayurveda and left with a routine I still keep two years later. The doctor spent forty minutes with me on the first day — nobody has ever asked me that many questions about how I actually live.

What I appreciated most was the honesty. I asked for a fourteen-day detox and was told plainly that ten days of treatment plus four in the hills would suit me better. They were right.

Three weeks of Panchakarma is not a holiday and they never pretended otherwise. The preparation notes they sent beforehand meant I knew exactly what I was walking into. I slept better in week three than I had in years.

We travelled with our two teenagers, which most wellness places quietly discourage. They found us a centre where the kids surfed each morning and we had treatments. Everyone came home happy, which felt like a small miracle.

I run a company and I do not switch off well. The itinerary had almost nothing in it, on purpose, and someone had thought about that. By day four I had stopped checking my phone at breakfast.

The yoga teachers were properly trained and the classes were small — six of us at most. As a beginner I was never made to feel like the slow one at the back.

My flight was cancelled the night before departure. Our advisor rearranged the transfer, the first night and the consultation before I had finished queuing at the airline desk.

I came for the detox and stayed for the food. Nobody warns you that Ayurvedic cooking in Sri Lanka is genuinely delicious — jackfruit curry, red rice, kola kenda in the morning. I cook it at home now.