The birthplace of yoga

The cell-like rooms in the ashram are clean and well swept, the day's agenda clearly organized; in fact the whole concern is surprisingly disciplined in view of the fact that this, the birthplace of yoga, is in India, in Rishikesh. Of the countless Yoga schools in Rishikesh the instruction given in the Parmarth Niketan is among the best, which is why many students register for the twice-yearly teacher-training course. As soon as the sun rises, the first of them begin to do their sun salutations and to meditate. Asana classes and readings on philosophy follow, and the day continues with Asanas until the evening. Then, with great spectacle, the chief guru of the ashram, Swami Chidanand Sawaswatiji, conducts Ganga Aarti, the fire ceremony. Swamiji doesn't just have strikingly beautiful eyes and a hotline to God; he is also a man of the world. Every year at the beginning of March he organises an impressive international yoga festival in the ashram, at which the best-known Indian stars as well as those from the West assemble. He is invited by the United Nations to speak on the subject of religion, and in the ashram itself he has found and orphanage in which Indian orphans, in addition to receiving a school education, learn Yoga and Sanskrit and study the Vedas. When, in the evening, happy and close to a state of bliss, they start to sing while huddled up on cushions on the floor of the stone altar at the river, you understand why rich Indian families from London return every year to support the ashram. Even Ringo Starr would have liked it here - and he once had to leave Rishikesh, as his supply of baked beans had run out.

Located on the bank of the Ganges, south of the Ram Jhula Bridge. 30 minutes from Jolly Grant Airport in Rishikesh/Dehradun. By train from Delhi to Haridwar continuing by taxi or bus to Rishikesh.

Rooms: over 1000 places to sleep in 2-4-bed rooms.

Food: Indian vegetarian, without onions or garlic.

GREAT YOGA RETREATS by Angelika Taschen