About the centre
Location
Ridgemore Cottage, Village Rulpulli, Chamba Valley, Himachal
Pradesh, India.
The retreat centre is perched above the Chamba valley,
where the foothills give way to the High Himalaya. The valley
is northwest of Delhi by about 300km, the closest major
landmark being the Golden Temple at Amritsar.
Chamba is the nearest main town, capital of this valley
that was once its own kingdom. It's a little like somewhere
one might find in the Alps, although here there are big
temples. And some monkeys.
The retreat centre is 2 hours gentle walk from the nearest
road through deciduous mountain forest and traditional villages.
The house is situated in a brow top meadow, enjoying extraordinary
360 degree views over the surrounding valleys and snow peaks.
Surrounding the house you will find a vivid variety of wild
herbs and rare birds. Bears and leopards may also be seen...
but hopefully not too often.
The location has been especially chosen for you, after
a long search, to ensure you have a completely undisturbed
and unrivalled Himalayan experience. It is removed enough
for you to retreat into pure nature, yet accessible enough
to make it comfortable, and safe. There is nowhere else
in the world Piers knows of offering such a position and
facility. It's truly a special spot.
- Altitude
2200m
- Time
+GMT 3.5hrs
- Climate
cold clear evenings and warm sunny days. Possibility of
rain showers.
- Currency
Indian Rupee, exchange facility available at Delhi Airport,
hotel in Delhi. Cashpoints are also available in Delhi,
travellers cheques are history.
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Getting there
It can only be said that getting to the retreat centre
is an adventure in itself, Indian style. Tales of ripoffs
and road rage (yes the driving is really quite mad) are
all too familiar in India, but you know that already. It
wouldn't be India without it. And the great thing is that
you get to experience a little bit of all of it. No point
coming to India and being too clinical now is there? But
don't be put off! We're here to help you every step of the
way.
All you've got to do is get yourself to Delhi. We'll take
care of things from there.
You will be met from your flight and taken to a comfy,
quiet hotel in Delhi. The next day, you can explore a little
bit before catching a night train to Pathankot (all true
Indian adventures must have a train ride or 2).
When you wake in the morning you'll be at Pathankot, on
the edge of the Himalaya. You'll be met by our driver who
will ride you safely (yes, we test all our drivers on their
road skills) up through the mountains to Chamba. The drive
is 4-6 hours, depending on conditions. The views are truly
spectacular, enjoy.
From Chamba things up a gear, quite literally. It's a steep
climb in a jeep to the road head. It takes about 45 minutes.
The views get better as you get higher. By the time you
reach the road head you've done most of the climbing. It
may be a few degrees cooler so pack a jumper in your day
pack.
From the road head you'll be met by our guides and porters.
From here it's about 2hrs winding through mountain villages
and cedar forest until you reach a short climb up to the
retreat centre.
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Facilities
The retreat centre is typical mountain house built about
5 years ago. The main structure is wood with traditional
use of mud and dung walls. The roof is tin (and doesn't
even leak as we discovered in 2004 when we were hit by a
freak typhoon, 3 days of very wet rain!).
The house:
- 4 single rooms
- 2 double room
- Meadow for camping
- Meditation & dining room
- Kitchen
- Bath house with 2 bathrooms and 2 toilets
- Hot water on demand
- The Yoga Zone
Whilst the facilities are basic, there is no electric,
what we do have is cosy and comfortable. We have kept things
this way intentionally, the idea is to "retreat" from your
normal everyday life, all the stress and non sense, in order
to come back into a more natural state. Hopefully, this'll
allow you to go home in a better state than you came away
in...
The single rooms have outrageous views over the valley
below. The doubles are more secluded at the rear but benefit
from wooden beds. Further accommodation is in tents in the
meadow where all equipment is provided. The bathroom block
is away from the house serviced by a traditional wood burning
water stove.
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Food and water
The food & water at Ridgemore Cottage are always very
carefully considered. These two elements are without doubt
an important part of any yogi's life, especially when we
are practicing intensively.
All our food is vegetarian, gathered as much as possible
from the immediate surrounding area. We cook over wood fires
and sometimes gas, if necessary. We draw our water from
a mountain spring which is preferred to drinking plasticized
"dead" water from bottles.
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Meals
During the yoga retreat we eat only two meals a day: brunch
and dinner. This is to bring lightness into the practice,
enhance the detox and increase energy. Brunch is served
at 11am, after practice. Dinner is at 6pm. In effect, this
means you are fasting for 16 hrs per day (another good idea
to help detox). Fruit and herb tea, made by our own dear
herbalist are available all day.
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The yoga zone
This is where you'll be practicing...The crowning glory
of your Himalaya ashtanga yoga retreat,
Practice on the
terrace under the parachute tent, with incredible 360 degree
views of the mountains. With pure nature, no air pollution and complete tranquility, we can't ask for more. This is yoga as the yogis intended it. Just watch out for the brown bears...
This yoga centre, gotta be one of
a kind.
If you'd like more pictures, please email.
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Hiring the Centre
Ridgemore cottage is a unique yoga centre in the Himalaya, India. You can hire the Himalayan yoga centre for your own group.
The yoga centre is available for hire in weekly blocks. Suitable for yoga, healing, trekking groups, or a party...
For prices and availability please contact us.
