India Wellbeing Journey

A sensory journey of wellness and soft adventure in beautifully diverse India

This is how Big Heart Adventures describes their Women’s India Wellbeing Journey. Despite the truth in those words, the fourteen-day experience is SO MUCH MORE!

Yoga, meditation, wellness, wonder, reflection, discovery, and all of the cultural wilds offered through Northern India. From Delhi to Agra and the Taj Mahal, the banks of the River Ganges in Rishikesh, and Dharamshala – home to the Dalai Lama. Travellers from far and wide flock to this South Asian country every year, some in search of spiritual awakening, some eager for a new experience, some tempted by the challenge, and others simply wanting to soak it all in and find out for themselves.

Regardless of what inspires a person to travel and explore India, it is undoubtedly a destination that leaves its imprint deep within your soul.

In February 2025, Big Heart host Lisa B supported a fully booked tour of ten intrepid women. Her daily notes affirm what we had already suspected – this truly is a ‘sensory journey of wellness and soft adventure in beautifully diverse India,’ plus so much more!

Day 1 – Arrival in Delhi, India

We all met at Singapore airport, safely boarded our next flight and arrived in Delhi.

Right hand on, left hand on, thumbs on, index finger on… e-Visa printed… or not… whew… we’re through immigration.

We find Rajeev, Surya and Moshin, our local guides from Crooked Compass. We get Rupees, and then it’s out into the smog and traffic to our hotel, the Shervani in Nehru Place, New Delhi, for a good night’s sleep.

Day 2 – Delhi to Agra

After a great breakfast of chai, omelette, toast, muesli, and traditional Indian food, it’s off on the bus to Agra via the Yamuna River expressway and the Ba Hai Lotus Temple.

Yep! We needed that comfort stop, the coffee at Starbucks en route, and a clay cup filled with hot chai for Di. After a 4-hour drive, we arrive in Agra and enjoy a fantastic lunch at The Salt Cafe. This high-end restaurant has views of the Taj in the distance.

Naan, butter chicken, lentils, paneer, tandoori chicken, and cocktails. We roll out ready for our tour of Agra Fort – the incredible 16^th Century Mughal empire architectural wonder and old capital about 2kms and 94 acres in size. We all loved taking our photos amongst the red walls of the Fort!

It’s then off to the carpet shop for a demo of the backbreaking skills of the artisans who weave the Kashmir wool, silk and pashmina of the gorgeous carpets. We all walked barefoot over the threads and were offered chai (of course) as about 20 carpets were unrolled for us to sample. Three sales! Yep, well done, ladies, they’re gorgeous!

We check in at our lovely hotel, the Grand Imperial, which is home for the next two nights and a remnant of the old Raj days. Then it’s off to get amongst it… street food dinner amid the chaos of Agra. Cheela is a type of pancake, and Aloo Tikki is like a potato samosa. Of course, Indian ice cream for dessert, Kulfi on a stick.

The bus has gone. How do we get home? Tuk-tuks all around! Yahoo ooohhh! Oh, what a night, what a day! India makes you feel alive! Thanks, Mohsin.

Day 3 – Agra

We’re up and out by 0610 for sunrise at the Taj Mahal.

We arrive amongst the crowds, and security is bedlam. The male/female lines for the pat down and then the utterly crazy system of separating us from our small bags whilst the scrum of bag searches-identification-retrieval begins! How to stress out a foreign tourist!

Nothing quite prepares you for walking through the arch to witness the Taj Mahal. The magnificent architectural brilliance of this ultimate love dedication from Shah Jahan to his favourite wife Mumtaz.. well, she did bear him 14 children in 15 years! This magnificent mausoleum built in the 17th century welcomes a huge crush of people from all over the world, and we joined the throng for the best photo ops. We’ll probably need to cull a few of the 50 photos we each took!

The precious stone inlay, the gleaming symmetrical marble structures, the manicured lawns… such incredibly skilled craftsmen and designed to stand for eternity. We loved it and we loved the colours of the people visiting – the swirling saris and the guards with their twirling moustaches.

Back to the hotel for a breakfast of champions, and then it’s out for the day to explore a museum of fine arts. The embroidery! Such incredible tapestries of local nature scenes, lovingly hand embroidered over many months and years. Fabulous precious stone jewellery, too. With our magnificent choices, we contributed to the generation of family-owned jewellers—ladies… you did well with your purchases!

Clay-cup chai was needed to revive us after an exhausting morning of shopping, and then it was lunch at Sheroes Café. This eatery is an amazing women’s collective run by and for the victims of acid attacks. We were an emotional and sombre group after witnessing these beautiful souls and their strength of character.

Henna tattoos for everyone, and we’re ready for the next adventure! Tuk-tuks back to see the Taj at sunset, this time from the other side of the Yamuna River. Then, it’s to Mohsin’s house to meet his family and enjoy their hospitality. A feast of pakora, gulab jamun, barfi and, of course, delicious chai. What an incredible honour and a wonderful end to an action-packed day.

Day 4 – Agra to Delhi

An earlier start with traditional yoga on the lawns of the hotel. Asana, pranayama… nadi sodhanam. Humming bee breath and meditation… a fabulous session and even the ladies who had never practised before felt the benefits after sitting on the bus for hours.

Back to Delhi via the government-sponsored workshop of the artisans who specialise in quarried marble or Makrana. Incredibly detailed inlays of precious stones like lapis lazuli, malachite, cornelian, turquoise, agate, onyx, and mother of pearl. Artworks in table tops and coasters… all guaranteed for 400 years. Fabulous to support the artisans who are the descendants of those who built the Taj Mahal.

On the road again towards Delhi. Four and a half hours of bum-numbing, white knuckle, awesome driving from Arjay and Mr Singh. Along the main highway, dodging trucks, tuk-tuks, bicycles, pedestrians, and weaving speeding cars. We arrive at 4pm and go to our visit to the NGO Prayas Juvenile Aid Centre Society to hear about their work feeding, clothing and educating vulnerable children in need.

There’s still time for Old Delhi. With tuk-tuks all ’round again, we’re off to the heart of life in Delhi Chowk, an old Mughal market area designed by Shah Jahan’s daughter. Five hundred thousand people go about their daily business, and it’s an experience of daily life for the masses as they sleep, shop, socialise, sell goods and fight for their place.

One of the oldest and busiest markets in Old Delhi, Chowk means ‘moonlight plaza’. We travel by rickshaw, weaving in amongst the teeming mass of humanity, incredibly grateful for our comfortable, privileged life. Our every sense is challenged, especially at the end when we tip the wiry cyclists who have safely pedalled us through, only to find they are then extorted by the rickshaw Mafia. India, once again, opens more questions for discussion.

We enjoy a fabulous local dinner in a posh old Raj-era-inspired restaurant called Chor Bizarre before we crawl into bed, exhausted but braver and challenged in ways we didn’t expect.

Day 5 – Delhi to Rishikesh

On the road to Rishikesh with a comfort stop at an incredible oasis – 3^rd Milestone Café. Great coffee, clean bathrooms and Bollywood music that Lisa and Di made the most of. You can even spot us on their social media as the staff filmed us for foreign promotional purposes, hehe!

On the road again, and after another three hours, we reach our lunch stop of Haridwar, an amazing city on the banks of the sacred Ganges. Haridwar has previously been a destination of the famed Kumbh Mela religious pilgrimage. Thousands of people converge here to bathe in the sacred waters, some walking 100km and camping in the fields, carparks, etc, just to be here.

Sadhus, tourists, touts, beggars, and pilgrims all together create a canvas of colour and sound… your every sense is alive to the organised chaos. Welcome to India 🇮🇳

Lunch is at The Patio, a calm oasis overlooking Mother Ganges, and we relax with a feast of veg curries, dahl, paneer, naan, roti, chutneys and salted lime soda and watermelon juice…. fortification for another couple of hours before arriving in Rishikesh and the Modi Yoga Retreat.

What a view! The Ganges in all her glory. We quickly settle into our luxurious rooms before heading out for the evening Aarti ceremony. Held every evening, this is a celebration of the mythical God Vishnu and his avatar of Rama and wife Sita. Priests light candles and bless the devotees, and offerings of flowers are placed into the water. Devotional music and kirtan chants are loud, and hundreds of people make it overwhelming. It’s a lot to take in for one day, so we head back for a delicious vegetarian dinner and bed. Tomorrow is another day.

Day 6 – Rishikesh

Claudia and Jennet are up early for the dawn walk along the Ganges, where the light coming in over the water is ethereal and serene. The southern Himalayas frame the backdrop of our yoga studio, and we greet the day with an invigorating practice that wakes us up and gets the body moving after sitting on the bus. Bliss!

We had a delicious breakfast and were blessed with REAL COFFEE. It’s now time to relax, walk the Ganges path, and have our assessments with the Ayurvedic doctor. This is an opportunity to determine our constitutions—Vata, Pitta, and Kapha—and book our treatments based on this ancient sister science to Yoga.

We head off after lunch to walk the Ganges path framed by the fascinating and vibrant market stalls and shops for chai, Himalaya Ayurvedic herbal treatments, and mala beads. We walk across the Ganges over the swing bridge called Ram Jula.

Tuk-tuks all around once more to return for the first round of treatments. Robyn, Di, Lisa and our fearless leader Mohsin, go forth for the full Aarti ceremony, including diving into the mosh pit of devotional dancing and singing and blessings by the priests! An incredible spiritual experience, no matter what your faith. Namaste.

Day 7 – Rishikesh

Relax. Just do it. A fabulous morning walk, yoga, breakfast and then a day of free time.

Some of us chose to bliss out with therapies at the wellness centre, attend a pranayama breath class, and relax the body and mind with the sound bath of the Tibetan bowls.

Others went by tuk-tuk into Rishikesh to visit Bharat Mandir, the ancient temple and school, where we were blessed by the priest and saw the ancient Banyan tree. We shopped, we did masala chai by the Ganges, we got serenaded by the Tequila Bindi wallah, we watched an incredible artist with no arms paint a watercolour of Ganesha with her feet, we dodged motorbikes and sacred cows, we put our feet in the sacred waters, and we felt, just for a moment, that we were part of this community, laughing and being, at one with the universe… Om shanti, shanti, shanti.

Dinner, packing… for tomorrow, we start another instalment in our India adventure.

Day 8 – Rishikesh to Nalagarh

Six of us greet the sunrise for our morning constitutional. We’ve collected a lovely Indian lady doctor staying at the wellness centre, and the local power walkers know us by now and greet us with Namaskar – Hindi for Good Morning. We hear morning Aarti or prayers and see the boys setting up their badminton net to the Bollywood tunes pumping out from their phones. It’s 0615 and all happening! Yoga with the lovely Ria, who ensures our alignment is spot on, and we then say goodbye to these fabulous views over the sacred Ganges.

Cue music by The Doors.. ‘keep your eyes on the road and your hands upon the wheel’…. we amuse ourselves on the ten-hour drive to Nalargarh with Bollywood music, bus chair yoga, a visit to the local Jaggery (pure sugar) cane factory, get overtaken by tractors laden with sugarcane, and then stop at the local servo toilets where all the local lads come over to chat to us and have selfies. We may have appeared on random Insta feeds…

Mohsin prevents a mutiny of hungry women by stopping at a roadside market to buy fresh mandarins and bananas, and then we finally stop for a delicious lunch of lassi and kaffir lime leaves and soda accompanying grilled chicken, biriyani, roti and beetroot chutney. Yum!

On the road again… are we there yet?!

We roll into our hotel, the Nalagarh Heritage Resort, an incredible faded glory of Raj times. Up a hill and set amid extensive gardens, this hotel has been lovingly preserved in time. It is complete with terraces, arches, family prints, sherry glasses, and proud staff who are so thrilled you are staying in their part of the world.

Day 9 – Nalagarh to Dharamshala

We awaken for rooftop yoga at the Resort and a chance to fully admire the old relics from the Maharaja and British Raj days… with perhaps some old energies from days gone by, too. Our physio/yoga teacher Nitin urges us to ‘smile ladies’ as he’s putting us through our paces… literally! We feel invigorated and ready for breakfast before setting off for the Himalayas and Dharamshala’s Kangra district.

Are we there yet..? Yep, it is another ten-hour journey as the roads are sooooo bad, and our bus’s suspension doesn’t cope with the potholed, 4-wheel-drive type roads. Not to mention tons of trucks carrying sugar cane, logs, or other goods and services, plus motorbikes, tuk-tuks, and pedestrians!!

Good coffee is a welcome relief, as is lunch, where we entertain the locals again, particularly the teenage girls who teach us to dance India Bollywood style while waiting for our Virgin Mojitos and paneer curries!

Back on the bus… sigh… and we cheer Arjay and Mr Singh when we finally make it up the long and winding road to our destination. Well, maybe not quite as we now have to transfer to private cars because the bus can’t go into the narrow streets! It’s all worth it, though, as we check into our gorgeous accommodation for the next three nights and watch as the sun sets over the Himalayan mountains. Bliss in India!

Day 10 – Dharamshala, Northern India

We wake to sunrise over the Himalayas… just wow! Peace, calm and serenity greet the day as we stir from our opulent rooms at Hotel Norbu House and continue the vibe with our Vinyasa yoga flow at the funky studio next door.

Breakfast is amazing, and everyone is grateful to the baristas who make us the perfect coffees whilst the morning sun warms us from the outside. Is it really only 12 degrees Celsius..?

A big day of sightseeing awaits, and our local guide Ashish and our drivers take us to the Dalai Lama temple complex and the new Tibetans in Exile museum, a must-see to read about the history of the Tibetan people in exile. We explore the Nobulinka Institute, learning about Tibetan culture and art and enjoying a fabulous lunch in the gardens. Gyuto monastery complex, where the trainee monks live and study… and a quick visit to the highest cricket ground in the world, the scenic Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium, Dharamshala!

We finish with the Kora circuit, a meditative walk amongst the flags and Tibetan prayer wheels surrounding the Dalai Lamas’s residence.

Dinner tonight is at a local institution. Jimmy’s Italian, where the serves are tasty and enormous, the Kingfisher beer is cold, and the local Indian Chenin Blanc wine is declared very drinkable! We’re off to bed.

Day 11 – Dharamshala, Northern India

Rain was predicted and rain it did! All night and nearly all day, but that didn’t deter our intrepid travellers. A devoted posse got their meditation fix at the gorgeous Tushita Meditation Centre, and then the step count was achieved via the two main shopping streets of Dharamshala/McLeod Ganj. The local sellers of pashminas, jewellers, Tibetan singing bowls, and prayer flags got to know us intimately as Mohsin patiently accompanied the ladies until their bargaining skills were refined. What a workout!

Massages, both restorative and medicinal, revived some of us at the Men Tsee Khang Tibetan Healing Centre, and we sighed in relief when Mohsin suggested we have an early dinner at our hotel. Amazing Tibetan spring rolls! I was too busy eating and forgot to take a photo!!

It’s an early start tomorrow as we head off the mountain at first light. The Himalayas have definitely been a highlight!

Day 12 – Dharamshala to Amritsar

Another delicious breakfast, thanks to the amazing staff of the Norbu House. It was very early, yet here they were, on deck to make our coffees, omelettes, pancakes and fresh banana loaf.

We’re on the road to the home of the Sikhs in the Punjab region, Amritsar. We stop for the obligatory masala chai, and Mohsin orders deep-fried pakoras to satisfy our tummies. Great to get out of the bus and stretch our legs in the sunshine, too. Especially as India appears to be building every new highway at once, the roads are muddy and waterlogged, and we’re dodging tractors and earth-moving equipment for kilometres!

A small glam food stop in the middle of nowhere, and we’re off to the Wagah border ceremony. This is a daily and absolutely bonkers theatrical closing of the border between India and Pakistan. Nationalistic flag waving, face painting, popcorn and ice cream eating entertainment by the Border Security Force. It’s like being at the footy but with both armies in their incredible uniforms, marching, posturing, and finally shutting the gate between the two countries. All in good fun and pure entertainment for the masses.

Straight to dinner, a recreation of a typical Punjabi village where we eat buffet dinner, and Di and Lisa entertain the crowd once again with their attempts at following the dance moves from the professional on-stage dancers! Oops…

What a hotel we arrive at. An incredible heritage property that was the former house of the suave gentleman who welcomed us into his family home. Ranjit’s Svaasa was a treasure trove of colonial furniture, artefacts, photos, gardens and large, beautifully appointed rooms. We definitely could have stayed longer… next time.

Day 13 – Amritsar to Delhi

Mmm… breakfast at our luxury accommodation, the exquisite Ranjit’s Svaasa. The food was declared some of the best on the trip… and despite having our bags packed for Indigo Aircraft to fly us back to Delhi, we wished we could stay longer.

But first, we take rickshaws to the Golden Temple, the most important temple for the Sikh people. It feels incredibly peaceful as the chants ring out from the speakers and the volunteers prepare free meals daily for the over 40,000 pilgrims who partake in this incredible feeding of the masses as part of the selfless service required by every Sikh.

We then headed to the Jalianwala Bagh Gardens, the site of the memorial to the thousands of peaceful protestors slain or injured by the British during their time as Imperial rulers.

Is there room, time or energy for more shopping? Of course!

Jewellery boxes, pashminas, beads, Buddhas… surely we can’t fit any more in the bags! But wait… we have Rajeev’s baggage allowance! Happy days!

Thank you so much to our local guides, Mohsin, Surya, and Rajeev, and our India travel partners, Crooked Compass

We leave you with a visual feast of Indian cuisine: