[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":919},["ShallowReactive",2],{"catalog":3,"prog-soma-palmshore-slimming-programme":525},{"destinations":4,"resorts":171,"concerns":289,"concernGroups":396,"landings":409,"markets":434,"modalities":473,"totals":517},[5,25,38,49,58,70,83,93,102,113,122,131,141,150,161],{"slug":6,"name":7,"country":8,"cluster":9,"modalities":10,"resortCount":13,"programmeCount":14,"fromPrice":15,"gatewayCode":18,"image":19,"imageAlt":20,"season":21},"kerala","Kerala","India","asia",[11,12],"ayurveda","yoga",11,10,{"amount":16,"currency":17},756,"EUR","COK","wm-kumarakom-canoe","Canoes on a palm-lined backwater at Kumarakom",[22,22,23,23,23,24,24,24,24,22,22,22],1,0,2,{"slug":26,"name":27,"country":8,"cluster":9,"modalities":28,"resortCount":29,"programmeCount":30,"fromPrice":31,"gatewayCode":34,"image":35,"imageAlt":36,"season":37},"rishikesh","Rishikesh",[12,11],8,3,{"amount":32,"currency":33},287000,"INR","DED","wm-lakshman-jhula","The Ganges at Rishikesh below the Lakshman Jhula bridge",[22,24,24,24,23,23,23,23,24,24,24,22],{"slug":39,"name":40,"country":41,"cluster":9,"modalities":42,"resortCount":24,"programmeCount":24,"fromPrice":43,"gatewayCode":45,"image":46,"imageAlt":47,"season":48},"sri-lanka-coast","The Ayurveda coast","Sri Lanka",[11,12],{"amount":44,"currency":17},3727.5,"CMB","wm-bentota-evening","Rocks and surf on Bentota beach in the evening",[24,24,24,24,23,23,23,23,23,23,22,24],{"slug":50,"name":51,"country":51,"cluster":9,"modalities":52,"resortCount":22,"programmeCount":23,"gatewayCode":54,"image":55,"imageAlt":56,"season":57},"bhutan","Bhutan",[53],"sowa-rigpa","PBH","wm-paro-valley","The Paro valley from above",[22,22,24,24,24,23,23,23,24,24,24,22],{"slug":59,"name":60,"country":61,"cluster":9,"modalities":62,"resortCount":24,"programmeCount":24,"fromPrice":63,"gatewayCode":66,"image":67,"imageAlt":68,"season":69},"ubud","Ubud","Indonesia",[12],{"amount":64,"currency":65},19752768,"IDR","DPS","wm-ubud-terraces","Rice terraces and coconut palms near Ubud",[23,23,22,24,24,24,24,24,24,22,22,23],{"slug":71,"name":72,"country":73,"cluster":9,"modalities":74,"resortCount":24,"programmeCount":24,"fromPrice":76,"gatewayCode":79,"image":80,"imageAlt":81,"season":82},"koh-samui","Koh Samui","Thailand",[75],"thai-lanna",{"amount":77,"currency":78},100810,"THB","USM","wm-samui-longtail","A longtail boat off a Koh Samui beach",[22,24,24,24,22,24,24,24,22,23,23,23],{"slug":84,"name":85,"country":86,"cluster":9,"modalities":87,"resortCount":22,"programmeCount":23,"gatewayCode":89,"image":90,"imageAlt":91,"season":92},"beppu","Beppu","Japan",[88],"onsen","OIT","wm-kannawa-steam","Steam rising over the rooftops of Kannawa, Beppu",[22,22,24,24,22,23,23,23,22,24,24,24],{"slug":94,"name":95,"country":86,"cluster":9,"modalities":96,"resortCount":22,"programmeCount":23,"gatewayCode":98,"image":99,"imageAlt":100,"season":101},"okinawa","Okinawa",[97,88],"longevity","OKA","wm-furuzamami","Furuzamami beach on Zamami island, Okinawa",[22,22,24,24,23,23,22,23,23,24,24,22],{"slug":103,"name":104,"country":105,"cluster":106,"modalities":107,"resortCount":24,"programmeCount":23,"gatewayCode":109,"image":110,"imageAlt":111,"season":112},"baden-baden","Baden-Baden","Germany","europe",[108],"balneotherapy","FKB","wm-baden-merkur","Baden-Baden in its valley, from the Merkur",[23,23,22,22,24,24,22,22,24,24,23,22],{"slug":114,"name":115,"country":116,"cluster":106,"modalities":117,"resortCount":22,"programmeCount":23,"gatewayCode":118,"image":119,"imageAlt":120,"season":121},"karlovy-vary","Karlovy Vary","Czechia",[108],"PRG","wm-tepla-dusk","The Teplá river through Karlovy Vary at dusk",[22,23,22,22,24,24,23,22,24,24,23,22],{"slug":123,"name":124,"country":125,"cluster":106,"modalities":126,"resortCount":22,"programmeCount":23,"gatewayCode":127,"image":128,"imageAlt":129,"season":130},"bad-gastein","Bad Gastein","Austria",[108],"SZG","wm-gasteinertal","The Gastein valley from the Zitterauer Tisch",[24,24,24,23,23,22,24,24,24,22,23,22],{"slug":132,"name":133,"country":134,"cluster":106,"modalities":135,"resortCount":22,"programmeCount":23,"gatewayCode":137,"image":138,"imageAlt":139,"season":140},"quiberon","Quiberon","France",[136],"thalassotherapy","LRT","wm-quiberon-plage","The Grande Plage at Quiberon",[22,22,22,24,24,24,22,23,24,24,22,22],{"slug":142,"name":143,"country":144,"cluster":106,"modalities":145,"resortCount":22,"programmeCount":23,"gatewayCode":146,"image":147,"imageAlt":148,"season":149},"montreux","Montreux","Switzerland",[97],"GVA","wm-montreux-sunset","Sunset over Lake Geneva at Montreux",[22,22,22,24,24,24,23,22,24,24,23,22],{"slug":151,"name":152,"country":125,"cluster":106,"modalities":153,"resortCount":24,"programmeCount":24,"fromPrice":155,"gatewayCode":157,"image":158,"imageAlt":159,"season":160},"tyrol","Tyrol",[154,108],"mayr",{"amount":156,"currency":17},4909,"INN","wm-innsbruck-nordkette","Innsbruck and the Inn valley from the Nordkette",[22,22,22,22,24,24,24,24,24,22,23,22],{"slug":162,"name":163,"country":164,"cluster":165,"modalities":166,"resortCount":22,"programmeCount":23,"gatewayCode":167,"image":168,"imageAlt":169,"season":170},"nicoya","The Nicoya peninsula","Costa Rica","americas",[97,12],"LIR","wm-nicoya-beach","A long Pacific beach on the Nicoya peninsula",[24,24,24,24,22,22,22,22,23,23,22,24],[172,176,179,183,186,189,192,195,198,201,204,207,210,213,216,219,223,226,230,233,237,240,243,246,249,252,255,258,261,264,267,271,274,277,280,283,286],{"slug":173,"name":174,"destinationSlug":6,"destinationName":7,"country":8,"character":175},"somatheeram","Somatheeram Ayurveda Village","ayurveda-hospital",{"slug":177,"name":178,"destinationSlug":6,"destinationName":7,"country":8,"character":175},"kalari-kovilakom","Kalari Kovilakom",{"slug":180,"name":181,"destinationSlug":6,"destinationName":7,"country":8,"character":182},"carnoustie","Carnoustie Ayurveda & Wellness Resort","retreat",{"slug":184,"name":185,"destinationSlug":26,"destinationName":27,"country":8,"character":182},"ananda-himalayas","Ananda in the Himalayas",{"slug":187,"name":188,"destinationSlug":26,"destinationName":27,"country":8,"character":182},"six-senses-vana","Six Senses Vana",{"slug":190,"name":191,"destinationSlug":39,"destinationName":40,"country":41,"character":175},"barberyn-reef","Barberyn Reef Ayurveda Resort",{"slug":193,"name":194,"destinationSlug":39,"destinationName":40,"country":41,"character":182},"santani","Santani Wellness Kandy",{"slug":196,"name":197,"destinationSlug":50,"destinationName":51,"country":51,"character":182},"amankora","Amankora",{"slug":199,"name":200,"destinationSlug":59,"destinationName":60,"country":61,"character":182},"como-shambhala-estate","COMO Shambhala Estate",{"slug":202,"name":203,"destinationSlug":59,"destinationName":60,"country":61,"character":182},"fivelements-bali","Fivelements Retreat Bali",{"slug":205,"name":206,"destinationSlug":71,"destinationName":72,"country":73,"character":182},"kamalaya","Kamalaya",{"slug":208,"name":209,"destinationSlug":71,"destinationName":72,"country":73,"character":182},"absolute-sanctuary","Absolute Sanctuary",{"slug":211,"name":212,"destinationSlug":84,"destinationName":85,"country":86,"character":182},"suginoi","Suginoi Hotel",{"slug":214,"name":215,"destinationSlug":94,"destinationName":95,"country":86,"character":182},"hoshinoya-okinawa","HOSHINOYA Okinawa",{"slug":217,"name":218,"destinationSlug":103,"destinationName":104,"country":105,"character":182},"villa-stephanie","Brenners Park-Hotel & Spa",{"slug":220,"name":221,"destinationSlug":103,"destinationName":104,"country":105,"character":222},"friedrichsbad","Friedrichsbad","thermal-cure",{"slug":224,"name":225,"destinationSlug":114,"destinationName":115,"country":116,"character":182},"grandhotel-pupp","Grandhotel Pupp",{"slug":227,"name":228,"destinationSlug":123,"destinationName":124,"country":125,"character":229},"gasteiner-heilstollen","Gasteiner Heilstollen","medical-clinic",{"slug":231,"name":232,"destinationSlug":132,"destinationName":133,"country":134,"character":182},"thalassa-quiberon","Sofitel Quiberon Thalassa Sea & Spa",{"slug":234,"name":235,"destinationSlug":142,"destinationName":143,"country":144,"character":236},"clinique-la-prairie","Clinique La Prairie","longevity-clinic",{"slug":238,"name":239,"destinationSlug":151,"destinationName":152,"country":125,"character":229},"lanserhof-lans","Lanserhof Lans",{"slug":241,"name":242,"destinationSlug":151,"destinationName":152,"country":125,"character":229},"park-igls","Park Igls",{"slug":244,"name":245,"destinationSlug":162,"destinationName":163,"country":164,"character":182},"harmony-nosara","Harmony Hotel",{"slug":247,"name":248,"destinationSlug":6,"destinationName":7,"country":8,"character":182},"akanta","Akanta Ayurveda & Yoga Cherai",{"slug":250,"name":251,"destinationSlug":6,"destinationName":7,"country":8,"character":175},"kairali-healing-village","Kairali – The Ayurvedic Healing Village",{"slug":253,"name":254,"destinationSlug":6,"destinationName":7,"country":8,"character":175},"back-to-roots-ayurveda","Back to Roots Ayurveda",{"slug":256,"name":257,"destinationSlug":6,"destinationName":7,"country":8,"character":182},"chamundi-hill-palace","Chamundi Hill Palace Ayurveda Treatment Centre",{"slug":259,"name":260,"destinationSlug":26,"destinationName":27,"country":8,"character":182},"modi-yoga-retreat","Modi Yoga Retreat",{"slug":262,"name":263,"destinationSlug":26,"destinationName":27,"country":8,"character":182},"nirvana-yoga-school","Nirvana Yoga School",{"slug":265,"name":266,"destinationSlug":6,"destinationName":7,"country":8,"character":182},"mekosha","Mekosha Ayurveda Spasuites Retreat",{"slug":268,"name":269,"destinationSlug":26,"destinationName":27,"country":8,"character":270},"rishikesh-yogpeeth","Rishikesh Yogpeeth","ashram",{"slug":272,"name":273,"destinationSlug":26,"destinationName":27,"country":8,"character":182},"naturoville","Naturoville Wellness",{"slug":275,"name":276,"destinationSlug":26,"destinationName":27,"country":8,"character":182},"rudraksh-retreat","The Rudraksh Retreat",{"slug":278,"name":279,"destinationSlug":26,"destinationName":27,"country":8,"character":182},"veda5-rishikesh","Veda5 Ayurveda & Yoga Retreat",{"slug":281,"name":282,"destinationSlug":6,"destinationName":7,"country":8,"character":175},"manaltheeram","Soma Manaltheeram Ayurveda Beach Village",{"slug":284,"name":285,"destinationSlug":6,"destinationName":7,"country":8,"character":175},"ayursoma","AyurSoma",{"slug":287,"name":288,"destinationSlug":6,"destinationName":7,"country":8,"character":182},"soma-palmshore","Soma Palmshore",[290,299,307,313,321,329,336,343,351,358,365,369,376,384,390],{"slug":291,"name":292,"group":293,"said":294,"programmeCount":295,"fromPrice":296,"image":297,"imageAlt":298},"sleep","Sleep","mind","I fall asleep fine and then I am awake at three.",4,{"amount":44,"currency":17},"photo-1465101046530-73398c7f28ca","A clear night sky",{"slug":300,"name":301,"group":293,"said":302,"programmeCount":30,"fromPrice":303,"image":305,"imageAlt":306},"burnout","Burnout & exhaustion","I am not depressed. I am just completely empty.",{"amount":304,"currency":17},1382.5,"photo-1519999482648-25049ddd37b1","A city at night from above",{"slug":308,"name":309,"group":293,"said":310,"programmeCount":29,"fromPrice":311,"image":19,"imageAlt":312},"stress-and-anxiety","Stress & anxiety","My shoulders are somewhere near my ears and they have been for a year.",{"amount":304,"currency":17},"Canoes resting on a still backwater at Kumarakom, Kerala",{"slug":314,"name":315,"group":316,"said":317,"programmeCount":24,"fromPrice":318,"image":319,"imageAlt":320},"digestion","Digestion & the gut","body","Something has been wrong with my stomach for years and nobody can tell me what.",{"amount":44,"currency":17},"photo-1532092367580-3bd5bc78dd9d","Hands sorting fresh herbs on a table",{"slug":322,"name":323,"group":316,"said":324,"programmeCount":295,"fromPrice":325,"image":327,"imageAlt":328},"weight","Weight & metabolic health","I have lost the same eight kilos four times.",{"amount":326,"currency":17},2457,"wm-campuhan-ridge","The Campuhan ridge walk outside Ubud",{"slug":330,"name":331,"group":316,"said":332,"programmeCount":22,"fromPrice":333,"image":334,"imageAlt":335},"back-and-joints","Back, neck & joints","My lower back has been a background noise for a decade.",{"amount":44,"currency":17},"wm-kizhi","A therapist demonstrating a kizhi herbal-bolus treatment on a guest’s leg",{"slug":337,"name":338,"group":339,"said":340,"programmeCount":23,"image":341,"imageAlt":342},"chronic-pain","Chronic & rheumatic pain","medical","I have a diagnosis. I am looking for something that is not another drug.","wm-heilstollen-station","A station inside the Gastein healing gallery, where guests lie in the warm, radon-rich air",{"slug":344,"name":345,"group":316,"said":346,"programmeCount":347,"fromPrice":348,"image":349,"imageAlt":350},"detox","Detox & the annual reset","I want to properly clean myself out once a year.",5,{"amount":16,"currency":17},"wm-shirodhara","A shirodhara pot above a treatment table, mid-session",{"slug":352,"name":353,"group":354,"said":355,"programmeCount":23,"image":356,"imageAlt":357},"menopause","Menopause & perimenopause","life-stage","I am not sleeping, I am not myself, and I am tired of being told it is normal.","wm-rishikesh-yogpeeth-morning","An early-morning session in a garden in Rishikesh",{"slug":359,"name":360,"group":354,"said":361,"programmeCount":24,"fromPrice":362,"image":363,"imageAlt":364},"fertility","Fertility & preconception","We are trying, and I want to give my body the best possible chance.",{"amount":44,"currency":17},"wm-ubud-paddy","Flooded paddy and a small shrine outside Ubud",{"slug":366,"name":367,"group":339,"said":368,"programmeCount":23,"image":128,"imageAlt":129},"post-viral-fatigue","After illness","I was ill six months ago and I still am not right.",{"slug":97,"name":370,"group":339,"said":371,"programmeCount":30,"fromPrice":372,"image":374,"imageAlt":375},"Longevity & prevention","I am well. I would like to stay that way, and I would like some data.",{"amount":373,"currency":17},2415,"wm-swiss-meadow-walk","A path through an Alpine meadow above a Swiss valley",{"slug":377,"name":378,"group":354,"said":379,"programmeCount":22,"fromPrice":380,"image":382,"imageAlt":383},"first-retreat","A first retreat","I have never done anything like this and I do not want to get it wrong.",{"amount":381,"currency":17},1732.5,"wm-parmarth-yoga","A morning yoga class at an ashram in Rishikesh",{"slug":385,"name":386,"group":354,"said":387,"programmeCount":23,"image":388,"imageAlt":389},"travelling-alone","Travelling alone","I am going by myself and I do not want to eat dinner alone for two weeks.","wm-bang-kao","An empty beach on the south coast of Koh Samui",{"slug":391,"name":392,"group":354,"said":393,"programmeCount":23,"image":394,"imageAlt":395},"together","Going together","I want to do the programme. My partner wants a holiday.","wm-tokashiki","Tokashiku beach on Tokashiki island, Okinawa",[397,400,403,406],{"key":293,"title":398,"note":399},"Rest & balance","Journeys shaped around sleep, stress, burnout and time to reset.",{"key":316,"title":401,"note":402},"Body & vitality","Programmes focused on digestion, movement, weight and physical renewal.",{"key":339,"title":404,"note":405},"Additional care considerations","Travel information to discuss with your own doctor and the qualified team at the property.",{"key":354,"title":407,"note":408},"Life stages & travel style","Menopause, preconception, a first retreat, travelling alone or together.",[410,413,416,419,422,425,428,431],{"slug":411,"h1":412},"ayurveda-retreats-in-india","Ayurveda retreats in India",{"slug":414,"h1":415},"ayurveda-retreats-in-indonesia","Ayurveda retreats in Indonesia",{"slug":417,"h1":418},"ayurveda-retreats-in-sri-lanka","Ayurveda retreats in Sri Lanka",{"slug":420,"h1":421},"ayurveda-retreats-in-thailand","Ayurveda retreats in Thailand",{"slug":423,"h1":424},"balneotherapy-retreats-in-austria","Thermal kur retreats in Austria",{"slug":426,"h1":427},"balneotherapy-retreats-in-czechia","Thermal kur retreats in Czechia",{"slug":429,"h1":430},"balneotherapy-retreats-in-germany","Thermal kur retreats in Germany",{"slug":432,"h1":433},"longevity-retreats-in-austria","Longevity retreats in Austria",[435,438,441,444,447,449,451,454,456,459,462,465,467,470],{"slug":436,"shortName":437},"united-kingdom","United Kingdom",{"slug":439,"shortName":440},"united-states","United States",{"slug":442,"shortName":443},"united-arab-emirates","UAE",{"slug":445,"shortName":446},"australia","Australia",{"slug":448,"shortName":8},"india",{"slug":450,"shortName":105},"germany",{"slug":452,"shortName":453},"saudi-arabia","Saudi Arabia",{"slug":455,"shortName":144},"switzerland",{"slug":457,"shortName":458},"canada","Canada",{"slug":460,"shortName":461},"singapore","Singapore",{"slug":463,"shortName":464},"netherlands","Netherlands",{"slug":466,"shortName":134},"france",{"slug":468,"shortName":469},"qatar-kuwait-oman","Qatar, Kuwait & Oman",{"slug":471,"shortName":472},"ireland","Ireland",[474,480,484,489,494,499,504,509,512],{"slug":11,"name":475,"tagline":476,"regulated":477,"count":30,"image":478,"imageAlt":479},"Ayurveda","India’s licensed system of medicine, practised as medicine",true,"wm-somatheeram-doctor","An Ayurveda doctor taking a guest’s pulse and blood pressure during a cure in Kerala",{"slug":12,"name":481,"tagline":482,"regulated":483,"count":347,"image":356,"imageAlt":357},"Yoga","A lineage, a teacher, and enough consecutive days to matter",false,{"slug":108,"name":485,"tagline":486,"regulated":477,"count":295,"image":487,"imageAlt":488},"The thermal kur","Europe’s prescribed cure, still paid for by health insurers","wm-karlovy-spring","A drinking spring inside the Mill Colonnade at Karlovy Vary",{"slug":88,"name":490,"tagline":491,"regulated":477,"count":24,"image":492,"imageAlt":493},"Onsen","Japanese hot-spring bathing, defined by law","wm-nigorigo-onsen","An outdoor hot-spring bath under a timber shelter in the Japanese mountains",{"slug":136,"name":495,"tagline":496,"regulated":477,"count":22,"image":497,"imageAlt":498},"Thalassotherapy","Heated seawater, under medical supervision, since 1899","wm-carnac-thalasso","The heated seawater pool at a thalassotherapy centre in Brittany",{"slug":75,"name":500,"tagline":501,"regulated":477,"count":22,"image":502,"imageAlt":503},"Traditional Thai medicine","A licensed profession, not the massage on the high street","wm-thai-massage-sala","Thai massage given clothed, on mats, in an open sala by the sea",{"slug":53,"name":505,"tagline":506,"regulated":477,"count":22,"image":507,"imageAlt":508},"Sowa Rigpa","Himalayan medicine, delivered by the state in Bhutan","wm-tibetan-medical-thangka","A Tibetan medical thangka at the Men-Tsee-Khang, the Tibetan medical institute in Lhasa",{"slug":97,"name":510,"tagline":511,"regulated":477,"count":30,"image":374,"imageAlt":375},"Longevity","Two very different answers to the same question",{"slug":154,"name":513,"tagline":514,"regulated":477,"count":22,"image":515,"imageAlt":516},"The Mayr cure","A medically supervised digestive rest, invented in Austria","wm-igls-kurpark","The pond in the Kurpark at Igls, above Innsbruck",{"destinations":518,"countries":519,"resorts":520,"programmes":521,"concerns":518,"modalities":522,"excursions":523,"extensions":524},15,12,37,21,9,76,45,{"programme":526,"resort":570,"destination":626,"modality":776,"alternatives":918},{"slug":527,"name":528,"resortSlug":287,"modalitySlug":11,"hook":529,"intention":322,"concerns":530,"nights":521,"lengths":531,"groupSize":23,"overview":533,"suitedTo":536,"notSuitedTo":538,"phases":540,"dayShape":541,"sampleDay":542,"included":543,"excluded":550,"faqs":552,"image":349,"imageAlt":350,"startingPrice":553,"priceBasis":554,"counted":555,"priceIncludes":564,"care":565,"price":569,"resortName":288,"resortCharacter":182,"destinationSlug":6,"destinationName":7,"country":8},"soma-palmshore-slimming-programme","Slimming Programme","Soma Palmshore’s slimming package — herbal powder and oil massages, steam baths and a special diet — for 21 or 28 nights.",[322],[521,532],28,[534,535],"The Slimming Programme is package 2 at Soma Palmshore, sold at 21 or 28 nights with accommodation, Ayurveda treatments as per the package and Ayurvedic vegetarian full board, per its 2026–27 tariff.","The Somatheeram group describes it as two daily massages, with medicated herbal powder and with medicated herbal oil, plus a medicated steam bath, herbal juices and herbal tea, and a special Ayurvedic diet throughout the stay.",[537],"Guests with three or four weeks to give it",[539],"Anyone wanting a strictly hospital-first regime — the package tariff does not set out daily doctor’s consultations",[],"",[],[544,545,546,547,548,549],"Accommodation in a sea-facing room of the category booked","Ayurveda treatments as per the package","Ayurvedic vegetarian full board","Daily yoga and meditation, complimentary","Airport transfers from Trivandrum, complimentary","Interpreters for German, Italian, French and Russian, complimentary",[551],"Christmas and New Year gala dinners, mandatory at €30 and €40 per person",[],{"amount":326,"currency":17},"21 nights, sharing a Sea Facing A\u002FC Standard room",[556,560],{"value":557,"label":558,"detail":559},"21","nights","It also sells a 28-night package.",{"value":561,"label":562,"detail":563},"2","massages a day","With medicated herbal powder and with medicated herbal oil, as the group describes the programme.","Accommodation, the slimming programme’s Ayurveda treatments and Ayurvedic vegetarian full board.",{"supervision":566,"team":567,"consultations":568},"The tariff lists an Ayurveda hospital and a doctor on call among the amenities; it does not set out a consultation schedule for its packages.","The tariff does not publish staff numbers.","Not set out in the package tariff; we confirm the schedule with the house before you book.",{"amount":326,"currency":17},{"slug":287,"name":288,"destinationSlug":6,"area":571,"country":8,"modalities":572,"character":182,"knownFor":573,"why":574,"signature":579,"typicalNights":580,"accolades":581,"honest":582,"relationship":583,"confidence":584,"image":585,"imageAlt":586,"gallery":587,"greatFor":591,"whoShouldGo":596,"team":597,"roomTypes":598,"facilities":608,"dining":614,"activities":618,"arrival":621,"destinationName":7,"programmeCount":24,"fromPrice":625},"Lighthouse Road, Kovalam, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala",[11,12],"The Somatheeram group’s house at Kovalam itself, on the cliffs along Lighthouse Road: three categories of sea-facing rooms, with Ayurveda packages from seven nights or a room on breakfast.",[575,576,577,578],"Every room faces the sea: the tariff lists three air-conditioned categories — cottage, deluxe and standard — with an Ayurveda hospital, yoga and meditation on site.","It sells three packages with treatment and Ayurvedic full board — Rejuvenation or Purification from seven nights, Slimming from 21 and Stress Management at 14 — and rooms on breakfast for a companion or a shorter stay.","Its restaurant serves Kerala multi-cuisine with fresh catch as the speciality, alongside Ayurvedic meals, per the tariff.","Children under six stay free in their parents’ room, and a 25% advance confirms a room booking outside November to February, per the tariff.","Rejuvenation or Body Purification from seven nights, a 21- or 28-night Slimming Programme and a 14-night Stress Management Programme, in sea-facing rooms.","7–28 nights by package",[],"It is a beach resort with an Ayurveda hospital rather than a hospital first: the package tariff lists treatment, Ayurvedic full board and complimentary yoga, but not the daily doctor’s consultations its sister houses spell out. Stays from November to February must be paid in full, and Christmas and New Year gala dinners are mandatory.","bookable","medium","wm-kovalam-beach","Kovalam beach curving round towards the lighthouse",[588],{"src":589,"alt":590},"wm-kovalam-lighthouse","The Kovalam lighthouse above the palms — Soma Palmshore is on Lighthouse Road",[592,593,594,595],"Kovalam beach location","Sea-facing rooms","Ayurveda with a beach holiday","Companions on breakfast","Somebody who wants Ayurveda and Kovalam’s beach in the same stay, or a companion who is not taking treatment — rooms are sold on breakfast too. For a stricter, hospital-first regime, its sister houses at Chowara are the closer fit.","The tariff lists an Ayurveda hospital and a doctor on call among the amenities; it does not publish staff numbers or a consultation schedule for its packages.",[599,602,605],{"name":600,"note":601},"Sea Facing A\u002FC Cottage","A sea-facing air-conditioned cottage with an en-suite bathroom and hot water.",{"name":603,"note":604},"Sea Facing A\u002FC Deluxe","A sea-facing air-conditioned deluxe room with an en-suite bathroom and hot water.",{"name":606,"note":607},"Sea Facing A\u002FC Standard","A sea-facing air-conditioned standard room with an en-suite bathroom and hot water.",[609,610,611,612,613],"Ayurveda hospital and Ayurveda beauty clinic, per the tariff","Yoga and meditation","Swimming pool","Multi-cuisine restaurant and 24-hour room service","Mini conference hall",[615],{"name":616,"note":617},"The restaurant","Kerala multi-cuisine with fresh catch as the speciality, plus Ayurvedic meals, per the tariff.",[619,620],"Daily yoga and meditation, complimentary with a package","Boating and cultural performances, per the tariff’s amenities list",{"airport":622,"code":623,"transfer":624},"Thiruvananthapuram International","TRV","About 14 km by road; airport transfers are complimentary with a package, per the tariff.",{"amount":16,"currency":17},{"slug":6,"name":7,"place":627,"country":8,"countryCode":628,"cluster":9,"fame":22,"modalities":629,"hook":630,"caseFor":631,"hardFacts":636,"caveat":643,"season":644,"seasonName":645,"seasonNote":646,"practical":647,"figures":666,"faqs":679,"image":19,"imageAlt":20,"gallery":689,"coords":699,"gateway":702,"tempC":724,"climateNote":730,"leisure":731,"extensions":761,"resortCount":13,"programmeCount":14,"fromPrice":774,"minNights":775,"maxNights":521},"Palakkad, the Trivandrum coast and the backwaters","IN",[11,12],"The one place on earth where Ayurveda is at once a licensed medical system, a 120-year-old pharmaceutical industry and a tourism product.",[632,633,634,635],"Ayurveda here is taught in state medical colleges and practised in government hospitals. A physician holds a BAMS — five and a half years including a clinical internship — and is registered with a statutory council, which is a different thing from a spa therapist with a certificate.","The pharmaceutical tradition is industrial and old. Arya Vaidya Sala at Kottakkal has been compounding classical formulations since 1902 and runs its own affiliated college; the good properties still make their own oils on site, and whether a house compounds its own is one of the things we check before listing it.","Kerala Tourism operates a state classification for Ayurveda centres — now a three-tier Ayur Silver, Ayur Gold and Ayur Diamond scheme that replaced the older Olive Leaf and Green Leaf grades. It is a facilities-and-hygiene rating rather than a clinical one, but it is a real, checkable filter no other destination on this atlas offers.","It is the only place we will sell a full 28-night Panchakarma, because it is the only place where the supervision is dense enough to justify one.",[637,638,639,640,641,642],"Government Ayurveda College, Thiruvananthapuram — commonly dated to 1889 under Travancore royal patronage; today affiliated to Kerala University of Health Sciences.","Arya Vaidya Sala, Kottakkal — founded 1902 by Vaidyaratnam P. S. Varier, and still compounding classical formulations.","Practitioner regulation is national: the Department of Indian Systems of Medicine became AYUSH in November 2003 and a full Ministry on 9 November 2014.","Classification certificates are valid three years, and the Director of Tourism may inspect a classified centre at any time without notice.","Karkidakam — the last month of the Malayalam calendar, roughly mid-July to mid-August — is the traditional 28-day rejuvenation month, Karkidaka Chikitsa.","The India Meteorological Department’s normal southwest monsoon onset over Kerala is 1 June.","The word \"Ayurveda\" covers both a licensed medical system and an entirely unregulated massage trade, often on the same beach. A state classification is a tourism-department facilities rating, not a clinical accreditation — it tells you the kitchen is clean, not that a physician wrote your prescription. The state is also mid-transition between two naming schemes, so a certificate on the wall may cite a retired grade. And the properties we list are quiet rural places with mosquitoes, power cuts and nothing to do after dark: people who came for the medicine love it, and people who wanted a resort are miserable by day four.",[22,22,23,23,23,24,24,24,24,22,22,22],"Karkidakam","For treatment the monsoon is the season — not despite the rain but because of it. Humidity keeps the skin and channels receptive to oil, the air is cool, and Keralans have taken their own annual course in this month for centuries. March to May is the part to avoid: 35 °C and humid is a poor climate for daily oil therapy. The brochures sell January because January photographs better, and it costs a great deal more for a less effective fortnight.",[648,651,654,657,660,663],{"label":649,"value":650},"Airports","Kochi (COK) for the backwaters and Palakkad; Trivandrum (TRV) for the coast. Direct from the Gulf, one connection from most of Europe.",{"label":652,"value":653},"Transfer","Two to four hours by road, included, with a driver we have used for years rather than a hotel taxi.",{"label":655,"value":656},"Visa","India e-visa for most passports, applied for online, usually approved inside 72 hours.",{"label":658,"value":659},"Language","Malayalam locally; English throughout the properties including with therapists. German at two of the coastal houses.",{"label":661,"value":662},"What to bring","Old, loose cotton and more of it than you think. Treatment oil never fully washes out — bring nothing you love.",{"label":664,"value":665},"Medical","A current prescription list and recent bloodwork. The physician asks on day one and it changes what is prescribed.",[667,670,673,676],{"value":668,"label":669},"1889","First Ayurveda college",{"value":671,"label":672},"1902","Arya Vaidya Sala founded",{"value":674,"label":675},"5½ yrs","Physician training",{"value":677,"label":678},"28","Nights, Karkidaka Chikitsa",[680,683,686],{"q":681,"a":682},"Is the monsoon really better, or is that a way to sell the low season?","Both are true and we would rather say so. The classical rationale predates tourism by centuries — Karkidakam is the treatment month in Kerala’s own calendar. It is also when properties are empty. Our position: the season genuinely helps, the discount is real, and if you hate rain you should come in October and lose very little.",{"q":684,"a":685},"Can I do a proper Panchakarma in a week?","No. Preparation alone runs three to seven days before the main purification, and the rebuilding phase afterwards is where the benefit is consolidated. Fourteen nights is our floor. With only a week, take a shamana programme — a real treatment on the gentler line — and we will say so on the invoice.",{"q":687,"a":688},"What does a state Ayurveda classification actually prove?","That Kerala Tourism inspected facilities, hygiene, therapist training and physician presence against a published checklist, and may re-inspect without notice. It is a useful signal and it is not a clinical accreditation — ask for the resident physician’s BAMS registration number too. Note the scheme was renamed: Ayur Silver, Gold and Diamond replaced Olive Leaf and Green Leaf, so older certificates cite retired grades.",[690,693,696],{"src":691,"alt":692},"wm-nedumudy-houseboat","A rice-boat houseboat moored at Nedumudy, Alappuzha",{"src":694,"alt":695},"wm-alleppey-houseboat","A houseboat on the open Alleppey backwaters",{"src":697,"alt":698},"wm-kumarakom-boat","A country boat crossing a backwater channel, from above",{"lat":700,"lng":701},10.53,76.21,{"airport":703,"code":18,"city":704,"routings":705,"transfer":722,"flightNote":723},"Cochin International","Kochi — with Trivandrum (TRV) the better gateway for the southern coast",[706,710,714,718],{"from":707,"how":708,"time":709},"London & western Europe","One stop through a Gulf hub — Dubai, Doha or Abu Dhabi. There is no direct service from the UK.","13–15 hours door to door",{"from":711,"how":712,"time":713},"The Gulf","Direct, and frequent. Kerala has the densest Gulf connection of any Indian state.","4 hours",{"from":715,"how":716,"time":717},"Delhi & Mumbai","Direct, several daily.","3 hours 15 from Delhi",{"from":719,"how":720,"time":721},"Singapore & Kuala Lumpur","Direct to Kochi.","4–5 hours","Two to four hours by road depending on the house — Palakkad is inland, the Chowara and Kovalam properties are an hour from Trivandrum. Included in every programme, with a driver we use year-round rather than a hotel taxi.","Fly into Kochi and out of Trivandrum, or the reverse, if the itinerary suits — it is the same fare on most carriers and saves a four-hour repositioning drive. Arrive in daylight if you can: the first evening includes a consultation, and a 3 a.m. landing costs you a day of it.",[725,726,727,727,726,728,532,532,728,729,729,725],31,32,33,29,30,"Warm all year and never cold — the variable is humidity and rain, not temperature. The monsoon months read hottest on paper and feel coolest in practice.",[732,738,743,748,753,757],{"name":733,"kind":734,"duration":735,"note":736,"when":737},"A night on the backwaters","nature","Overnight, or a half day","A converted rice barge from Alleppey through the Kuttanad channels. The overnight is worth it; the three-hour version is a queue of identical boats.","before",{"name":739,"kind":740,"duration":741,"note":742,"when":737},"Fort Kochi and Mattancherry","culture","Full day","The Chinese fishing nets, the Paradesi synagogue, the Dutch Palace murals and a spice-market walk. Five hundred years of Portuguese, Dutch and Jewish Kochi in one walkable afternoon.",{"name":744,"kind":740,"duration":745,"note":746,"when":747},"Kathakali, properly","3 hours","Arrive an hour early to watch the make-up go on — it is the better half. Ask us for the Kochi hall that still plays to Malayali audiences rather than the tourist matinée.","rest-day",{"name":749,"kind":734,"duration":750,"note":751,"when":752},"A tea estate day in Munnar","Full day, or two nights","Four hours up from Kochi into the Western Ghats at 1,600 m. Genuinely cold, entirely different country. Too far and too long for a treatment rest day — take it before or after.","after",{"name":754,"kind":740,"duration":755,"note":756,"when":747},"The oil kitchen and the pharmacy","2 hours","At the houses that still compound their own preparations, ask to be shown the room. Most will say yes and few guests think to ask. It is the single most convincing hour of the fortnight.",{"name":758,"kind":734,"duration":759,"note":760,"when":752},"Periyar, for the elephants","Two nights","A tiger reserve where you will not see a tiger and will see elephant, gaur and hornbill. A boat on the lake at dawn is the version worth doing.",[762,766,770],{"name":763,"nights":764,"note":765,"side":737},"Kochi & the backwaters","3 nights","The obvious and correct opener: fort Kochi, a barge night, and an unhurried arrival into the time zone before anyone takes your pulse.",{"name":767,"nights":768,"note":769,"side":752},"The Golden Triangle","5 nights","Delhi, Agra and Jaipur on the way home. Long flights internally and worth every one of them if it is a first trip to India.",{"name":771,"nights":772,"note":773,"side":752},"Tamil Nadu temples","4 nights","Madurai, Thanjavur and Chettinad — the living Dravidian south, three hours east and a different civilisation.",{"amount":16,"currency":17},7,{"slug":11,"name":475,"tagline":476,"origin":777,"regulated":477,"regulationNote":778,"indications":779,"cautions":786,"whatHappens":791,"minimumNights":775,"recommendedNights":521,"image":478,"imageAlt":479,"originPlace":8,"body":792,"hardFacts":796,"evidence":802,"treatments":824,"glossary":853,"confusedWith":887,"figures":890,"faqs":901,"destinationCount":30,"resortCount":917,"programmeCount":519},"North and South India, continuously for well over two thousand years.","A licensed medical system in India. Physicians hold a BAMS — five and a half years including a clinical internship — and are registered with a state medical council. In most other countries it is a complementary therapy with no equivalent protection, which is precisely why where you go matters.",[780,781,782,783,784,785],"Digestive complaints that have been investigated and found structurally normal","Sleep that is broken rather than absent","Recovery after illness, treatment or a long stretch of overwork","Chronic pain and stiffness, particularly inflammatory","Skin conditions with a clear seasonal pattern","Menstrual and perimenopausal disruption",[787,788,789,790],"Pregnancy and breastfeeding — purification is contraindicated outright","Anticoagulants, thyroid, diabetes and immunosuppressant medication all change the plan","Any history of an eating disorder — the dietary restriction is not appropriate","Acute illness. Come when it has settled, not during","A physician examines you on arrival — pulse, tongue, digestion, sleep, history — and writes a prescription that is revised every morning for the length of your stay. Days are built around your digestion and the sun: a long therapy block before noon, the largest meal at midday, a deliberately empty afternoon, dinner finished before seven.",[793,794,795],"Ayurveda is a licensed system of medicine in India, which is the single fact that separates it from almost everything sold under its name elsewhere. A physician holds a BAMS — a five-and-a-half-year degree including a year of clinical internship — is registered with a statutory council, and practises in hospitals the state inspects. The person offering you an \"Ayurvedic massage\" in a beach hut has none of that, and the word does not distinguish between them.","The system is constitutional rather than symptomatic. It begins from the idea that people differ in a patterned way — the three doshas are the shorthand — and that the same complaint in two bodies wants two different treatments. In practice this means an examination before anything is prescribed, a prescription that changes daily, and a diet that is part of the medicine rather than a lifestyle suggestion.","What travellers meet is usually one of two lines. *Shamana* is the gentler, palliative one: oil therapy, diet, herbs, rest. *Shodhana* is purification, of which Panchakarma is the classical form, and it is a genuine medical procedure with a preparation phase, a removal phase and a rebuilding phase — three weeks properly, fourteen nights at an absolute minimum. Almost everything sold internationally as \"Panchakarma\" is the massage that precedes it.",[637,797,798,799,800,801],"Arya Vaidya Sala, Kottakkal — founded 1902, still compounding classical formulations and running an affiliated college.","The Department of Indian Systems of Medicine became AYUSH in November 2003 and a full Ministry of the Government of India on 9 November 2014.","A BAMS is 5½ years including a compulsory rotating clinical internship; graduates register with a state or central council.","NABH — India’s national hospital accreditation board — accredits a small number of Ayurvedic hospitals against clinical rather than tourism criteria.","Kerala Tourism classifies Ayurveda centres under a three-tier Ayur Silver \u002F Gold \u002F Diamond scheme, which replaced the older Olive Leaf and Green Leaf grades.",[803,807,810,814,818,821],{"claim":804,"status":805,"note":806},"Warm-oil therapy relieves musculoskeletal pain and stiffness","mixed","Small trials and a very long clinical tradition. Sustained local heat and manual work on a guarded muscle has an unmysterious mechanism; the trials are mostly small, unblinded and conducted in India.",{"claim":808,"status":805,"note":809},"Ayurvedic treatment helps rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis symptoms","The best-known trial compared a classical Ayurvedic regimen with methotrexate in RA and found broadly comparable symptom outcomes in a small sample. One promising small trial is not a basis for changing your treatment.",{"claim":811,"status":812,"note":813},"Panchakarma \"removes toxins\" from the body","none","Ama is a coherent concept inside the system and it is not a measurable substance that purification has been shown to clear. What a properly run Panchakarma demonstrably does is change diet, sleep, activity and digestion for three weeks under supervision — which is quite enough to explain how people feel afterwards.",{"claim":815,"status":816,"note":817},"Constitutional assessment predicts which treatment will suit you","traditional","Central to the system, and attempts to validate dosha typing against biological markers have been inconclusive. Treat it as the framework a skilled physician uses rather than as a diagnostic test.",{"claim":819,"status":805,"note":820},"Shirodhara improves sleep and reduces anxiety","Several small studies show reductions in anxiety measures. Forty minutes of warm oil on the forehead in a dark room is also a near-perfect relaxation protocol, which is not a criticism.",{"claim":822,"status":812,"note":823},"Ayurvedic preparations are inherently safe because they are natural","Flatly untrue and the most important line on this page. Some classical rasa shastra preparations contain heavy metals by design, and independent testing of imported products has repeatedly found lead, mercury and arsenic. Buy from the treating hospital, never from a market, and tell the physician every drug you take.",[825,829,833,837,841,845,849],{"name":826,"duration":827,"body":828},"Abhyanga","60–90 minutes, daily","Full-body massage with warm medicated oil, usually by two therapists working in synchrony. Firm, long, repetitive strokes rather than deep-tissue work. You will be oiled from scalp to feet and you will not fully wash it out for a fortnight — bring old clothes.",{"name":830,"duration":831,"body":832},"Shirodhara","40–60 minutes","A continuous stream of warm oil poured onto the forehead from a suspended vessel, in a dark quiet room. Almost everyone finds it strange for four minutes and then loses track of time. Prescribed for sleep, anxiety and headache.",{"name":834,"duration":835,"body":836},"Swedana","15–20 minutes, after abhyanga","Herbal steam, usually in a wooden box with your head outside it. It follows oil for a reason: the heat drives the oil inward and opens the channels the massage has loosened.",{"name":838,"duration":839,"body":840},"Virechana","One supervised day","A measured therapeutic purgation, given after a week of preparation, on the physician’s judgement rather than to a schedule. You spend the day in your room within reach of a bathroom and are checked hourly. Unpleasant, brief, and the point of the whole three weeks.",{"name":842,"duration":843,"body":844},"Basti","30 minutes, on alternating days","Medicated enema — oil-based or decoction-based — and considered the single most important procedure in the system for vata disorders. Far less dramatic in practice than it sounds on paper.",{"name":846,"duration":847,"body":848},"Nasya","20 minutes","Medicated oil administered through the nostrils after facial steam and massage, for complaints above the collarbone: sinuses, headache, some sleep problems.",{"name":850,"duration":851,"body":852},"Njavarakizhi","60 minutes","Boluses of medicated rice cooked in milk, applied hot in rhythm by two therapists. Deeply nourishing rather than mobilising, and usually part of the rebuilding phase rather than the purification one.",[854,857,860,863,866,869,872,875,878,881,884],{"term":855,"meaning":856},"Dosha","The three functional principles — vata, pitta, kapha — used to describe constitution and imbalance.",{"term":858,"meaning":859},"Prakriti","Your constitution at birth: the baseline a physician compares today’s state against.",{"term":861,"meaning":862},"Agni","Digestive fire. Most treatment begins by restoring it, and most diets exist to protect it.",{"term":864,"meaning":865},"Ama","Undigested residue; the system’s explanation for a coated tongue, heaviness and dullness.",{"term":867,"meaning":868},"Panchakarma","Literally \"five actions\" — the classical purification sequence, of which you will typically receive one or two.",{"term":870,"meaning":871},"Shamana","The palliative line: treatment that settles without removing. Most short stays are this.",{"term":873,"meaning":874},"Shodhana","The purification line. Panchakarma is its main expression.",{"term":876,"meaning":877},"Rasayana","Rejuvenation — the rebuilding line, and the correct programme for anyone depleted rather than congested.",{"term":879,"meaning":880},"Samsarjana krama","The staged re-feeding after purification. Six days, in a fixed order, and where the result is kept or lost.",{"term":882,"meaning":883},"Vaidya","An Ayurvedic physician.",{"term":885,"meaning":886},"BAMS","Bachelor of Ayurvedic Medicine and Surgery — the 5½-year Indian degree. Ask for the registration number.",{"name":888,"difference":889},"Spa massage using Ayurvedic vocabulary","The test is whether a physician examined you before anything was decided, and whether the prescription changed during the stay. A menu you choose from is a spa, however good the oils and however Sanskrit the names. Both can be enjoyable; only one is medicine, and only one carries contraindications worth declaring.",[891,893,895,898],{"value":674,"label":892},"Physician training (BAMS)",{"value":668,"label":894},"First state Ayurveda college",{"value":896,"label":897},"14","Nights minimum for Panchakarma",{"value":899,"label":900},"3","Phases: prepare, remove, rebuild",[902,905,908,911,914],{"q":903,"a":904},"Is a week enough?","For a shamana programme — real treatment on the gentler line — yes, and it can do a great deal for sleep and stress. For Panchakarma, no. Preparation alone runs three to seven days before the main procedure and the rebuilding phase afterwards is where the benefit is consolidated. Fourteen nights is our floor and twenty-one is the honest answer.",{"q":906,"a":907},"Can I keep taking my medication?","Usually, with adjustment, and it must be declared before you arrive. Anticoagulants, thyroid medication, diabetes drugs, lithium and immunosuppressants all change what can be prescribed. No physician at any house on this site should ever suggest stopping something your own doctor prescribed — if one does, tell us.",{"q":909,"a":910},"How do I know the physician is real?","Ask for the BAMS registration number and the council. A serious property gives it without hesitation. Then ask whether the preparations are compounded on site or bought in, and ask to see the room — the good houses are proud of it and almost no guest thinks to ask.",{"q":912,"a":913},"Is the food really that strict?","Yes, and it is the part guests underestimate. On a purification programme there is no menu, no alcohol, no coffee and often no solid food for a stretch. The kitchen is following a prescription. If that sounds intolerable, the honest answer is a rejuvenation programme rather than a purification one.",{"q":915,"a":916},"Will I be cold, bored, or both?","Possibly bored, and that is deliberate — the empty afternoon is part of the schedule. Many of the strongest programmes are at quiet rural properties with little to do after dark. That suits travellers who want to focus on the programme, but not those looking for a conventional resort holiday.",23,[],1791565903164]