Six Senses Vana
Malsi Estate, Dehradun · India
The most programme-disciplined retreat in India — it opened in 2014 as Vana with no à la carte menu at all, and was rebranded under Six Senses in 2023.
- Programmes from
- US$5,750
- Typical stay
- 14 nights minimum on the Ayurveda track
- Programmes here
- 1
- Nearest airport
- Dehradun (Jolly Grant) · DED
The short version
Who this house is for
Somebody who wants Ayurveda, Sowa Rigpa and yoga assessed together rather than picked from a menu — and who is content to wear the same house kurta as everyone else, eat what the kitchen sends and give up the phone in public areas. It is the least hotel-like of the comfortable houses.
The signature
Minimum-stay programme retreats built around a consultation, with Sowa Rigpa available alongside Ayurveda.
The setting
Rishikesh, and what is practised here
A still mountain lake in the foothills — Rishikesh A figure holding tree pose at sunrise — Rishikesh A group practising together outdoors — Rishikesh Ayurveda, practised at this house Sowa Rigpa, practised at this house Yoga, practised at this house
These photographs show Rishikesh and the disciplines practised at this house. They are not photographs of the property — we would rather show you the place honestly than dress a stock picture up as a room you have not been sold.
What it is known for
Why this house has the reputation it has
- It is one of very few properties in the world running Ayurveda, Sowa Rigpa and yoga side by side under one clinical team, which lets a physician choose between traditions rather than defend one.
- Everything is programme-based: you are assigned a schedule after consultation and there is no spa menu to order from.
- Its Ayurveda track is sold from a fourteen-night minimum, which is a more useful signal of seriousness than any listing.
- An hour from Rishikesh, so it pairs naturally with a yoga fortnight in the valley.
What we would tell you on the phone
The rebrand to Six Senses reportedly changed the management and, by several accounts, some of the austerity that made the original notable — we could not independently confirm the date of the transition. We list it because the clinical structure survives, but if you stayed in 2016 and are expecting exactly that, ask us what has changed before you book.
Your accommodation
The rooms, and which one to ask for
- 01
Vana room
The standard category, in the low blocks in the sal forest. Uniform by design — you are not choosing a view here.
- 02
Vana suite
Larger, with a sitting area.
- 03
Two-bedroom suite
For two guests travelling together, both usually in programmes.
Categories and names are as published by the property and are confirmed in writing at the quote. Where we would take a different room from the one the programme is quoted in, the note says so.
Wellness at Six Senses Vana
Who is actually here
Physicians in Ayurveda and in Sowa Rigpa, the Tibetan system, working alongside natural-therapy and yoga teams. The assessment on arrival decides which tradition leads, which is the whole argument for coming here rather than to a single-discipline house.
We do not publish clinicians' names anywhere on this site. They move, which makes a named page quietly untrue, and naming one invites you to book a person no house can promise will be on shift — assignment is made on arrival, from your examination. What is worth knowing is how many there are and what they hold.
What the building contains
- Separate Ayurveda, Sowa Rigpa and natural-therapy wings
- Watsu pool
- Indoor and outdoor pools
- Two yoga shalas
- Fitness and movement studios
- Meditation cave and library
- Twenty-one acres of forest in the Dehradun valley
At the table
Eating here
On a prescribed programme the food is part of the treatment rather than a choice — which is worth knowing before you arrive expecting a wine list.
- The dining hall
One kitchen, no à la carte, and portions matched to the programme. Vegetarian, with a lot of thought behind what looks like very little.
Between treatments
How the days go
What there is to do here when you are not being treated, on site and within reach of it.
- Yoga and meditation through the day
- Forest walks
- Talks and workshops
- Sound sessions
- Deliberately little else
Where it is
Rishikesh, India
Where modern transnational yoga was institutionalised — and then, in 1968, handed global celebrity.
- Nearest airport
- Dehradun (Jolly Grant) DED
- Transfer
- Around thirty minutes by road, included
| Destination | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RishikeshIndia | Jan: perfectly good | Feb: book this | Mar: book this | Apr: book this | May: we would talk you out of it | Jun: we would talk you out of it | Jul: we would talk you out of it | Aug: we would talk you out of it | Sep: book this | Oct: book this | Nov: book this | Dec: perfectly good |
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