IMAGES: ALEX GRABCHILEV; LAS TORRES; SHAKTI
ANCIENT HEALING
EMBRACE YOUR INNER VIKING IN ICELAND At Eleven Deplar Farm in northern Iceland, a Viking-inspired sauna ritual offers a powerful way to connect with both the local landscape and heritage. Set in a remote valley framed by jagged peaks and open skies, the former 15th-century sheep farm has been carefully redesigned as an off-grid luxury retreat, where the sauna ritual feels worlds away from the ordinary spa experience. Guests move between a turf-covered sauna built into a grassy
knoll and a nearby open-air cold plunge pool. The rhythmic contrast therapy is said to boost circulation, reduce stress and strengthen the immune system, while helping the body shed toxins. Inspired by Nordic bathing traditions and Icelandic folklore, the ritual unfolds with breath-focused meditation and traditional Viking music, before culminating in cathartic ‘screaming therapy’, where guests release tension by bellowing wholeheartedly into the wilderness. HOW TO DO IT: The Viking Sauna Ritual costs £370 for four. Rooms start from £3,000 per night.
elevenexperience.com
DIVE INTO THE SHAMANIC WISDOM OF SUMBA, INDONESIA On Sumba’s untamed southwest coast, eco-forward Cap Karoso resort offers a seven-night Shamanic Healing Journey rooted in Marapu, the island’s indigenous belief system. Days begin with visits to local villages and private healing sessions with a shaman, incorporating plant-based brews, breathwork and head massages believed to access deep energetic pathways. Signature therapies draw heavily on ancestral knowledge. The
Moro Ndahaka Sumbanese Massage, for example, uses a sacred oil made from a family recipe featuring the bark of an endemic tree found in just one forest on the island. Throughout the stay, guests are also nourished with tonics and infusions made from botanicals grown on Cap Karoso’s regenerative organic farm, each designed to support balance and restore wellbeing. HOW TO DO IT: The seven-night Shamanic Healing Journey starts from £9,000 per person and includes a tailored itinerary, full-board accommodation, transfers and wellness consultations.
capkaroso.com
SPEND TIME WITH TRADITIONAL HEALERS IN INDIA High in the Himalayas, one of the world’s oldest surviving medical traditions continues to thrive: the Amchi system of wellbeing, founded on the belief that the body is shaped by five natural elements and that health depends on maintaining their balance. In Ladakh, Shakti Himalaya’s Soul Soother wellness journeys offer travellers the opportunity to experience this philosophy first-hand. Time spent with Amchi healers forms a central part of the programme, creating meaningful insight into practices that have been passed through the generations. Visits to remote villages include traditional pulse readings, during which healers assess circulation and energy before suggesting personalised guidance on diet and lifestyle. You can also consult Ladakhi oracles — revered spiritual figures who enter a trance to answer questions and offer blessings of health and good fortune. These encounters are complemented by daily meditation and yoga sessions, monastery visits and evenings spent stargazing beneath Ladakh’s vast Himalayan skies. HOW TO DO IT: Shakti Ladakh Village Experience starts from £5,266, based on two travelling.
shaktihimalaya.com
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NATIONALGEOGRAPHIC.COM/TRAVEL
SADDLE UP FOR EQUINE THERAPY WITH PATAGONIA’S BAQUEANOS For centuries, baqueanos have crossed the dramatic landscapes of Chilean Patagonia’s Torres del Paine National Park on horseback. Named after baquía, meaning ‘deep knowledge of the land’, these custodians of traditional horsemanship serve as both guides and storytellers. At Las Torres Patagonia, a historic ranch-turned-hotel within
the park, 150 horses roam freely across 14,800 acres of land before being gathered at dawn for guest rides. Suitable for all abilities, the experiences draw on the therapeutic power of spending time with horses, which has been shown to ease anxiety, improve emotional awareness and build self-esteem. The various experiences include hands-on instruction in
stable care and traditional dress, followed by long journeys across trails that wind past granite peaks and glacial lakes. Regular pauses for yerba mate — a shared herbal infusion symbolising friendship and rest — offer moments to slow down, listen to baqueano stories and absorb the sprawling landscape. HOW TO DO IT: Two-night all-inclusive packages start from £1,755 per person, based on two sharing.
lastorres.com
Clockwise from top left: Shamans use tengu leaves and native herbs to create remedies believed to boost immunity and restore spiritual balance; equine therapy helps riders build confidence, improve balance and posture, as well as strengthen their emotional awareness; Ladakh’s stark, rocky landscapes and wide-open valleys instil a sense of calm
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