Nepal’s ancient art of pampering will bowl you over
A TALL, dark stranger was beating the metal bowl resting on my buttocks with a lump of wood. Each strike produced a loud, echoing toll and incredible vibrations that shimmied through my body, top to toe. It was extraordinary.
The Singing Bowl Therapy is an ancient practice unique to the Himalayan region. Human organs vibrate at specific frequencies when healthy and disturbed frequencies when sick, apparently. The bowl is said to have the ability to bring these frequencies into balance.
During my 60-minute session, the therapist was uncannily accurate in pinpointing trouble spots, including a dodgy back.
Did it cure anything? Who knows. I certainly slept soundly that night, but that might have been down to the location. The Singing Bowl Therapy is one of the treatments available at possibly the best spa resort on Earth.
Sit almost anywhere in the forested 14-acre site of the Dwarika’s Resort Dhulikhel in Nepal and you’ll see the jagged, iced peaks of the world’s most spectacular mountains.
Designed to echo a traditional Nepalese village, accommodation is in separate villas scattered around the gardens, which are packed with plants. Birds and butterflies flit around.
To nourish the soul, there are gentle activities on offer – pottery, farming, yoga, gardening or meditation. Oh, and there’s that amazing spa. The Pancha Kosha Himalayan Spa has sound and colour therapy booths, a Himalayan salt house, open-air massage areas, yoga hall and steam rooms and the Singing Bowl Therapy Room. There’s nothing like fresh mountain air and a bit of pampering to calm the soul. Frankly, you’ll need to be in good spirits to tackle Kathmandu.
Nepal’s noisy, dusty, bustling, heavily populated capital is about an hour’s drive and a world away from Dhulikhel.
It is taking time for the country to recover from the earthquake of 2015 and for damaged buildings to be repaired. Head to Durbar Square, which has about 50 temples, palaces and other monuments. When you need to retreat from the sensory overload, there’s the divine Dwarika’s Kathmandu.This beautiful boutique hotel is richly furbished with examples of Nepalese craftsmanship – the wood carvings are beautiful.
Nepal still has wonderful places to stay and plenty to see, and those who depend on tourists for an income would be very pleased to see you, too.