A wide lawn framed by low stone steps under a sky full of stars

The retreat

Everything in one forest.

Eleven places to learn, serve, heal, eat and rest, set in one forest along the Ganga.

Learn

An open-sided library pavilion of timber columns and terracotta roof, its shelves facing the river at sunset

Learn

Jnana Mandap

A double-height, open-air library of local sandstone and timber, made for reading slowly.

Serve

Gir and Sahiwal cows under a long tiled cowshed, with a guest feeding a calf in the morning light

Serve

Kamadhenu Seva Goshala

Gau Seva with indigenous Gir and Sahiwal cattle: feeding, grooming and quiet time beside the cows.

Grow

A gardener harvesting vegetables from raised organic beds among fruit trees at sunrise

Grow

Sanjeevani Vatika

A living edible park where what is grown in the garden is what is cooked and served.

Nourish

An open dining pavilion with teak columns, terracotta roof and low wooden tables set for a meal

Nourish

Anna Purna Shala

An organic, seasonal Sattvic menu that travels from the garden to the table.

Heal

A tiled timber treatment pavilion with a massage table and cotton drapes, in a misty forest

Heal

Ayur-Shala

The Vedic spa: Ayurveda in the Kerala tradition, in forest treatment pavilions.

A stone-stepped pool scattered with rose petals, terracotta basins at its edge and the Ganga beyond at dawn

Heal

Vaidya Kund

A bathing pool blessed with Gangajal, infused each dawn with Tulsi, Neem and rose petals.

An octagonal bamboo yoga deck under a cane roof, reaching toward the river

Heal

Prana Deck

An octagonal bamboo platform for sunrise pranayama and gentle yoga, open to the river.

A small earth-and-lime amphitheatre at twilight, a sitar and singing bowls resting on the stage

Heal

Nada Kuti

A small open-air amphitheatre for live, unamplified acoustic music.

The still centre

Akasha Courtyard

A wide open lawn under the night sky, with nothing built above it.

Stay

A terracotta-roofed earth and timber cottage with a verandah, surrounded by lush forest

Stay

Aranya Kutir

Thirty independent earth-and-timber cottages, each sleeping a family of four with room to spare.

Feel Kashi

A wooden jetty on the Ganga at sunrise, a canopied boat heading toward the temples of the ghats

Feel Kashi

Nauka Ghat

La Aranya’s private jetty, and a traditional wooden boat to the ghats of Varanasi.

Master plan

A forest on the Ganga.

Forest, healing, learning, community. Thirty cottages sit in the south-west and west. The library and the Vaidya Kund share the north-east, the Goshala and the Sanjeevani Vatika sit in the north, and the open Akasha Courtyard holds the centre, with the Ganga along the whole western edge.

Illustrated master plan of La Aranya: cottages, gardens, library, goshala and the central courtyard along the Ganga — Select the plan to open it full size. Illustrative concept.

Concept in development

Help shape La Aranya.

Booking is not open yet. Your view will shape what we build. We would love to hear:

Would you stay here on a visit to Varanasi?
Which offerings matter most to you?
What is missing?