Lakeside Wellness Retreat in Northern Italy: Meditation, Yoga & Permaculture

A typical day at Mandali starts early with a meditation or movement session in one of the purpose-built halls, followed by breakfast. Breakfast is often taken in silence — it's one of the things guests mention most in reviews, and it's treated as part of the practice rather than just a meal. Mornings usually hold the longest teaching or practice block of the day.

After lunch there's a long open window. People walk the trails around the property, sit by Lake Orta, read in the library, or book something at the bodycare centre. Late afternoon brings a second session — yin or restorative movement, group inquiry, or a workshop depending on the specific retreat running that week. Dinner is vegetarian and communal, and evenings are generally quiet, with some retreats holding an evening meditation or sharing circle.

What separates Mandali from a standard yoga-holiday venue is that it's a working retreat centre with its own permaculture team. The gardens and food forest aren't decoration; they supply a real portion of what ends up on the plate. The centre was designed from the ground up for retreat use, which means the meditation halls, library and bodycare centre are all fit for purpose rather than rooms converted after the fact.

Because the centre hosts many different programmes, the instructor and exact schedule vary by date. The retreats listed on Mandali's own calendar have included 'Revive Your Spirit', an Enlightenment Intensive, a couples' retreat called 'Opening to Intimacy', and a general six-day Mandali Experience. Each is led by its own teacher or teaching team, and the centre's wider faculty spans meditation, self-inquiry, movement and bodywork traditions.

The setting is the other half of the story. The centre sits above Lake Orta in Piedmont, with views across the water from the grounds. It's a part of northern Italy that's green and quiet — close enough to Milan and Turin to reach easily, but far enough that the loudest thing you'll hear most days is the garden.

What's included

- On-site accommodation in rooms designed for rest - Vegetarian meals, much of it grown in the permaculture garden - Daily meditation and movement sessions - Group teaching and workshop sessions - Access to the library, gardens and nature trails - Use of the meditation halls - Access to the bodycare centre (treatments booked separately) - Silent breakfast practice (on applicable retreats)

What's not included

- Travel to and from Mandali - Airport transfers - Travel insurance - Bodycare and spa treatments - Personal expenses - Any optional excursions off-site