Panchavatti

Corjuem, Goa, India

From £90 per room per night

(+91-9822580632; www.islaingoa.com)

A simply stunning place to stay overlooking Mapusa river on Goa’s island of Corjuem, Panchavatti will suit someone seeking peace away from bustle and beaches. The focus of this stylish and rejuvenating 24 acre-property is a glorious house with a long romantic veranda, built around a large plant-strewn courtyard by Lou Lou Van Damme, an elegant Belgium woman who has made her home in India. Lou Lou does a daily practice in Satyananda yoga - you can join her, or if you’re a beginner, she will happily give you lessons. Ayurvedic massages are on offer from a therapist trained in Kerala, or have a one-to-one ayurvedic consultation with the ayurvedic doctor on call, Dr.Ganesh, who studied in Bombay alongside his wife - Mrs Ganesh gives a wonderful facial cleanse using fresh fruit and vegetable concoctions prepared on the spot. You can relax in the sitting room, which has ornate rugs and tables, interesting artwork and a library. Lou Lou also has a lovely connection of music, from chants to Chopin – listen to it watching the light change over the paddy fields from the veranda. Outside there’s a hammock, a fantastic swimming pool with a cute stone statue of Ganesh sun bathing at its end, and a garden of lush lawns, fruit trees and tropical plants through which to wander. Fly to Dabolim, from which it’s a one hour and 15 minute drive.

Feynan Wilderness Lodge

Dana Village, Jordan

From £30 (US$ 62) per person per night

(+962 6 461-6523; www.rscn.org.jo)

Set among the arid mountains of the wadi, the Feynan Wilderness Lodge lies on the remote western border of the Dana Nature Reserve, where the Great Rift Valley pushes through Wadi Arabah. This is one of the most archaeologically rich – yet least discovered - areas of Jordan, and this remote lodge was designed by a renowned Jordanian architect in modern Arabesque style on sound ecological principles. It has stone walls to keep it cool in summer, and, powered by solar energy, is lit only by hundreds of candles, giving the lodge a deeply magical atmosphere at night. Inside, the ‘desert-chic’ feel continues through the public spaces and 26 bedrooms, with sand-coloured walls, spice-red sofas and natural, calico fabrics. At night you can sit on the roof terrace, and admire the starriest skies you’ll ever see, unpolluted by artificial light. The staff are from the local Bedouin community, and with their long robes and red-and – white headdress they complete the romantic, desert ambience of the place. Food is served buffet-style, with a good selection of fresh salads, vegetables, rice and Jordanian stews - the vegetable stew is particularly good. Go trekking from here, do your own yoga, meditate, write, read, be at peace. The lodge is closed for July and August.

Ngare Sero

Mount Meru, Tanzania

From £80 per person per night

(+255-27-255-3638; www.ngare-sero-lodge.com)

A peaceful mountain lodge set on the slopes of Mount Meru with views over Mount Kilimanjaro, Ngare Sero has a resident hatha yoga teacher, Stacia, and Swedish and Chinese massages available on-tap. There’s also a lovely cool lake fed by cold springs in the nearby forest, a 30 metre swimming pool set in colourful gardens and a sauna. Yoga is done on the lodge’s lovely outdoor yoga platform under a forest canopy overlooking a lake. A converted colonial farmhouse built at the turn of the century, the lodge has two suites with views of Kilimanjaro, or there are ten attractive and simply furnished garden rooms. Food is organic whenever possible and vegetarian-friendly. There are over 80 acres of forest and gardens to explore, horses and camels to ride and the option of trout fishing in the extensive grounds. Or take a game drive through the dramatic scenery of the Arusha National Park, where you can see elephant, buffalo and giraffe. Regular yoga retreats take place here, including an annual ten night yoga safari combining yoga, treatments, and overnight trips to the bush run by UK-based luxury wellbeing company Yogoloji (www.yogoloji.co.uk). Fly to Kilimanjaro International Airport, from which it’s a 20 minute taxi ride.

Caroline Sylge is the author of Body & Soul Escapes (footprintbooks.com)

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