Ambulance sirens, the neighbour’s TV, urban fox calls: London’s a noisy old place. Modern life means we already have information overload to deal with – 24/7 news cycles, social media and emails – but studies have shown that there’s also been a rise in decibel levels in landscapes everywhere over recent decades. As things get louder and louder, both in city and countryside, we are starting to lose something crucial to mental health: silence.
‘Silent retreats are increasingly popular because they give our bodies and minds the rest they so deeply crave by eliminating the pressure to ‘chat’,’ says Caroline Sylger Jones, Founder and Co-Director of The Global Retreat Company. These focused programmes, which typically take place in a group setting within soothing natural surrounds, give you the rare opportunity to touch base with yourself – resetting, recharging and recalibrating as the distraction of conversation is taken away.
Worried that hanging out with a bunch of strangers without speaking sounds weird? Don’t be. ‘It might feel odd at first,’ says Caroline, ‘but then something quite astonishing takes place: you feel a true sense of support and community, without words.’ Likewise, many attendees report that after attending they have a sharper mental state (celebrities including Lupita Nyong’o and Emma Watson have packed up and taken an extended vow of silence in the past). ‘By embracing silence, [attendees] experience a profound sense of clarity, heightened awareness, and a renewed connection with their inner selves, leading to a greater understanding of thoughts, emotions, and life’s purpose,’ says Dave Hall of The Art of Living Retreat Center in North Carolina. Adding that the benefits of a silent retreat often last far beyond the experience itself. ‘Individuals often emerge with improved focus, reduced stress, enhanced emotional well-being.’
Sounds pretty good to us. Ready to keep it hushed? Check out the below…
The Art of Living Retreat Center, North Carolina, USA
Set among the epic forested Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina, two hours outside scenic wellbeing hub Asheville, this getaway specialises in personal transformation via meditation, Ayurvedic cleanses and yoga sessions. Among the line up is a five-day Stepping Into Silence retreat, designed to leave you centred, grounded and destressed via relaxing breathing techniques such as Sudarshan Kriya (SKY). Besides avoiding needless chatter, you’ll also learn practices to calm whirling minds and take part in guided meditations, both of which set you up for continuing the tranquil mood back at home.
From £1,213, artoflivingretreatcenter.org
Mandali, Piedmont, Italy
Nestled overlooking Swiss Alps and Lake d’Orta, eco-meditation and yoga retreat Mandali knows the value of a bit of quiet time: they begin every single day in silence, with chit-chat only permitted after breakfast. But a few times a year they also run full-on silent retreats, lasting a week and often led by pro external teachers such as Juno Burger, who pairs gentle yoga and meditation sessions with mute walks in the alpine landscapes. You’ll get plenty of personal reflective time, which you could dedicate to journaling or napping in your earth-toned room. Or, just taking in the unrelenting natural panorama outside your door.
From £1,381, mandali.org
PachaMama, Nicoya, Costa Rica
Exceptional natural surrounds only heighten the sense of peace and wellbeing that a silent retreat can bring. And it hardly gets more inspiring that the lush forested Pacific coastline of Nicoya, one of the world’s Blue Zones – where people live especially long and healthfully. Here, eco-stay PachaMama, a spiritual community and eco-village, serves up a deep commitment to self-transformation, emotional healing and physical wellbeing. Both long-term village residents and retreat guests tread lightly on the earth with organic gardening, yoga and meditation sessions, and sacred native healing ceremonies. At regular silent retreats you’ll receive instruction from spiritual guide Tyohar and try a traditional purifying experience in a sweat lodge.
£397, pachamama.com
Dipabhavan Meditation Center, Koh Samui, Thailand
Thailand is one of the spiritual homes of the silent retreat, with the dominant vein of Theravada Buddhism highly focused on meditation as a route to enlightenment. And with week-long and three-day English-language retreats every month, this spot on beach-fringed Koh Samui is understandably popular with travellers seeking silence – partly because it’s free to join, with just a donation to fund the programme requested on departure. You’ll rise at 4:30am ahead of morning readings and sitting meditations before a day of yoga, light meals and chores; all of which are compulsory to build community moral support.
By donation, dipabhavan.weebly.com
San Francisco Zen Center, California, USA
The average city break is anything but silent – but after you’ve had a go exploring the thrills of San Francisco, withdraw to this multi-location meditation centre for a slice of Japanese-style serenity. You can sign up for one-day Zen retreats, which include meditation sessions, a silent lunch and dharma instruction. Some retreats take place in the heart of the city centre and others on gorgeously lush Green Gulch Farm, an organic patch in neighbouring Marin County, just over the iconic Golden Gate Bridge.
£80, sfzc.org
Hridaya Yoga, Rhône, France
Fancy doing your silent introspection in a historic French château? That’s exactly the set up at Hridaya Yoga’s three- and 10-day Silent Meditation Retreats, held in a grand historic pile among seven hectares of trail-carved forest in Beaujolais. While you reflect in tranquillity, teachers encourage you (in English) through a step-by-step self-inquiry process to get to the root of your own personal truth. While not the usual Gallic fare – this is cheese and wine country, after all– you’ll be treated to scrummy vegan meals featuring fresh seasonal produce.
From £252, hridaya-yoga.com
Daien-in, Wakayama, Japan
While not technically a silent retreat, a stay at a traditional shukubo (temple lodging) at Koysan, a Japanese holy mountain site, can easily become a DIY one. At stays such as atmospheric Daien-in, a temple with roots dating back about 1,000 years, you’ll bed down in simplicity in a futon on tatami mats and take crafted vegetarian meals in silence in a private dining room lined in gilded paintings. Rise each morning at 6am to witness sutras being read in the main temple hall, festooned with gold and fragranced with incense, before touring haunting nearby Okunoin temple and cemetary. Apart from the brief check-in process, monks generally keep schtum, so you can simply follow their lead.
From about £87, daienin.com
Hvammsvík Hot Springs, West Iceland, Iceland
Commune with the spectacular nature of West Iceland – and sample its world-famous hot springs – on a one-day silent retreat, perfect for fitting into a wider itinerary across the Nordic isle. Just a 45-minute drive from compact capital Reykjavik, Hvammsvík is a set of eight natural hot springs segueing into ocean and backdropped by volcanic beaches and soaring peaks. Here coaches Camilla and Vala lead a beginnger-friendly mindful day of sitting and walking meditation, slow yoga and body scanning, giving participants the chance to build self-compassion and reenergise. You’ll end around 3pm, just as you should do– with a dip in the thermal waters.
£126, hvammsvik.com
Vipassana Meditation Centre, Tasmania, Australia
If you’re ready for a hardcore experience and don’t mind going far-flung, try this spot in lush wilds Down Under. Taking place over 10 days, Vipassana’s programme adheres to a strict code of conduct that goes beyond the ‘Noble Silence’ to include separation of sexes and friends, the banning of reading and writing materials and a prohibition on outside contact for the duration of the course. In short, you’re here to fully commit to learning the ins-and-outs of Vipassana meditation – designed to teach you how to rise above life’s struggles. Even if it’s not exactly a ‘holiday’, you do still get to bask in the pristine bushland setting, soundtracked by native birds.
