Abhayaranya — "the forest of fearlessness"
An ashram built for yoga education, nothing else
Abhayaranya Yoga Ashram sits in the Himalayan forest above Rishikesh, near the Patna waterfall — a purpose-built campus with no vehicle access, reached only on foot. Everything here exists for one reason: the study and practice of yoga.
Our story
Since 2005: from a small school to a university extension centre
Rishikesh Yogpeeth began with a simple conviction — that yoga education deserved the seriousness of a school, in the town where yoga began. Two decades later, more than 20,000 students from 120+ countries have studied here.
- The school is founded
Rishikesh Yogpeeth opens, teaching traditional Hatha Yoga to international students in Rishikesh.
- The founders' search for quiet
As Rishikesh grew crowded with schools, the founders looked upward — for a campus where study could happen away from the noise.
- A campus built by hand
The forest ashram is built above the town with no vehicle access — every brick and book carried up the trail on foot.
- Extension centre, HNB Garhwal University
An MoU with a central government university of India lets students earn an academic Certificate in Yoga alongside Yoga Alliance certification.
- A global alumni community
Graduates teach on every continent, and Yoga Bodhi keeps them learning after graduation.
The 40-minute climb to the ashram
The climb is the ashram's founding decision. No road means no traffic, no tour buses, no drop-in crowds — and running costs two to three times a city school's, because everything is carried by hand. Students arrive worried about the remoteness; they graduate calling it the best part of their education.
Ashram life
The campus, as a day encounters it
The yogashala
Open to the forest and the morning light — where the 5:30 bell leads to pranayama, asana and the day's study.
Cottage rooms
Private and twin-shared cottage-style rooms with attached bathrooms, hot water round the clock, and the forest outside every window.
Library & study spaces
Texts on yoga philosophy, anatomy and the classics — with faculty at the dinner table when a passage needs unpacking.
Ayurveda therapy rooms
An on-site Ayurveda doctor and therapists — serving the detox programs and available to all students by consultation.
The café & commons
Herbal tea after the morning bell, conversation between classes — where 120 nationalities become one batch.
The trail & waterfall
The Patna waterfall is a short walk; Rishikesh town, the Ganga Aarti and Lakshman Jhula fill the days off.
The food
"Absolutely epic" — an actual review, and a recurring one
Three sattvic vegetarian meals a day, cooked fresh in our own kitchen from ingredients carried up the trail. Vegan and gluten-free diets are catered daily; medical diets are planned with you at registration. Food is the most-praised line in our reviews — ahead of the mountains.
Safety
Built for solo women travellers
Nine in ten of our students are women, most travelling alone to India for the first time. The ashram is a private, staffed campus; resident faculty are available around the clock; and we coordinate your journey from Jolly Grant Airport to the trailhead. "I felt completely safe" is the single most repeated sentence in our reviews.
Read the reviewsThe ashram, in pictures
See it before you climb it
Faculty
Teachers who live where they teach
Instructors, Ayurveda doctors and therapists — led by E-RYT trainers and trained in-house on top of their qualifications — are resident at the ashram throughout every course. Questions get answered at the dinner table, not by email.
Meet the facultyPracticalities
Reaching and living at the ashram
3 km above the noise, since 2005
The climb is worth it
Choose a program, or ask our Yoga program counsellor anything about reaching and living at the ashram.