Spa: I Became One With the Cosmos

To visit Sitara Himalaya is to answer the call of your soul. On the way to the valleys of Lahaul and Spit in northern India, surrounded by Buddhist monasteries, this new 10-bedroom retreat is built where, it is believed, the great Indian sage Rishi Ved Vyas meditated for 12 years before inscribing the eternal cosmic wisdom into the four Vedas. I could feel the magic as soon as I arrived. Located at an altitude of 8,200 feet (2,500 m) and surrounded by epic mountain and glacier views, this tucked-away sanctuary is an extension of the private retreat of Anita Lal, the founder of India’s coveted lifestyle brand, Good Earth. Decorated with a touch of the divine – Tibetan rugs, sacred ornaments, hand-painted murals of hummingbirds and the earthy smell of juniper berry incense – and guided by the Vedic philosophy that everything in the universe is interconnected, it invites guests to drop, relax, reflect and elevate. The “Svasthi” dedicated well-being area offers a scented plunge pool, sauna and steam, yoga practised in harmony with the breath and body treatments that combine sound bowl healing with ancient Marma massage techniques. Both physical and emotional release are to be expected – I wept away some tensions. The glass-roofed Skylight room is a highlight. Lie back and watch the Milky Way while listening to the hum of the earth. Cosmic indeed. There is something humbling and comforting about connecting to that feeling of something bigger than ourselves. Here is a place to do just that. Food is refined traditional comfort; the vibe that of a genteel house party. Days are spent walking, reading, in conversation or in contemplation. Candlelit evenings pass by with storytelling, traditional singing and dancing – both guests and staff contributing. Come bedtime, find two little bottles of essential oils on your pillow. One, “Clarify,” clears your head, the other, with Kashmiri lavender, aids “Deep Sleep.” No wonder I left feeling so rejuvenated. This is the secret India you have been longing for. –Daisy Finer  

Accessible: I Toured Jerusalem in My Wheelchair

With its winding, cobblestone streets and ancient monuments, Jerusalem seems like the opposite of accessible. Yet, thanks to the advocacy of Yuval Wagner a former Israeli air force pilot who, after being paralyzed by a helicopter crash, started Access Israel to promote accessibility throughout Israel, I was able to visit almost all of Jerusalem’s historic sites from my chair. 

At the Tower of David – originally built in the second century BC to protect the city – a series of stone pavers and ramps meant I could enjoy this magnificent citadel without much difficulty. Once inside the Old City walls, I wheeled along the metre-wide path of smoothed paving stones on Via Dolorosa  – believed to be the path Jesus walked to his crucifixion – to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, which contains two of the most important sites in all of Christianity: Calvary, where Jesus was crucified, and Jesus’ tomb. At the Aedicula, a shrine built around the tomb, the Greek Orthodox priests (who have been guarding the church since the 12th century) ushered me to the front of the very long line. When I arrived at the tomb, with the assistance of two of the priests, I could just squeeze my wheelchair through: touching the marble slab that seals it is a moment that will remain with me for the rest of my life. –Fred J Maahs Jr. 

Sustainable: I Swam in Champagne in Dominica

 Thirty years ago, I jumped off a boat’s platform for my first shallow dive with my future husband, holding hands on the way down. And what did we see? Poseidon himself, it seemed, was blowing bubbles from underneath the seabed. They danced between slanted sunbeams that pierced the water from above. Time stopped. We telepathically toasted to our future, suspended in this giant, light-infused, champagne bowl of a volcanic crater in Soufrière Bay, on the southwest coast near Pointe Michel, Dominica. 

Chasing bubbles alongside a school of squid, we were captivated by the vents where undersea thermal springs seeped through, colliding with cold seawater to make “champagne” from released carbon dioxide. In our happy place, we dug our fingers into the heated sand around monochromatic, gold-hued mounds of coral known as Champagne Reef.

Today, Dominica, known as the Nature Island, continues to offer visitors this and other unparalleled experiences, thanks to its rugged mountainous topography, which fends off large-scale development, and inspires an appreciation for the precious gift they steward. –Marie-Elena John Smith