18 Best Yoga Retreats in Kerala for 2026 (With Prices)

Sivananda’s Kerala ashram sits on a forested slope above the Neyyar reservoir, 36 km from Thiruvananthapuram airport. It is the best-known yoga ashram in the state and the one we would send a first-timer to. The Yoga Vacation programme runs in 14-day cycles that start on the 1st and 16th of every month, but you can join on any day and stay as few as 3 nights. The bell goes at 5:30 am. Then comes a satsang of chanting and meditation, a two-hour asana class built on the 12 classical Sivananda postures, brunch at 10, karma yoga, a lecture, a second asana class and an evening satsang. There are two meals, both vegetarian and taken on the floor.

The room rate includes everything above. A dormitory bed or tent costs ₹560 a night and a twin room with AC costs ₹1,700, according to the ashram’s Yoga Vacation page. Foreign nationals and NRIs pay in dollars, from US$12 to US$23. Between 22 and 31 December a Christmas rate applies (₹620 to ₹2,140, minimum 3 nights). The four-week Teacher Training Course here meets the Yoga Alliance RYT-200 standard and the Advanced TTC meets RYT-300. Book early for December and January, because the dorms fill with TTC students. Be ready for the rules too. Attendance at every class and satsang is compulsory.

Amritapuri is the home ashram of Mata Amritanandamayi, known to millions as Amma, the “hugging saint”. It stands on a thin strip of land between the Arabian Sea and the Kollam backwaters, 110 km north of Thiruvananthapuram airport and 140 km south of Kochi airport. This is a working spiritual community rather than a yoga retreat in the holiday sense. Visitors follow the ashram routine of meditation, chanting, seva (volunteer work) and daily yoga classes open to residents, and they eat simple vegetarian food in the ashram canteen.Amritapuri does not publish a room tariff. The accommodation charge is nominal, and Amrita University’s 2025 conference guide listed it at ₹250 per person per day. Foreign visitors must register in advance at visit-amritapuri.amma.org. Go when you want structure and community more than instruction. If you want a teacher correcting your posture, pick Sivananda

Rishikul Yogshala runs its Kerala school from the South Cliff Beach Resort in Varkala, a few minutes’ walk from the cliff steps down to Papanasam beach. Rishikul is one of the few Varkala schools that sells short retreats as well as teacher training, in 3, 7, 14 and 21-day formats. A retreat day covers morning Hatha or Vinyasa, pranayama, meditation, a yoga philosophy talk and three sattvic meals.The listing price for the retreats starts at US$800. Airport pickup, excursions and laundry cost extra. The school’s 100, 200, 300 and 500-hour courses are registered with Yoga Alliance. It suits people who want the Varkala cliff-café scene in the evenings and a structured programme by day.

Abhijna is a small Varkala school on Kurakkanni Temple Road, inland from the North Cliff. It focuses almost entirely on 28-day, 200-hour teacher training in three streams: Vinyasa, Ashtanga and Yoga Therapy. Batches are capped at 12 to 16 students, which is small by Varkala standards, so teachers can adjust each student’s alignment every day. The quoted all-inclusive fee is about US$1,800 with a twin-share room and two meals a day from Monday to Saturday. Pick Abhijna if you plan to teach. For a relaxing week it is the wrong choice.

Sivasoorya is an ashram-style school in Pachalloor village, a sea-facing hillside 8 km south of Thiruvananthapuram city and close to Kovalam. It is led by Soorya Raviji. The 100-hour and 200-hour teacher training courses run over four weeks and mix Hatha, Ashtanga and Kundalini, and the school states that they meet Yoga Alliance standards. The fee is not published online. You pay a 30% deposit to hold a place, so ask for the full fee and inclusions in writing first. It is quieter than Varkala and 20 minutes from TRV airport.

Varkala Yoga & Ayurveda is the lower-cost TTC option on the cliff. Its 200-hour course lists at about US$1,200 including food and a single room, which is roughly a third cheaper than Abhijna. Courses run 21 to 28 days, with Ayurvedic massage available on site. It is a sensible pick if you want the certificate without a premium price. Check the current batch dates on varkalayogaayurveda.com before you book flights, because start dates move with demand

Kashi grew out of the Kasi Yoga Gurukulam, set up in 2005, and has been a residential centre since 2010. It sits on Punnamood Road at Kurakkanni Junction, about a 20-minute walk from the Varkala cliff, so it is far enough from the cafés to stay quiet. Teaching leans towards Hatha and Sivananda-style classes and yoga therapy for back and joint problems, with Ayurvedic treatments available on site. It also runs themed retreats, such as an eight-day New Year programme. Kashi does not publish its rates, so email for a quote.

Somatheeram is a 15-acre village of cottages on a hillock above Chowara beach, 9 km south of Kovalam. It opened as one of Kerala’s first Ayurveda resorts, and its tariff booklet says the state government has named it Best Ayurvedic Centre ten times. Programmes include Rejuvenation, Body Purification (Panchakarma), Stress Management, Slimming and Immunisation. Each one bundles the doctor, treatments, medicines, meals and daily yoga and meditation.The price depends on the season. According to the 2025-26 tariff booklet, a 14-night Rejuvenation stay in a double Standard Cottage costs €2,044 per person from June to September (€146 a night), €2,436 in October, November, April and May, and €2,870 from December to March (€205 a night). The resort recommends at least 9 days for Rejuvenation, and airport transfers are free from 7 nights. Its sister property, Soma Manaltheeram, is next door on the same beach and costs a little less.

Kalari Kovilakom is a palace of the Vengunad royal family in Kollengode, Palakkad, at the foot of the Western Ghats. CGH Earth restored the old palace and has run it since 2005 as an Ayurveda hospital with fewer than 20 suites. This is the strictest retreat on the list. The minimum stay is 14 nights. There is no alcohol, no outside food and no guests coming and going, and your day runs to the doctor’s plan with yoga, meditation and Kalari Rasayana treatments. The price is all-inclusive and quoted on request. Choose it if you are going for a genuine course of treatment and want every comfort while you do it.

Kairali sits on a 60-acre estate at Kodumbu near Palakkad town and belongs to the Kairali Ayurvedic Group, whose roots go back to 1908. It won Best Luxury Yoga and Wellness Retreat (Global Winner) at the World Luxury Hotel Awards 2024. The daily sunrise yoga class is included in every programme. There are more than 25 therapeutic programmes, from a 3-night Preventive Detox up to 14-night Panchakarma. Kairali’s 2025-26 INR price list quotes per-night rates from about ₹13,600 to ₹48,600, depending on the programme and villa. That makes it one of the few luxury Ayurveda resorts that publishes rupee prices.

Nattika has 52 traditional villas spread across 16 acres of coconut grove on a quiet beach in Thrissur district, well away from the Kovalam crowds. Everything here comes as a 7, 14, 21 or 28-night package, and Panchakarma needs at least 14. The official price page lists 7-night rates per villa per night, including taxes, from about €214 for a single guest or €319 for two in a Twin villa, up to about €309 and €419 for a Superior Deluxe. Those rates cover 1 October to 19 December 2026 and February to May 2027. From 20 December to 31 January, prices rise by about 6 to 12%. A stay-14-pay-12 offer runs in June and July 2027.

Surya Samudra is a clifftop resort of restored Kerala tharavads (old wooden family homes) at Pulinkudi, just south of Kovalam, with two small coves below it. Of all the resorts here, it feels most like a holiday. Ayurveda is on offer, including Abhyanga, Shirodhara and Panchakarma, but nobody puts you on a diet. Daily yoga and meditation are held in a pavilion that looks out over the Arabian Sea. Booking sites list rooms from about US$149 a night. It suits couples who want a proper yoga holiday without the rules of a medical retreat.

Carnoustie has 40 villas on Marari beach north of Alappuzha. It is listed on Kerala Tourism’s Ayurveda centre register. Its programmes combine Ayurveda with naturopathy, marma therapy and yoga. It also runs backwater suites at Muhamma and a private houseboat, so you can split a wellness week between the sea and the lake. Rooms start at about US$305 a night on booking sites. Pick it if a slow backwater day matters as much as the yoga.

Akanta is on Munambam Road at Cherai, the beach on Vypin Island north of Kochi, about 30 km from Kochi airport. Its signature Akantamaya Ayur Yoga Retreat starts with a Prakriti (body-type) analysis and builds your day around it, with dinacharya (the Ayurvedic daily routine), yoga, pranayama, trataka and OM meditation, and Ayurveda therapy sessions. It is the most practical retreat on this list if you are flying into Kochi for a short break. Fort Kochi and Cherai beach are both easy to reach on a free afternoon. Rates and programme length are on request.

Agnihotra is a homestay-style retreat in a garden on Varkala’s North Cliff. Its yoga shala has a coconut-leaf roof and a floor polished with cow dung, following Vedic building tradition. The six-day retreats combine daily yoga, pranayama, Ayurvedic treatments and the Agnihotra fire ritual at sunrise and sunset, and they include a backwater trip. They cost US$650 to US$1,150 per person, according to the official retreat page, including the TRV transfer, three meals a day and treatments. The groups are small and the cliff cafés are a short walk away.

Kaivalyam is a small retreat among tea estates at Pallivasal, about 7 km before Munnar on the Kochi to Munnar road. It is one of the coolest retreats on this list. Its packages run from 4 days and cover beginners’ yoga, the 12 classical Sivananda asanas, Kriya yoga and Vipassana-style sitting, and Panchakarma or rejuvenation is available if you stay longer. Rates are on request. Pack a fleece for the 6 am class from December to February. If you want to add a few days of sightseeing, our Munnar tour packages cover the hill station around it.

Reminiscence is a 10-room eco-retreat at Kuttampuzha on the Periyar river, next to Thattekad Bird Sanctuary and about 38 km from Munnar. It was built to Vaastu principles, with more than three-quarters natural materials. Programmes run 7 or 14 days and combine yoga, meditation, an Ayurvedic detox and walks in the forest. It is the right choice if you want birdsong instead of surf at 6 am. Rates are on request.

Mundax is a family homestay on a four-acre organic farm at Kuttikkanam, on the Kottayam to Kumily road that leads up to Thekkady and Periyar Tiger Reserve. It has two guest rooms. That makes it the most private retreat in this guide and a good fit for solo travellers who would find a 40-person ashram too much. It offers 3, 5, 7 and 10-day yoga, meditation and spiritual programmes, with meals from the farm. Rates are on request.