Happy Buddha Retreats

For over twenty years, Happy Buddha Retreats has been helping people slow down in Wentworth Falls, in the Blue Mountains, a 90-minute drive from Sydney. Athil Singh founded it out of a desire to live a life with more joy, peace and meaning. The centre still works on that scale: two-night stays, a roster of facilitators and a kitchen that serves only vegetarian food.

The property at 50 Railway Parade is two buildings. The Hotel is an 18-room boutique property with private ensuites, a hidden yoga shala of 67 square metres, an unheated pool, chill-out lounges and a dining hall that seats 28. The House is smaller: eight rooms, four shared bathrooms, a sun-drenched verandah studio of 70 square metres where the yoga happens, a seasonal fire pit and beds for 13.

The retreat days follow one shape. Check-in is at 4pm, with a sweet treat and a gentle yoga class before dinner, then an opening circle and what the schedule calls whisper time. The programs say plainly that everything is optional. Inner Joy is the signature weekend, mixing yoga, meditation and African drumming. The Silent Meditation retreat is tech-free and runs weekly. The Breathwork retreat moves from pranayama and Kriya yoga to breathwork journeys and an evening sound integration session. Full Moon Women's Retreat is held monthly and closes with a full moon ritual. The Bushwalking Retreat covers 11 kilometres of the Grand Cliff Top Walk. Good Vibrations brings in sound healing, live piano yoga nidra with Katy Tsai and the harp music of HarpBeat. A dance and drum weekend is led by Sibo Bangoura, a West African drum master born in Guinea.

Facilitators can also hire the Hotel, the House or the whole property, with the vegetarian meals included. The centre also runs a New Year's Eve retreat and a six-night Bali retreat in Ubud planned for July 2027.