Nature is the best wellness retreat in itself; my last trip was an incredible example. Have you ever just sank into the sounds of nature, created a bond with animals, or just simply walked around watching the magical activities of nature, and all these made you feel calm within? I bet you said yes. Well, my trip to Fazlani Nature’s Nest was exactly the same, in fact, with much more details to it.
I would love to share everything about this wellness retreat and how their offerings contributed to my immersive wellness experience.
· About Fazlani Nature’s Nest
· Retreat’s Concept of ‘Farm to Fork’
· The Unique – Equine Therapy
· Coffee with the Chairman – Mr. Abdul Fazlani
· More Highlighted Features of the Fazlani Retreat
· The Scenic Beauty of the Retreat
· Agrotourism at Fazlani Retreat
· Art of Birding and Self-Discovery with Animal-Assisted Therapy
· The Gorgeous Swimming Pods
· Artisanal Cheesemaking
· Fishing for Weal
· CSR Activities by the Fazlani Group
· Sunrise from Machan View
· Tour to Soex Flora
· The Welling Cooking Session
· The Hobby Studio
· Wellness Therapies & Treatments at Fazlani Nature’s Nest
· How to Reach?
· Upcoming Plans with Mr. Fazlani
· Words from My Heart
About Fazlani Nature’s Nest
Fazlani Nature’s Nest is located in Vadgaon (Near Lonavala), Maharashtra. It is a 68 acres property surrounded by lush greens with a plethora of flora and fauna overlooking the azure waters of Andra Lake. I had the pleasure to visit this gorgeous property with my family. In my opinion, this retreat is one of its kind holistic wellness destination in India. It is a perfect place for achieving enhanced mental, physical, spiritual, environmental, and overall well-being.
I was invited to Falzani Nature Nest to experience an incredible journey to wellness. It indeed turned out to give me some cherishable memories in my pursuits for well-being. The moment I landed in this place, my family and I were welcomed with exquisite welcome drinks and a lot of warmth. I couldn’t be more grateful to Garvit and general manager Jagdip who ensured my comfort throughout my trip here.
What makes Fazlani Nature’s Nest a unique wellness retreat is its valuable features – equestrian club, in-house farming, special culinary services, animal-assisted therapy, and various ancient and modern wellness therapies.
The retreat also offered around 70 to 100 conference rooms for group corporate events, wellness events, etc. Guests can also go trekking or cycle through the hills and pathways of this massive landscape to enjoy the fresh nature around the property. The bliss and sense of well-being that I felt in this place was simply exceptional.
“Farm to Fork” concept of Fazlani Nature’s Nest – Reimagining the Bond of Agrotourism and Culinary Tourism
Fazlani Nature’s Nest has a massive 12 acre land dedicated to in-house farming. It was refreshing to see batches of some fresh and organically grown mushrooms, strawberries, cabbages, bananas, cardamom, cotton buds, various spices, and a lot more. This makes the land super attractive and inviting for agro-tourism where guests can also take part in various farming activities.
Subsequently, the retreat also offers a quality culinary tourism experience and that is obvious. This is where the concept of “farm to fork” comes in place. The guests are allowed to pick any vegetable of their choice and the chefs readily prepare special wellness cuisine using them.
Some of the most highlighted dishes on their menus are sprout dosas, broccoli omelets, different soups, healthy juices, and shakes. And I have to admit, the chefs – Mr. Ravi Kandari and Mr. Sumit Singh, did a fantastic job at presenting the taste of pure nature and health on our plates.
Undoubtedly, agro-tourism and culinary tourism play a crucial role in enhancing your well-being. Agro-tourism takes your senses through an explorative journey. You learn how proper farming adds to the nutrient value of the produce. You take better care of bodily senses along with the wellness of your soul that you derive from the right nutrients and the right environment. It allows your mind, body, and soul to refresh, rejuvenate, and flourish progressively. The food was truly therapeutic and kept me light, energized, and fresh throughout the trip.
The Unique – Equine Therapy
The biggest surprise of the Fazlani Nature’s Nest was waiting! It is the Equine Therapy. ‘An Equestrian Club’ was right in front of our eyes, the moment we entered the retreat. There were 22 horses in this place and were looked after by caretakers. Each horse has its own unique name.
Equine Therapy was the first activity we went for in the retreat. Everything here was unique and amusing. It was a wondrous feeling just watching the entire setting of this place. The reason why Equine Therapy has become so popular as a wellness treatment is due to the great emotional connection that horses easily set with human beings. It is something different from keeping pets.
The kids and I had a great time here with the horses. We didn’t just ride them but also fed, brushed, and groomed them. The way these horses responded and connected with us was amazing and relaxing at the same time. It is believed that horses can see souls and they can perceive human emotions through their facial expressions. Well, I must say I couldn’t agree more with it after this spectacular experience.
Equine-assisted therapy dates back to an era when people used horse riding for therapeutic benefits in Greek literature. This therapy involves interacting with horses, taking care of them, feeding them, etc. with an aim to promote emotional, physical, and spiritual healing.
This amazing equine-assisted therapy is evidence-based and has proven effective to address a wide range of issues, such as:
- Grieff and loss
- Anxiety
- Depression
- Trauma and PTSD
- Acute stress disorder
- Addiction/ Substance abuse
- Bipolar
- Autism
- Asperger’s syndrome
- Attention deficit/ Hyperactivity disorder
- Cerebral Palsy
- Learning difficulties
- Post-traumatic brain surgery
- Lowers blood pressure and heart rate
- Improves strength and balance
- Improves mobility
As much as it is one amazing experience, it is also necessary to ensure an individual’s safety especially before riding the horse as it may not be recommended for those with spinal or back problems. The retreat has specialists and qualified therapists to attend and assist you throughout your time with these horses. One must also make sure to be gentle while interacting with animals during any animal-assisted therapies.
Coffee with the Chairman – Mr. Abdul Fazlani
During my wonderful trip, I got to learn a lot about Mr. Fazlani. Along with offering wellness and well-being to thousands of people, he also has given quite an impressive contribution to shaping the future of many children with his CSR activities. His passion and dedication to this wellness retreat are inspiring. His determination towards building a healthy and holistic life for people can be clearly seen through his work and services. It was an absolute pleasure meeting him.
More Highlighted Features of the Fazlani Retreat
The Scenic Beauty
A short buggy drive took me to a luxurious lake site view villa for our stay at the retreat. I was thrilled with the appealing surroundings, lavish interiors, and impressive amenities. The crux of everything was the incredible view of the lake from the big windows of the room; it was heavenly.
As far as you could see, the land was covered with fresh greenery blessing your eyes, senses, and soul with peace and serenity. I especially enjoyed the in-room jacuzzi, where I rested and spent quality time sinking into the warm, relaxing bath. It was one of the best room stays accompanied by the surreal beauty outside.
Agrotourism
One of the best parts of staying at Fazlani Nature’s Nest is the joy of consuming organic farm-nourished food. The Ahara Farms at the retreat grow a wide variety of fruits, vegetables, herbs, spices. Every dish and meal prepared at the retreat uses naturally grown ingredients from their farm itself.
They also offer a 60-min tour of this gorgeous farm that doesn’t just amaze you but also welcomes you to learn in-depth about organic farming, techniques, the importance of eating healthy, etc. The guide also gives you tips for making your own kitchen garden at your home. You will be longing to do that in your backyard once you are back!
Art of Birding and Self-Discovery with Animal-assisted Therapy
Fazlani Nature’s Nest welcomes you to explore and enjoy the vibrant and soothing world of birds and animals in their natural habitat. Apart from horses, there were more than 200 birds and other animals like rabbits, turkeys, ducks, etc in the property. It felt refreshing to have these feathered friends around you in the widely spread park.
Do you know that watching birds or animals or just being around them can enhance your mental health and overall well-being? Being surrounded by them will pause all your stress and bring a sense of renewal and calm. It also improves your patience, reflexes, focus, heart rate, and promotes mindfulness as well.
The Swimming Pods
One thing that highly impressed me about the Fazlani Nature’s Nest was the naturally designed swimming pods. There were several swimming pools divided into sections, which could be used by men and women separately.
The structure of these pods was mesmerizing. You will feel your dopamine levels shooting! In my opinion, Fazlani Natures Wellness Retreat with all its amazing features and amenities has upheld the philosophy of holistic wellness in true sense allowing guests ample opportunities to relax, rejuvenate, and refresh.
Artisanal Cheesemaking
Fazlani Nature’s Nest allows you to experience the art of cheesemaking in the lap of nature itself. This is an activity that lets you interact with goats, try milking, and experience the entire beautiful process of cheesemaking with expert chefs.
You also get to taste the pure flavor of fresh farm milk and organically grown ingredients in each sip. Veterinary specialists will guide you about the milking schedule and help making your own perfect organic cheese in the open authentic natural setting.
Fishing for Weal
Experience the wondrous relaxation and intense mindfulness while you enjoy fishing for wellness. It is a ritual that is not just about sitting by the lake and waiting for a big catch, rather it is a process that helps you to be in the moment and let go of worries.
It is an ideal exercise that fills you with excitement and helps balance your mind and body. The calm surrounding helps you focus better and be at the present moment, good for your mental and physical well-being
CSR Activities by Group
Dr. Fazlani – the Charmain and the owner of the Fazlani Nature’s Nest not just offers wellness services but also has schools for orphans and children of laborers. These schools provide amazing opportunities to explore and build their futures. In fact, some of these kids also turned out to work in big tech firms and some have even become doctors. It was inspiring and satisfying to see the good work.
Sunrise view from the Machan
The captivating sunrise from the Machan (elevated deck) was the cherry on the cake over this bewitching green land. Just sitting and watching the sun rising from the depth of the mountains left us enchanted forgetting the worries and stress of life far behind. The natural warmth from the sun gradually spread all over giving peace and calm to my body and mind.
My Tour to Soex Flora
Next to Equine therapy, there was a place dedicated to flora. Here they grow many different types of flowers. We saw at least 20 different colors of roses and many different types of other flowers. When seen from far away, it looked like a big colorful vibrant blanket made out of delicate flowers.
Various flowers are stringed together using the traditional method of threading. It was divine just to watch the whole process of stringing flowers together. The finished products were simply aesthetic. Fazlani Nature’s Nest exports these beautiful and naturally nourished flowers as well. The fragrance and freshness of each flower were remarkable.
Wellness Cooking Session
During my stay in the retreat, my wife Janavi also took the wellness cooking session with the head chefs. During this session, we learned each and every detail of their food preparation and lessons about how to make a healthy relationship with our food.
“You are what you eat” is an extremely true fact, which is why we should choose our food wisely. Thereby, for leading a healthy life, eating right must be given unnegotiable importance.
Hobby Studio
Hobby studio is a great place for anyone who desires to bring their passion to life. It encourages and supports you to work on your hobbies and take them to the next level. Especially for kids, it plays an important role by helping them to understand where their interest lies and become better at it.
Hobby studios can include everything right from yoga sessions to baking classes to mastering any form of art. It not just satisfies you by doing what you love but also works best for improving your mental, physical, and overall well-being.
Wellness Therapies & Treatments at Fazlani Nature’s Nest
Further, we went to the wellness center in the Fazlani Natures Nest, where Dr. Pratibha took our history, did the diagnosis, and advised right massages and treatments. Unfortunately, due to not having enough time, I was only able to undergo beneficial hydrotherapy.
Fazlani Nature’s Nest offers various other traditional therapies and modern treatments such as Ayurveda, Naturopathy, Herbal treatments, Reflexology, Physiotherapy, Acupuncture, Acupressure, Detoxification, and many others.
Every treatment provided to an individual was customized depending on their personal health and requirement. Here are some of the wellness programs & treatments:
- Art of Cleansing –
This wellness program is specially designed for those who aim for deep cleansing or detox and renewed sense of vitality. It is a hyper-personalized program formulated by experts and certified doctors that helps to remove accumulated metabolites, synchronize the harmony of your mind and body, and prevent various diseases.
The treatment plan involves an alchemy of nourishing wellness cuisines, ayurvedic wellness therapies, and traditional wisdom of purifying your body. It is best recommended for those with conditions such as irritable bowel syndrome or digestive system problems, autoimmune conditions, obesity, PCOS, seasonal allergies, certain chronic skin problems, insomnia, etc.
Benefits from this program:
- Improved immunity
- Enhanced sleep
- Improves digestive and metabolic functioning
- Eases muscle tension and pains
- Reduces internal inflammations
- Promotes cellular rejuvenation
- Panchakarma Holistic Retreat –
The traditional science of panchakarma involves cleansing and detoxifying the body to achieve an enhanced state of overall well-being. Each guest receives a customized treatment plan depending on their specific doshas after detailed consultation and diagnosis performed by our ayurvedic doctors.
The program also includes dosha-specific wellness cuisines as guided by nutritionists. This program is highly recommended for those suffering from liver issues, high cholesterol, sleep disorders, obesity, arthritis, chronic diabetes, gynecological issues, anxiety or stress, etc.
Benefits from this program:
- Detoxification
- Enhances awareness and mental clarity
- Improve skin quality
- Strengthens and improves connective tissue functions
- Boosts energy levels
- Improves immunity
- Restores metabolism
- Pain Management –
The pain management retreat is a personalized and effective program for helping with chronic musculoskeletal joint pains, muscular injuries, reduced joint mobility, and arthritic pains. It involves various physiotherapy modalities such as transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation, diathermy, ayurvedic therapies for pain relief, interferential therapy, along with curated wellness meals.
Benefits of this program:
- Eases joint pains, tension, and stiffness
- Improves blood circulation and provides the right nutrition
- Stimulates endorphin release
- Releases your body’s natural pain killers from muscles “muscles opiates”
- Improves quality of life
- Immune Resilience Retreat –
Immune Resilience Retreat is perfect for those seeking a natural way to improve their vital energy and fight against infections. Functional testing is used to identify the weak biomarker imbalances, while the combination of satvic nutrition guidance and traditional ayurvedic medicines is used to boost immunity and build innate resilience.
Benefits of this program:
- Eases chronic fatigue symptoms
- Improves immunity and metabolic functioning
- Promotes cellular rejuvenation
- Reduces inflammations
- Renews and improves energy levels
- Promotes mental clarity
- Optimal Weight Retreat –
Optimal weight retreat is a fun-filled weight management journey for achieving your ideal weight. This program involves carefully selected massages based on Ayurveda, Spa treatments, and Naturopathy that help improve digestion, stimulates your nervous systems, and supports metabolism. It is a perfect plan for those who desire to lose excess weight, create a healthy relationship with food, and adapt to healthy lifestyle choices.
Benefits from this program:
- Sustainable weight loss
- Enhanced metabolism
- Improves muscle mass
- Initiates positive changes in your body composition
- Balances cholesterol levels
- Manages blood pressure
- Natural Relaxation Retreat –
The natural relaxation retreat program is ideally designed for those who wish to engage in pleasant and relaxing massage therapies. It is a curated program that involves signature rituals and restorative therapies. Our expert therapists indulge each part of your body from head to toe to achieve a relaxed, refreshed, rejuvenated state of mind, body, and soul.
Benefits from this program:
- Improves blood circulation
- Restores positive energy
- Enhanced sense of vitality
- Deep relaxation to mind and body
- Enhanced skin quality
- Hydrates skin
- Healthy Aging –
Healthy Aging is a retreat program designed to restore, maintain, and improve overall health. It involves indulging in habits of choosing healthful activities, food, and daily routines. It includes meditation, yoga, circuit training, ritualistic spa therapies, etc to improve both inner and outer beauty. It is based on an integrated approach that uses nature-based therapies aimed to slow down the signs of aging.
Benefits of this program:
- Feel comfortable and confident in your skin
- Repairs your skin at the cellular level
- Reduces cellulite
- Cleans toxins and excess fluids from your body
- Renewed and improved sense of vitality
- Increased energy levels
- Increased consciousness for healthy choices
- Mastering Sleep –
According to Ayurveda, imbalances of the tri doshas i.e Vata, Pitta, and Kapha lead to various diseases. This imbalance can also result in insomnia. At Fazlani Nature’s Nest, our experts treat the issue from its root with help of holistic medicines such as Naturopathy and Ayurveda.
It calms your nervous system, promotes healthy sleeping patterns, detoxifies your body in the most natural way, and improves the healing mechanism of your body as well.
Benefits of this program:
- Reduces insomnia
- Improves blood circulation
- Increases energy levels
- Releases stress and anxiety
- Improves overall health
- Yoga & Meditation Sessions
Our mornings at Fazlani wellness retreat started with refreshing yoga sessions and the evening ended with relaxing meditation sessions every day. The session included various moments, physical postures, and breathing techniques. These sessions aim at taking in all the nourishment and positivity and letting go of all the negativities.
Regular practice of yoga and meditation can be a great way to feel active all day long and end the day with a goodnight’s sleep. Along with keeping you active and providing better sleep, it also improves your mood, physical health, peace of mind, flexibility, and productivity.
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- Hydrotherapy
I have undergone hydrotherapy before and couldn’t resist experiencing it in this wellness retreat. It is an alternative treatment that uses the therapeutical application of water for both the internal and external body. Topical applications of hot water packs or cold packs, enemas or colonics, steam baths, underwater exercises, etc are different forms of hydrotherapy.
It is a scientifically proven therapy that helps in pain management, improves immunity, relieves stress, improves joint mobility, provides cardiovascular benefits, etc. Make sure you consult a medical professional before undergoing hydrotherapy to understand its necessary instructions and precautions. Considering my needs and desired results, the skilled professional team at Fazlani took fantastic care during my hydrotherapy session.
How to Reach Here?
Fazlani Nature’s Nest is situated near Lonavala, in Vadgaon, Maharashtra. You can reach the retreat via flights; Pune International Airport which is 55 Kms away from the property and Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport which is 118 Kms away.
The nearest railway station from the retreat is Lonavala, which is 31 Kms away only. The Fazlani Retreat also offers you pick up and drop services from the nearest location, airport, or station.
Upcoming Plans with Mr. Fazlani
It was incredible to know about all of the work done by Mr. Fazlani. I had the pleasure to spend hours talking to him about the future plans of developing more cottages, wellness villages, involving some more therapies and treatment, and so much more that is yet to come. It is right if I say, I’m excited to take the good work forward with Mr. Fazlani and his goals ahead. I’m sure, it will be an amazing success.
Words From My Heart
Everything I was served here was enhanced by the kindness and friendliness of the staff. It was an absolute pleasure visiting Fazlani Nature’s Nest with help of Mr. Krushna who facilitated my trip. It was certainly one of the most amazing wellness experiences I had. I left the place with a sense of improved well-being and relaxed within. I would highly recommend Fazlani to anybody who desires to experience nature and wellness at its best.
Stunning Photo Gallery of Fazlani Nature Nest
