Take a Shot at Happiness: Nepal Retreat
December 8 - 14, 2026
6 nights, 7 days
16 person retreat
Highlights
Meditation, Ayurvedic consultation, energy healing; Reflect thru camera phone photography and writing practices; Panoramic views of the Himalayas
Details
7 Days | All-Inclusive | Limited to 16 Guests Includes Take a Shot at Happiness: A Happiness Explorer’s Journey Online Course You built success. Now build meaning. If you are a successful creative professional who has achieved what you once set out to build and now feel an unexpected gap between success and meaning, this week is designed for you. This is a structured creative reset set within Nepal’s spiritual and Himalayan landscape. You will step back from constant output and examine the narrative you are living, the ambitions that still serve you, and the direction that feels aligned now. YOU ARE THERE Kathmandu greets you in full color and sound. Temple bells and incense drift through narrow streets. Prayer flags stretch overhead. The sensory intensity pulls you into presence. Inside The Dwarika’s, Kathmandu, the atmosphere shifts. Lantern-lit courtyards and carved woodwork hold centuries of craft. That evening, seated with a small group of peers who have built full lives of their own, you speak openly about what feels complete and what feels unfinished. A few days later, you travel into the hills of Dhulikhel to Dwarika’s Sanctuary. The horizon widens. The air clears. From your suite overlooking terraced hills and distant peaks, perspective settles into your body. Each morning includes a deliberate ritual: photographing first light on the mountains, writing structured reflections, and beginning the day in meditation. The practices are intentional. Insight emerges from attention. An Ayurvedic consultation offers personalized guidance on restoring balance. Breathwork in the salt house recalibrates your nervous system. Meditation in the Crystal House deepens stillness. A pilgrimage walk to Namo Buddha brings devotion into motion. Sharing a simple meal with monks reveals how meaning often resides in presence, not accumulation. The landscape supports the work. The structure carries it forward. WHAT MAKES THIS DIFFERENT This is not a passive retreat. You will write. You will reflect. You will examine the story you have been living. The week combines contemplative practice, creative methodology, and science-informed insight. Your ambition is not dismissed here. It is refined. Limited to 16 participants, the environment allows depth of conversation and individual attention. WHAT YOU WALK AWAY WITH You leave with: • A clarified narrative for your next chapter • A renewed relationship with your own inner authority • Structured creative and contemplative practices you can continue • Greater confidence in the direction you choose next You return home with perspective that endures beyond the setting. BEYOND NEPAL Enrollment in Take a Shot at Happiness: A Happiness Explorer’s Journey is included, so the work continues after you return home. The program provides structure, guided reflection, and creative assignments that help translate insight into lived change. (Value: $997 — included.)
Accommodation
Dwarika's Sanctuary Executive Suite with Terrace
Private room for 1
$8,095 USD total
The Dwarika's, Katmandu Junior Suite
1 Room Left
Private room for 1
$8,095 USD total
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Dwarika Collection (Kathmandu and Dhulikhel) Rooms in Kathmandu become living galleries of Nepali artistry: terracotta tiles warming beneath your feet, carved details in wood and stone, textiles woven by local hands. Suites in Dhulikhel open directly into the mountains. Indoor and outdoor spaces flow together, each room designed uniquely, each view framing the rolling ridges and distant snow-capped peaks. Centuries of craftsmanship hold you in Kathmandu, while wide horizons awaken you in Dhulikhel. Together, these sanctuaries frame the story of your retreat—heritage and horizon, city and mountain, outer world and inner journey.
Meals
Meals provided
Breakfast · Lunch · Dinner
Diets catered
Vegan · Vegetarian · Kosher · Gluten-free · Dairy-free · Raw · Organic · Nut Allergy Friendly · Diabetic Friendly · Keto Friendly · Paleo Friendly
At Dwarika’s Sanctuary, meals are an invitation to taste Nepal itself. Six Himalayan farms provide the vegetables, grains, and herbs that arrive fresh at your table. Every dish feels alive with the land—fragrant spices rising with the steam, seasonal produce bright in color and flavor. Guided by five principles—Fresh, Local, Organic, Seasonal, and Less Travelled—each dish is prepared with simplicity, allowing natural flavors to speak for themselves. The kitchens draw inspiration from Ayurvedic and Buddhist traditions, creating meals that support both vitality and grounding. Sattvic dishes bring lightness and calm, while balanced tamasic elements offer warmth and strength where needed. Every meal reflects balance, nourishment, and the quiet beauty of mindful cooking. In the morning, a plate of artfully cut fresh watermelon, papaya, and kiwi glistens in the light, yogurt is thick and creamy, and homemade granola and breads arrive still warm, their crusts breaking at the first touch. Farmhouse eggs are cooked as you wish. Midday brings a table filled with color—salads sharp with coriander and mint, lentils simmered slowly with ginger, grains laced with herbs gathered from the gardens. As evening settles, the air cools and dinner becomes a feast: curries layered with turmeric and chili, vegetables roasted over open flame, rice perfumed with cardamom. A cup of ginger tea warms your hands, its sharp sweetness lingering as lanterns glow in the courtyard. For dinner, Mako’s Zen offers a mindful dining experience shaped by Zen Buddhist culinary philosophy. Each meal balances the five tastes (hot, sour, sweet, bitter, salty), five colors (red, white, black, green, yellow), and five ways of cooking (raw, boiling, roasting, steaming, frying). The cuisine is light on salt and seasoning, allowing the true essence of each ingredient to come alive on your tongue. The menu changes with the seasons, creating dishes that are simple, elegant, and deeply nourishing. Here, you are invited to slow down — to eat with awareness, taste with presence, and let food become a quiet meditation in itself. Wherever you sit—in a lantern-lit courtyard, on a terrace facing the hills, or in a quiet dining room—you feel cared for. Every meal is prepared with attention to your needs, whether vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, or otherwise. Here, food is more than sustenance. It is a practice of slowing down, of savoring each flavor, and of letting the taste of the land deepen your connection to Nepal.
Testimonials
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Host
What's Included
The Happiness Explorer’s Way – Signature teaching sessions with Maria Baltazzi, PhD, MFA, weaving the Eight Happiness Essentials from the award-winning Take a Shot at Happiness book into creative practices with photography and reflective journaling, so your insights travel home with you.
Presence in Practice – Daily meditation and mindful movement guided by Maria, grounding you in clarity and supporting a rhythm you can continue long after the retreat.
Sanctuaries of Heritage and Horizon – Seven nights at The Dwarika’s, Kathmandu and Dwarika’s Sanctuary in Dhulikhel, where artistry, devotion, and mountain air surround you with beauty and care.
A Taste of Nepal – Seven breakfasts, seven lunches, and seven dinners crafted from seasonal Nepali ingredients, from lantern-lit courtyard feasts to fresh mountain mornings on your terrace.
Restoration for Body and Spirit – One spa treatment per guest, inspired by Nepali traditions and designed to restore balance and renewal.
Seamless Transitions – Airport transfers on February 20th and 27th, with a personal welcome and care for every detail, so your journey begins and ends with ease.
Sacred Access – All entrance fees to temples and cultural sites included, ensuring you can fully immerse without distraction as Nepal reveals its devotion and history.
Pre- and Post-Retreat Support – Guidance and resources before and after the retreat to help you prepare for and integrate your experience.
Not Included
International flights to and from Nepal
Nepal entry visa
Tips and gratuities for guides, drivers, and hotel staff
Alcoholic beverages and additional à la carte orders outside included meals
Personal expenses such as shopping or extra spa treatments beyond what is listed
Optional excursions or activities not mentioned in the itinerary
Travel insurance – mandatory for participation, offering you peace of mind
FAQs
Guest requirements
Activities include gentle walking on temple grounds, a moderate 45-minute hike to Namo Buddha, and optional meditation, mindful movement, and yoga sessions. As part of its hillside design, Dwarika’s features steps throughout the property. It is not suitable for those with mobility restrictions. All movement practices can be adapted to meet your level of comfort.
Cancellation policy
The remaining balance for the retreat is due 30 days prior to the start date. If this balance is paid earlier than these 30 days, you are eligible to cancel and receive a full refund of this remaining balance, provided you do so at least 30 days before the retreat begins.
