Arambol is easily one of the most vibrant, culturally diverse places we have found anywhere in the world. It seems that all of the world’s most eccentric and creative people have found each other in this small town on the northern coast of Goa and devloped an incredible community of teachers, students and artists. Everything, everyone, everywhere is flowing hand in hand in the same direction. It’s all about art, yoga, music, healthy food, love, harmony and surrender. This is the Goa you have been hearing about.
What to Do?
So many options. Places like The Love Temple, Blue Pyramid and Magic Park are always running a very, very wide variety of classes, workshops, lectures, dances, trances, healing ceremonies, meditations and other expressive events. At Love Temple there is a big chalk board outside you can check out when you arrive to see what is running for that week and pencil in what jumps out at you.
There is one very unique thing about Arambol, each evening around sunset everyone gathers on the beach for a huge drum circle. Many musicians join and for a few hours you can kick up some sand and dance the sun away, a seriously amazing way to get the juices flowing for the evening. During the circle all sorts of other cool things are going on as well. Acro Yoga jams, free Tai Chi sessions, ecstatic dance, meditations, musicians busking, you name it. There is also a huge gypsy night market along the beach with dozens of stalls selling all sorts of amazing hand made goodies; everything from jewelry and clothing to instruments and home made natural foods.
Arambol Night Market
On the Saturday night in Arambol we head to Anjuna for the huge Arambol night market. This is like the beach gypsy market but much much bigger and very well organized. Artists from all over the world sell amazing, high quality one of a kind creations. There is also a really awesome food court with dishes from all over the world and a big concert running all night. This is definitely one of the highlights of our stay in Arambol.
Time with Amit
In our time here we are fortunate to attend a 4 day course with our favorite teacher in India, Amit Raina of the Kashmir Shaivism School of Yoga. Amit comes from a long lineage of spiritual teachers but also has a background in engineering. After completing his education he built a successful business before being called to follow the higher path of his ancestors. He left his home and spent 6 years as a Sadhu (Indian holy man) on the banks of the river Ganges. When he felt his work was complete there he came back to the city where he studied with B.K.S Iyengar for seven years. Amit’s mixed background of spiritual influence as well as real world experience has brought him to be a very grounded, humble teacher. He will be taking us through philosophy teachings as well as alignment based Iyengar Yoga workshops.
Where to Eat
Arambol has some of the best options we have found in all of India for creative, living, organic foods. Many conscious people have settled here and are always bringing the latest health foods and trends to Arambol. You can find it all here; raw, vegan, gluten free options as well as kombucha, loads of super foods and of course incredible traditional Indian dishes. Our favorite restaurants include Magic Park, Lamuella, Cheeky Monkey, Shantaram and Harimba.
Visit to Sweet Lake
Just on the next beach over there is a cool little hang out spot called Sweet Lake. Named for it’s fresh water, it’s just a hundred or so meters from the sea and is a perfect spot to relax and have a swim. Here you can paraglide as well, as seen in the photo above, which gives an amazing view of this very unique and beautiful beach!
We are stoked to hit Arambol with our group members this February on our 20 Day South India Tour! For details visit breatheinlife.com
