6 Day Silent Mandali Experience – Mandali Retreat Center, Quarna Sopra

The 6 Day Silent Mandali Experience is a silent meditation retreat at Mandali Retreat Center in Quarna Sopra, in the Verbano-Cusio-Ossola province of Italy (VB). It is a restorative week for anyone who wants time with themselves, at an unhurried pace, held in silence and shaped by movement and meditative practices. It is offered as part of the center's own in-house programme, without a guest teacher, and the silence is part of the format.

What to Expect

The Mandali Experience is the center's ongoing retreat, designed as a restorative stay of three to seven days. This edition runs for six days and is held in silence. The emphasis is on connecting to yourself at a flexible pace rather than following a rigid schedule, so the days leave room to rest as well as to practise.

The practices are movement and meditation. Silence changes how both feel. Without conversation to fill the gaps, attention tends to settle on the body, the breath and whatever comes up in stillness. For people who find a silent retreat daunting, the flexible pace is worth noting: the program is built to support rest and self-connection, not to push you through a demanding regimen.

Mandali also runs other kinds of retreat, including seasonal editions with creative workshops and themed retreats led by guest teachers on subjects such as Path of Love, non-duality and Buddhism. This one belongs to the core Mandali Experience offering: the retreat itself, without a specific theme.

The Setting

Mandali Retreat Center is in Quarna Sopra, a small village in the province of Verbano-Cusio-Ossola in northern Italy. Guests stay on site, and the center has rooms for them to stay in. The setting suits a week of quiet, away from the pace of ordinary life.

Before You Go

This is a silent retreat, so expect to keep silence for the six days. Because the format is flexible and restorative, it can suit those new to retreats as well as people with an established meditation practice. If you are planning travel, the center publishes travel advice for reaching Quarna Sopra, and it is worth reading before you book your journey.