What to pack for a yoga and hiking retreat in the Alps

The most common packing mistake for a mountain retreat is bringing too much of the wrong thing: three yoga outfits and one thin jacket. In the Alps it is the jacket that matters.

A yoga and hiking retreat asks two different things of your bag. Mornings and evenings are spent on the mat, indoors or on a terrace. The hours between are spent on trails, beside lakes and streams, and across high meadows where the weather can turn within an hour. Pack for both, and for the gap between them.

Your feet come first

If you bring one good thing, make it footwear. Walking boots or trail shoes with a firm grip, and worn in before you travel. New boots on a mountain path are the surest way to spend the second half of the week with blisters.

Bring two or three pairs of proper walking socks, not cotton ones, and a few blister plasters. A pair of comfortable shoes for the hotel and the evenings lets your feet rest after the day.

Dress in layers

Mountain weather is changeable in any month. A valley can be warm at breakfast and a ridge cold and windy by lunch. The answer is not one heavy coat but several thin layers you can add and remove as you walk:

• A base layer that dries quickly
• A fleece or light insulated jacket
• A waterproof jacket, which you will carry even on a clear morning
• Walking trousers or leggings you can move freely in
• A hat and light gloves for higher ground or early starts

The sun is stronger at altitude than most people expect, even when the air feels cool. Pack sunglasses, sun cream and a hat with a brim.

For the practice

Less than you think. Two sets of comfortable clothes you can move and sit in will see you through five days, especially if one dries overnight.

Bring something warm for the evenings. The last practice of the day is slow, Yin or guided relaxation, and when you are lying still for several minutes after a day outdoors the body cools quickly. A soft jumper and warm socks make the difference between settling and shivering.

A small notebook is worth its weight. Retreats tend to throw up thoughts you will want to keep, and they are easy to lose by the time you are home.

For the walks

On our retreat in the Austrian Alps, hiking backpacks and poles are lent free, so you do not need to bring your own. What you do need for each day out:

• A refillable water bottle
• Your waterproof, even if the sky is clear
• Sun cream and sunglasses
• Any medication you take, and a few plasters
• A small snack, though fruit and nuts are part of the day

Travel documents and practicalities

Bring your passport, travel insurance that covers walking in the mountains, and some euros for anything you want along the way. Guests from the UK should check the current rules for travel in the EU before they go.

Plan the journey before you book flights. For our retreat, the nearest airport is Salzburg and the nearest train station is Schladming. Transfers are not included, and once you have booked we send details of local transport and taxis.

What to leave at home

The laptop. The second and third yoga outfits. Anything you would be upset to see rained on.

And, if you can manage it, the habit of checking your phone first thing. The first hour of the day on a retreat is for sitting quietly before practice, with the mountains already outside the window. It is hard to arrive in that hour if you have already read your email.

A practice before you go

In the week before you travel, take one walk without headphones. Go at a pace that lets the breath stay easy, even on a hill, and notice when it stops being easy. That pace is the one to keep in the mountains.

You will find the trails go further than you expect when the breath is not in a hurry.

Read more about our Yoga & Hiking Retreat in the Austrian Alps.