About Dhamma Giri
Dhamma Giri — meaning 'Hill of Dhamma' — is one of the world's largest Vipassana meditation centres, and the global headquarters of the Vipassana movement in the tradition of S.N. Goenka. Located in Igatpuri, Maharashtra, approximately three hours from Mumbai in the Sahyadri hills, the centre held its first course in 1976 and in December 2026 celebrates its Golden Jubilee — 50 years of unbroken teaching.
Each year, tens of thousands of students from across India and the world attend courses at Dhamma Giri. The centre is co-located with the Vipassana Research Institute (VRI), which studies the practical application of Vipassana in medicine, psychology, prisons, schools and daily life. The centre's signature structure — a pagoda with over 400 individual meditation cells — is one of the most extraordinary meditation facilities in Asia, offering serious practitioners a rare opportunity for sustained solitary practice within a supported community environment.
Dhamma Giri offers the complete range of Vipassana programs: 10-day introductory courses, teenager courses, old student short courses, Satipatthana Sutta courses for experienced practitioners, and special teacher meetings. All courses are offered entirely on a pure dana (donation) basis — tuition, accommodation and vegetarian meals are provided completely free.
The Lineage
The technique taught at Dhamma Giri is passed down in an unbroken chain from the Buddha himself through the Burmese tradition:
Satya Narayan Goenka (1924–2013) learned Vipassana from Sayagyi U Ba Khin in Burma. In 1969 he was permitted to return to India and begin teaching. He went on to establish over 270 Vipassana centres in more than 100 countries — the largest such network in the Buddhist world — and taught courses personally until shortly before his death in 2013. Dhamma Giri in Igatpuri was his primary centre and remains the spiritual heart of the global movement.
The 10-Day Course: Day by Day
Daily Schedule
| 4:00 am | Morning bell |
| 4:30 – 6:30 am | Meditation — in hall or room |
| 6:30 – 8:00 am | Breakfast & rest |
| 8:00 – 11:00 am | Group sitting + individual meditation |
| 11:00 am – 1:00 pm | Lunch & rest |
| 1:00 – 5:00 pm | Individual meditation + group sitting |
| 5:00 – 6:00 pm | Tea break |
| 6:00 – 7:00 pm | Group meditation |
| 7:00 – 8:15 pm | Evening discourse by S.N. Goenka (video) |
| 8:15 – 9:00 pm | Group meditation + Q&A with teacher |
| 9:30 pm | Lights out |
Approximately 10–11 hours of meditation practice per day. The schedule is uniform across all Goenka centres worldwide.
2026 Course Schedule
| Dates | Course Type | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Jun 10 – Jun 21 | 10-Day Course | ● Full |
| Jun 24 – Jul 5 | 10-Day Course | ● Full |
| Jul 2 – Jul 4 | 2-Day (old students) | ✓ Open |
| Jul 8 – Jul 19 | 10-Day Course | ● Full |
| Jul 22 – Aug 2 | Old Student Course (OSC) | ✓ Open (old students) |
| Aug 5 – Aug 16 | 10-Day Course | ◷ Opens Jun 5 |
| Aug 21 – Aug 24 | 3-Day (old students) | ◷ Opens Aug 14 |
| Sep 2 – Sep 13 | 10-Day Course | ◷ Opens Jul 2 |
| Sep 16 – Sep 27 | 10-Day Course | ◷ Opens Jul 16 |
| Oct 1 – Oct 9 | Satipatthana Sutta Course (old students) | ◷ Opens Aug 1 |
| Oct 28 – Nov 8 | 10-Day Course | ◷ Opens Aug 28 |
| Nov 11 – Nov 22 | 10-Day Course | ◷ Opens Sep 11 |
| Nov 14 – Nov 17 | 3-Day (old students) | ◷ Opens Nov 7 |
| Dec 6, 2026 | Golden Jubilee — 50th Anniversary | ✦ Special Event |
| Dec 7 – Dec 8 | Indian Teacher Meeting | ✓ Open (old students) |
| Dec 9 – Dec 10 | International Teacher Meeting | ✓ Open (old students) |
| Dec 23, 2026 – Jan 3, 2027 | 10-Day Course | ◷ Opens Oct 23 |
Register at schedule.vridhamma.org/courses/giri. Course registration opens exactly 3 months before start date. Popular dates fill within days of opening.
All Course Types
The Pagoda
The most distinctive feature of Dhamma Giri is its meditation pagoda, housing over 400 individual meditation cells. Each cell is a small, sealed, silent space designed for one person to sit in uninterrupted solitary practice. Old students may apply to use the cells during courses and service periods as an intensive complement to group practice.
The pagoda was modelled on the Global Vipassana Pagoda in Mumbai — itself modelled on the Shwedagon Pagoda in Yangon — and stands as a monument to the tradition's return to India after its long preservation in Burma. Sitting inside one of the cells, in absolute silence, is an experience meditators describe as qualitatively different from any other form of practice.
Co-located with Dhamma Giri, the Vipassana Research Institute was founded by S.N. Goenka to study the practical and scientific basis of Vipassana and its application across society. VRI's work spans academic research on the neuroscience and psychology of meditation, Pali language scholarship, educational programs, prison projects, and publications. Its library of discourses, Pali texts and research is available at vridhamma.org.
Code of Conduct
- Noble Silence: No communication with other students — verbal, written, gestural or physical — from Day 0 evening through Day 10 morning. Communication with the teacher or course manager is permitted and encouraged when needed.
- Vegetarian meals: All food is strictly vegetarian, served free. New students eat twice daily (breakfast + lunch). Old students are welcome to observe one meal per day if they choose. No outside food, alcohol or intoxicants permitted.
- No devices: Phones, tablets, laptops, books, journals and all electronic devices must be surrendered at registration. Reading and writing are not permitted. The practice is the only activity.
- Five Precepts (Sīla): Students undertake to abstain from killing, stealing, sexual misconduct, false speech and intoxicants for the duration of the course. These form the ethical foundation without which the deeper practice cannot develop.
- Following the technique: Students agree to follow only the Vipassana technique as taught — not to mix other techniques, prayers or rituals during the course. This is essential for both personal and collective progress.
Getting There
Igatpuri 422 403, Maharashtra
What Meditators Say
I went in deeply skeptical — a corporate lawyer who had tried everything from apps to yoga, nothing stuck. By Day 7 something happened that I don't quite have words for. The sheer scale of Dhamma Giri — hundreds of students sitting in silence together, the pagoda cells, the evenings with Goenka's voice — creates an environment unlike any retreat I've heard of. I am already registered for my second course.
This was my fourth 10-day and my second at Dhamma Giri specifically. There is something about this place — the hills, the silence at 4am, the sense of hundreds of people all working sincerely at the same thing — that I have not found anywhere else. The pagoda cells on Day 7 and 8 are extraordinary. Goenka's evening discourses are, in my view, some of the finest explanations of the dharma ever recorded.
My 17-year-old daughter attended the Girls Teenager Course after I completed my own 10-day. The organization is exceptional — parents' minds are put completely at rest. She came home changed in a way that took me years to articulate for myself. She described it as "learning to see herself." The teenager programs are a genuine gift.