Forest bathing walk

Forest bathing is not a hike. The group covers two or three kilometres in about two and a half hours, stopping often. In Istanbul we use the quieter paths of Belgrad Forest near the Ottoman water reservoirs; in Kartepe we walk under the beech and pine above Lake Sapanca.

A certified forest therapy guide gives a series of short invitations: walk in silence for ten minutes, notice what is moving, find a spot and sit alone for a while. Between the quiet parts the group gathers in a circle and anyone who wants to says a sentence about what they noticed. It is often the first time colleagues have talked without an agenda.

We finish with a simple tea ceremony on a blanket: linden or mountain tea brewed on a camp stove, with dried fruit and nuts. Groups larger than 20 are split between two guides on separate paths.