Uttarakhand's Ranikhet gets India's first Forest Healing Centre

The first-of-its-kind ‘Forest Healing Centre’ of India has been inaugurated at Kalika near Ranikhet in Uttarakhand.
The unique centre is based on the concept of making people healthy by bringing them into direct contact with nature.
Spread over an area of around 13 acres, the centre has been established in a pine-dominated forest, by the research wing of Uttarakhand Forest Department after a detailed study of the revitalising impact of forests on human health.
It has been found in various studies that coniferous like Pine trees emit certain oil compounds to safeguard themselves from various microbes and pathogens, which are called phytoncides.
These compounds help to multiply natural killer (NK) cells in our blood, which help in fighting infections and cancerous growth and enhance overall immunity.
The centre has various activities for visitors like hug trees, walk barefoot on the grass, lie on their back and gaze at the swaying trees or the ever changing sky above to soothe their senses.
The idea to open such centre was inspired from the Japanese technique of forest bathing and ancient Indian traditions.