With palm trees and aromatic citrus groves bounded by the soaring Topatopa Mountains, it’s little wonder Ojai is regarded as California’s Shangri-la. Set within a mountain-ringed valley 80 miles northwest of Los Angeles, the diminutive town’s oversized scenery and balmy Mediterranean climate have made it a wellness destination long before a Vitamix whirred its first smoothie. In the 19th century, railroad companies lured passengers with the promise to “Go West and Breathe Again” during an era of widespread tuberculosis. Questionable claims aside, Ojai’s ability to soothe is undeniable. Today, it remains a sun-soaked refuge where you can eat well, bask in striking natural scenery, and yes, breathe easy. Ojai takes its name from the Chumash word “Awha’y,” or “moon,” a testament to the area’s first inhabitants. Yet, it’s the town’s utopian moniker that fuels local lore. When author James Hilton conceived Shangri-la—an enchanting and imaginary valley paradise in his 1933 novel Lost Horizon—he could have been describing Ojai. Adding to the mystique is an alpenglow dubbed The Pink Moment that bathes Ojai in warm hues at sunset, a happy byproduct of the valley’s east-west orientation. The resemblance wasn’t lost on director Frank Capra who came to the valley to film his 1937 adaptation of Hilton’s novel. Never mind that any local footage didn’t make the final cut. When Hilton first visited Ojai, he exclaimed, “This is Shangri-la.”

Ojai’s fabled reputation began even earlier with a ploy to boost train ridership after the completion of the transcontinental railroad. Written at the behest of the Central Pacific Railroad in 1873, New York Evening Post editor Charles Nordhoff’s California for Health, Pleasure and Residence extolled the virtues of the sunny region and prompted a migration of wintering visitors. The guidebook proved so influential in shaping Ojai that residents initially named the developing town after the author. One notable visitor drawn by Ojai’s reputed curative powers was a young Jiddu Krishnamurti, the celebrated philosopher who arrived in 1922 with his tuberculosis-stricken brother. Though his brother eventually succumbed to his illness, Krishnamurti fell in love with the town and made it his seasonal home. Over the ensuing years, his lectures on mindful living at his Ojai home drew scores of wellness seekers and practitioners. Many stayed, and Ojai’s culture of wellbeing was enshrined. Today, Krishnamurti’s former home is open to the public as a library and retreat center.