My stay at Binsar was nothing short of magical! Binsar is the erstwhile summer capital of the Chand Dynasty rulers, who ruled Kumaon from the 7th to 18th century AD. The British also used it as a summer capital and built several estates inside the forest. In 1988, Binsar was established as a sanctuary for the conservation and protection of the shrinking broad-leaf oak forests of the Central Himalayan region.
In Binsar we stayed at the eco-friendly Binsar Forest Retreat situated within the Binsar Wildlife Sanctuary. The Retreat is at an altitude of approximately 8,000 feet amidst dense forests with spectacular views of the Himalayan mountain ranges. The Retreat epitomises the concept of natural living - use of solar power for electricity, water sourced from natural springs and rainwater harvesting and complete peace and tranquility. The only sounds to be heard are of the chirping birds and rustling of leaves with the fresh breeze. We stayed in the ‘Trishul’ rooms and woke up each morning to the sight of the Trishul mountain peaks.
The hosts at the Retreat are the charming, gracious and very hospitable Pritam and Pallavi who have left their city life and careers to live in Binsar. They along with their entire team (from the surrounding villages) leave no stone unturned to ensure that you have the most comfortable stay. We were served delicious freshly prepared vegetarian organic meals with ingredients sourced from the Kumaoni villages. Yes, they even bake their own bread which can compare very favourably with the best anywhere in the cities.
While in Binsar we visited Jageshwar Dham - a group of 125 ancient Hindu temples dated between the 7th and 14th centuries. Many of these are small temples and they predominantly depict the North Indian Nagara style of architecture with a few exceptions. Close by is the Dandeshwar Temple, one of the biggest and tallest temples of the Kumaon Region.
The next day we visited The Khali Estate in Binsar with a feeling of great nostalgia, since in the early days of our career in the Ministry of Tourism (in Mumbai), we received a lot of querries about this property at our Tourist Information Counters. Sir Henry Ramsay, the commissioner of Kumaun from 1856 to 1884 built the Bungalow here, and Vijay Laxmi Pandit, the sister of Jawahar Lal Nehru also lived here in subsequent years. It is a beautiful sprawling Estate with small cottages and offering spectacular views of the mountain ranges.
Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end, as did our awesome week in Uttarakhand. But the memories created will surely last a lifetime!