The Kumaon
Minimal effort
Beside the point
For 800 years, this peak-lined pocket of India’s Uttarakhand state was ruled by Chand rajas, who built trade and temples across the land. Today, you’re assured a similarly royal welcome at The Kumaon, a minimalist mountain lodge in the foothills of the Himalayas, overlooking India's second highest peak. Its owner, Vikrom Mathur, originally bought the land to build a private home – and who could blame him for wanting to keep it all to himself? But having met entrepreneur Raghav Priyadarshi, the two envisioned something bigger: a 10-suite retreat on the doorstep of rhododendron forests and the leopard-roamed Binsar Wildlife Sanctuary, with a fire-warmed library and a dramatic cantilevered restaurant, that would showcase the Kumaon region’s food alongside its lofty scenery. The result is a high-end hotel with homespun hospitality, worthy of any maharaja.
Planes
The nearest airport is Pantnagar, which is well connected with Mumbai and Delhi on airlines such as Jet Airways, Air India and SpiceJet. On reaching Pantnagar, it’s an 80-mile, four-hour drive to the hotel. Transfers can be arranged for INR7,500 each way (plus taxes) by calling Smith24.
Trains
Daily trains from Delhi take around six hours to reach Kathgodam, your nearest station, it's 55 miles away from the Kumaon, or three hours by car.
Automobiles
Only the brave would take on Himalayan roads: far better to arrange a transfer from either Pantnagar airport (four hours) or Kathgodam station (three hours), which can be tailored to include scenic stops (just call Smith24). That said, there is free parking at the hotel, if needed.
Worth Getting Out of Bed For
Superlative views come as standard in the Himalayas: a mountain range so vast, it sprawls over five countries and includes 50 of the world’s highest 7,200m-plus peaks. Your base camp at the Kumaon places you in the Indian portion of the range, nudging the Nepalese border, from where you can head out on curated hiking itineraries, organised and led by the hotel, lasting anywhere from a few hours to a full week. The historic hill station of Almora is to the south – summer capital of the Chand rajas, who ruled Kumaon between the 11th and 18th centuries – and is now home to one of the area’s chief attractions: the Binsar Wildlife Sanctuary. Rise early for dawn leopard spotting or head in to spot Himalayan black bears, along with 600 bird species. Don’t miss the trek to Zero Point, which reveals 360-degree views of Himalayan peaks. The terraced town of Almora is also close by, dotted with temples and fringed by rhododendron forests, with a lively local bazaar to explore in Lal Bagh market. Nearby, the hamlet of Kasar Devi and its fuschia-pink temple was made famous for attracting bohemian writers like D H Lawrence, and later musicians such as Bob Dylan and Cat Stevens, during the Hippie Trail heyday of the Sixties and Seventies. American psychologist Timothy Leary even moved here, after having been fired from Harvard for advocating the use of psychedelic drugs. Today, though, enlightenment can be sought in the hotel’s long list of activities, including romantic picnics on the ridge (call Smith24 to arrange).
The Kumaon is a year-round destination. The best times to visit are from early October to late November, and from late February to May; the monsoon arrives from June until September, bringing daily rains but also lush greenery. Things get cold in the depths of winter (December to February), but if you’re willing to brave the frosty nights, this is when the skies are at their clearest, the orchards are in bloom and a blanket of snow stretches from the peaks to the valley floor.
