Uttarakhand Tourism had great vision this year. Along with popular destinations, they also brought offbeat Uttarakhand to the fore front. And we – always a yes to fun tours – took that to the next level. Or a higher or cooler level if you please. This is our travel guide to a new Uttarakhand right up from drawing board till execution in a serene but fun way.

Popular hill stations in Uttarakhand

Uttarakhand is often called “Devbhumi” or “Land of Gods”. It is definitely a traveler’s heaven. The list of popular hill stations in Uttarakhand, that are visited by tourists from far and wide, is very long.

We all know Uttarakhand is home to the “Queen of the Hills” Nainital and its amazing boat ride; ropeway and bakeries. Then there is Mussoorie, Almora, Kausani, Lansdowne, and Corbett National Park. The summers are pleasant in Uttarakhand and the winters are bearably cold making most parts of the state all year destinations. Add to that affordable accommodation options and a really hospitable bunch of locals, no wonder Uttarakhand is an extremely “go-to” holiday zone.

Offbeat holiday locations in Uttarakhand

If you are done with the popular tourist places, Uttarakhand is a great option for offbeat travel. Many lesser-known hill stations of North India are now being developed as offbeat locations for corporate team-building events or wellness and yoga retreats. In our bid to find Uttarakhand beyond Nainital and Mussoorie, we had an out-of-the-world week-long trip at Chakrata earlier this year. The sights we saw were way beyond our expectations. We stayed at some of the most beautiful resorts in Uttarakhand during the trip. We also engaged in some popular adventure activities in Uttarakhand like water-rappelling and trekking of course. Moderate trekking in Uttarakhand is a constant companion and we fondly remember our voluntary trek up from Mussoorie to Landour.

It was almost year-end and time for another offbeat long vacation from Delhi. Some research and we zeroed in on Jhaltola, Uttarakhand. Located in Pithoragarh district, Jhaltola was still mostly uncharted territory.

Why Jhaltola?

Jhaltola in the Upper Kumaon region is located between Chaukori and Patal Bhuvaneshwar. At an elevation of approximately 1889 m (6000 ft), it is virtually in the lap of the Himalayas. So peace and serenity were guaranteed.

Delhi humdrum is a lot of fun. But then, if we want diversity, we look for peace, quiet, tranquillity. Huge suckers for slow travel, we want to take it easy. Yet an inactive break does not work for us. We want to engage in activities that are fun yet relaxing.

When we were reading up, Jhaltola seemed to fit the bill. It promised views of the Western Kumaon Range of the Himalayas. In fact, we could see Trisul, Nanda Devi, and Panchchuli peaks from our rooms. The Jhaltola Estate where we were heading was part of a small village with a peaceful way of life. The place had some treks and sites that were apparently hidden gems of Uttarakhand. So while our bucket list wasn’t busy, there was some activity to pursue. The prospect of being one with the easy way of Kumaoni life with some dosage of physical as well as touristy activity, and to top that, an abundance of nature – we thought – WHY NOT Jhaltola?

How to reach Jhaltola?

The nearest railway station to Jhaltola is Kathgodam and we took the early morning Kathgodam Shatabdi from New Delhi Railway Station that reached Kathgodam in about 5 hours. Thereafter, it was a longish drive for about 7 hours. However, given the meandering road through beautiful pine and deodar trees, boosted with the clean mountain breeze, there was very little travel fatigue. Folks with car sickness in the mountains – do keep remedies handy though, since the sudden elevation and turns may seem overwhelming to the body. There is an airport in the vicinity but flights are still irregular and hence flying is still not a reliable option.

We passed a host of big and small towns and villages on our way to Jhaltola. We have already visited Bhimtaal and Almorah and made mental notes to visit the other places sometime in life – they all looked so enticing. Incidentally, the whole road to Jhaltola was dotted with tea stalls and small to moderate size restaurants so refreshments or restrooms were not a problem.

Hotels in Jhaltola

When we searched for Jhaltola, Uttarakhand, the first few results on Google were of the resort – The Misty Mountains. We loved the pictures on their website and they seemed to have fantastic reviews on travel websites. Many were singing paeans to their food. Food praise tilted the scale in favor of this resort and we stayed at The Misty Mountains.

The Misty Mountains is part of the 1000-acre Jhaltola Estate and the cottages, rather log cabins are amidst pine, oak, and rhododendron forest. This is home to Madhur and Ambika and they have developed the surrounding areas as a resort. Aided with an excellent team of most friendly staff, they made this place home for us for 5 days or so.

Madhur would ask us what do we want for or breakfast/lunch etc. and our specifications would be prepared correct to the T. All the elaborate but home-style meals were accompanied by endless varieties of tastiest jams, marmalade, and pickles made in-house by Ambika from organic local produce. The dinners were beside crackling bonfire and digestion aided by the excellent honey-lemon-ginger tea from the kitchen. A special shout out to the Kumaoni meal which was the best that we have had! For foodies, there is a separate paragraph about this below. Keep reading…

Madhur, in case you read this – many thanks to you, your staff, and last but not least your chef for making our stay comfortable as well as offering such an interesting gastro journey. We can’t even imagine the sweat and toil involved in running the show, especially the kitchen, at a mountaintop where the nearest small market is 13 km away and the nearest biggish town is 25 km away.

Jhaltola has some homestays in surrounding areas as well.

Things to do in Jhaltola

Even for an offbeat hill station in Kumaon, Jhaltola presented a host of activity options. We took it easy and only covered some of these. Here is what you just should not miss.

Marvel at Snowcapped Himalayas

Our cottage at The Misty Mountains opened to the stately Himalayas – all white because of the imminent winter. We could see a panorama of mountains, starting from some of the eastern Garhwal High Himalayan peaks to Western Nepalese Himalaya from our cottage window. All Kumaon peaks in between including Trishul, Nanda Devi range, and Panchchuli range were clearly visible from here. We do not have words to express our awe. All we can say is that it seemed surreal – like a dream. We just could not turn our eyes or cameras away.

Trekking

From The Misty Mountains, moderate trekking through oak, pine, eucalyptus, and hundreds of years old oak trees took us to the mountain top. An old Shiva temple at the top of the mountain, the Lambkeshwar Mahadeva Mandir, looked most unreal. It reminded us of the Lakhamandal and the Mahsu Devta Temples that we had visited. The way up to this place took about an hour and the divinity here made it completely worth. A little bit of furthertrekking took us to a Vishnu Temple which is like the highest peak here and the 360 degrees panoramic view from here is absolutely breathtaking.

On the way down we stopped at a base, like a meadow at Pokhar. Pokhar is the spot for viewing the most gorgeous sunsets. The villagers had built a huge reservoir here to collect rainwater and handle water crisis during summer. The survival strategies of people in the mountains are most humbling. We picked up some pine corns from Pokhar as souvenirs. And also to remind us that all this happened in real.

Village Walk

The surrounding villages are full of friendly folks in beautiful houses. The thatched houses with earthy white walls, bright blue doors and windows, and rust colour wall and floor art made it look like an art village. The inherent sense of beauty amidst the green of the valley took art to another level. They had stables and cowsheds below the living quarters and we could see they were growing all kinds of vegetables and fruits. Malta oranges hung from trees and huge pumpkins were pulling the vines down. We walked a little and clicked a little and then walked a little more. The walk led us to the 200-year-old Jhaltola Estate bungalow in the premises. It was a fine fusion of colonial cum local architecture. A couple of hours thus passed by and we had no idea that afternoon was moving to evening. We had come so far in the village that The Misty Mountains had to send transport to get us back.

*Pro Tip: This place is also the habitat of leopards and so pottering around un-escorted is not advisable.

Kumaoni Food

Our strong belief, that authentic Indian cuisine is best tried elsewhere than restaurants, was reinforced at The Misty Mountains. We mentioned above, Madhur and Ambika served Kumauni lunch during our stay. The spread comprised of dishes made with local produce farmed organically. No wonder all the vegetables tasted sweeter than what we have in Delhi. The garlic was less pungent and Lye saag, a variety of mustard leaves, had lot of texture.  The mildly sweet rhododendron juice was prepared in-house. And so were a host of jams, chutneys, and pickles.  We have had bhaang (cannabis) seeds chutney before but the dadim (pomegranate) chutney, new for us, was a riot of tastes. Bhatt ki Churkani, a Kumaoni lentil dish that we have tried earlier in Delhi restaurants, tasted so much lighter and fresher today.  Roti made of madwa, a local millet variety, was served on the side. Even after the elaborate meal, we did not feel one bit heavy! It was that simple, wholesome yet tasty. If you are staying at The Misty Mountains, do request a Kumaoni meal and you would know what we are going gaga about.

Patal Bhuvaneshwar Caves

The majestic Patal Bhuvaneshwar caves in Bhuvaneshwar village near Jhaltola are a series of caves dedicated to the Hindu pantheon. These ancient caves bear reference in the Skanda Purana. In the 12th century, Guru Adi Shankaracharya consecrated the Shivalinga inside the sanctum sanctorum. The caves are 160 feet long and 90 feet deep from the surface. We crawled through a narrow opening to enter the shrine and that itself was such an adventure. Like most temples, photography is not allowed here but the spectacle inside was straight out of an expert Hollywood animation. We were plain dumbfounded and for the next hour or so the guide only spoke. To put it in words, Patal Bhuvaneshwar is like a natural temple formed with stalactites and stalagmites where nature herself was the sculptor.  Shiva is the reigning deity and we saw stone representations of other Hindu Gods, Goddesses, saints, and characters from the Mahabharata. No wonder the temple is highly revered and draws devotees from far. In fact, our guide cum priest said that it was only a random divine calling that brings people here and we felt humbled. The Patal Bhuvaneshwar caves were indeed one of the best-kept secrets of Uttarakhand.

Local Handicrafts – Basketry

The villages surrounding Jhaltola are well known for their basketry. During our village walk, we saw people weaving baskets in all shapes and sizes. They also attached handles so these could be carried easily. The weaving style was complex and involved ornamental ribs and designs. The baskets looked sturdy and could also sit well in a city drawing room as a planter may be. These were available for sale at a reasonable price.

AVANI – A Community Project

AVANI is an NGO here that works in developing local skills and resources. They handle two major projects. First, they have set up power plants where power is generated by combustion of pine needles gathered from trees in the local forests. The second project is weaving using local handloom techniques and natural dyes that they make at their centre at Berinag close to Jhaltola. We visited this centre and were enchanted to see the simple power plant. In addition, the natural dyeing process and thereafter the weaving process starting from the charkha to the loom and finally, their store was also most enlightening. We purchased some shawls and paint made with natural dye to support the cause.

Bal Mithai

Another all-time Uttarakhand favourite is the sweet Bal Mithai. It is a caked version of thickened milk, sweetened and topped with sugar balls. Given the long thickening process, the sweet gets a unusual smoky flavour. In combination with the crunchy sugar topping, this sweet is heaven in the mouth. We bought kilos from local confectioners and carried them home for folks. They wanted to send us back to Jhaltola so that we could get back some more Bal Mithai!

Activities at The Misty Mountains

In addition to the village walk and Lambkeshwar Mahadeva Mandir trek that our resort had organised for us and sent a guide along, this place is a great spot for birding. If you are into ornithology, do carry a pair of binoculars. The naturalists here could take you for a bird walk. In addition, The Misty Mountains had badminton and a huge recreation hall with board games, table tennis, and some books at the disposal of the residents.

Relax and do nothing

And that is what we mostly did. Off and on, we curled up with a book on the hammocks strategically placed in the property or in the comfort of our electric blankets and sipped something away. And this was what the Jhaltola trip did for us. While we did some activities, we took time out to unwind, be at one with nature, and look at the beautiful night sky dressed up with stars and planets shining like sequins. Time just stood still here. These were super rare luxuries for us city folks. It was slow travel as they say – an ideal way to finish the year.

Jhaltola to Delhi

The trip back was somber. All of us were lost in the sorrow of parting with the mountains. It was a similar journey just the reverse order. We started early at about 6.30 am from Jhaltola and reached Kathgodam railway station for our Shatabdi back at 3.30 pm. The train entered New Delhi Railway Station punctually at 8.50 pm. And that was that.

If you also want a break – like a real take-it-easy-break – try slow travel at Jhaltola, Uttarakhand. You would definitely see a heavenly life from a notch above. We are still quite over the moon.