Date: 16-20 November 2019
Venue: Jhaltola, Uttarakhand

If you are searching the internet for resorts in Jhaltola or resorts near Chaukori in Kumaon, or even hotels in Pithoragarh, you would probably land up on The Misty Mountains Retreats page like us. It is a beautiful property in Jhaltola, Uttarakhand, literally facing the Himalayas. But why do they call it Misty Mountains? Read on.

Jhaltola, Uttarakhand

 

Jhaltola in 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 Himalayas. So peace and serenity were guaranteed.

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 its 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, abundance of nature, Jhaltola seemed like a hidden gem of Uttarakhand.

The Misty Mountains

The Misty Mountains Retreat is part of the 1000 acre Jhaltola Estate and the cottages, rather log cabins are amidst pine, oak and rhododendron forest. The Jhaltola Estate belonged to the legendary spy explorer Raibahadur Kishan Singh Rawat. Part of the estate is now home to Madhur and Ambika and they have developed the surrounding areas as a resort, rather, a home stay. Aided with an excellent team of most friendly staff, they made this place home for us for 5 days or so.

How to reach The Misty Mountains

The nearest railway station to Jhaltola is Kathgodam. We were booked on the early morning Kathgodam Shatabdi from New Delhi Railway Station that reached us in about 5 hours. We dropped at about 11.30, and thereafter it was a longish drive for about 7 hours. Once we reached Chaukori, we dropped at a foothill and a special vehicle from The Misty Mountains ferried us on the uphill mountain road.

Rooms

It is a collection of wood cottages or what are traditionally log cabins. Except that the cottages at Misty Mountains are not austere. They are fitted with comfy beds, sofa, dressing area and a top floor with extra beds as well. They have heater and geyser and even electric blankets to cope with the cold weather. Mind you, there is no television here, or anywhere in Misty Mountains. But when the windows open to the grand view of the gorgeous Himalayas (more on that below) or star studded dark blue night sky, who needs gadgets?

View

We reached The Misty Mountains at night and retired soon thereafter. But the next morning, when we removed the curtains from the windows, our jaws dropped. Our cottage 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. But the third morning was wet with some trickling rain off and on. Consequently the mountains were covered with mist. It was like white candy floss, not dense, yet enough to give the mountains a slightly blurry, somewhat dreamy look. 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.The mist had completely transformed the mountains we could now see the justification behind the name, The Musty Mountains.

Food

Owner 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, marmalades and pickles made in-house by Ambika from organic local produce. There was no way one could fall sick with the food here. 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! Our strong belief, that authentic Indian cuisine is best tried elsewhere than restaurants, was reinforced at The Misty Mountains. Madhur and Ambika served Kumauni lunch items 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)  leaves chutney before but the dalim (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. Madwa in fact is the wonder grain for 2020. If you are staying at The Misty Mountains, do request a Kumaoni meal and you would know what we are going gaga about.

Service

The guys here are like Santa’s elves. You don’t hear them – but every request is complied to the T. The whole staff always stood in yes to all our silly demands. Given that it’s a mountaintop where the nearest small market is 13 km away and nearest biggish town is 25 km away, providing the level of service they deliver is anything but easy!

Some of the staff here accompanied us during treks and village walks. They kept supporting us while maneuvering narrow paths and filling us with jungle trivia and leopard stories all along the way. Yes, these jungles have leopards too who are occasionally seen in the vicinity of the resort.

Packages

Madhur and Ambika seemed flexible when it came to pricing. They have all sorts of packages for big parties, small groups, families and couples, yoga retreat and office off-sites. So, it would make sense to discuss your requirement with them and they could work out a special deal.

Activities

The Misty Mountains organises treks, village walks or even night jungle tours from their property. They provide trained escorts and naturalists to aid the guests. Due to lack of time, and the generally relaxed mood holding sway, we could only do some of the activities.

One of us is trekking enthuiast and we land on some trek almost every trip. 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 Lamkeshwar Mahadev Mandir, looked most unreal. The way up to this place took about an hour and the divinity here made it completely worth. On the way down we stopped at a base, like a meadow at Pokhar. Pokhar is the spot for viewing the most gorgeous sunsets.

We also walked to the surrounding villages which are are full of friendly folks in beautiful houses. The walk led us to the 200 years old Jhaltola Estate bungalow in the premise. 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. As this place is the habitat of leopards, pottering around un-escorted was not advisable.

In addition to the village walk and Lamkeswar Mahadev trek, 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 1000 sq ft recreation hall with board games, table tennis and some books at the disposal of the residents.

Local sightseeing

The Misty Mountains guys arranged transport for us and we did all local sightseeing. You can read more about that in our Jhaltola post.

Take it easy, do nothing, just relax

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. 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