Uttarakhand is popularly known as ‘Dev Bhoomi’ or the land of Gods and is home to millions of devotees. It is a diverse state with soaring Himalayan peaks, busy cities, jungles and a holy land with renowned temples and ashrams. Over the years many people have visited this sacred land for peace, pursue spiritualism, adventure and a getaway for happiness.

I would never have visited this part of India without Priya being the one to have chosen it. I have grown up in the hills and I am very nostalgic about Himachal Pradesh, where have I spent most of my childhood.

Dhanachuli turned out to be a perfect getaway from Delhi

I and Priya were newlywed when we first visited Dhanachuli in Kumaon. We stayed at Te-Aroha after reading a beautiful story about this place by Shivyanath in her blog the-shooting-star.com. The property was not something like our usual stays in hotels. It was in a perfect romance with the beauty of the place. We could feel that special touch everywhere that went into building this beautiful property. The room rates range between Rs7000 to Rs11000 (when we visited) with 2 delicious meals with every booking.

I was running behind the hues for my photographs and Priya spent most of her time reading and enjoying the hospitality. Dhanachuli is about 10 hours or 350 km of a smooth drive from Delhi.

A steep climb to Binsar in Almora

Almora was once the regional capital of Kumaon. It still has that rustic feeling with the colonial period buildings. Khali estate is a rustic and colonial period property and is the perfect place to be in Almora. It is amidst the jungle and on the top of a ridge. The estate is pretty far away from the nearest civilization and turned out to be our perfect getaway. It is a perfect tranquil between nature and perfectly depicts the colonial era through its building and hospitality.

It is around 400 Kms from Delhi and can be reached via Moradabad, Rampur, Rudrapur, Haldwani, Kathgodam, Bhowali, Garampani and then Almora. A stay at this rustic place ranges between Rs 4000 – Rs 7000  (when we visited) with 2 vegetarian meals.