The Kumaon
Discreet mountain retreat in the heart of the Himalaya
OUR STORY
Nestled in the foothills of the Himalayas, on a ridge in the shadow of the sacred Nanda Devi Range, The Kumaon offers a private mountain retreat for those seeking to experience the rich natural and cultural heritage of the area. Home to native forests, hidden waterfalls and terraced farms; the Kumaon region forms part of the historic route connecting India to Tibet. Inhabiting rustic villages dotted with mediaeval stone temples, the Kumaoni people practice a unique culture untouched by modernity.
LOCATION
The Kumaon
Village Gadholi, Kasar Devi
Almora – 263601
Uttarakhand, India
Contact
Mail: reservations@thekumaon.com
Reservations: +91 7579 44 9997
Hotel: +91 7579 44 9994
The Kumaon is located in Kasar Devi, a ridge above the historical city of Almora, which has attracted artists, pilgrims, scholars and seekers for centuries — Swami Vivekananda, DH Lawrence, Timothy Leary and Bob Dylan, to name but a few.
Surrounded by undulating hills and imbued with simple elegance, the property is spread across 10 luxurious suites, nestled in pairs across five structures with private overlapping terraces offering views to the Great Himalayan range.
The majestic peaks of Nanda Devi and Trishul ranges dominate the view from our dining area. Also included in the view are rolling hills, evergreen forests and skies of myriad hues, making this a great place to feast your eyes as well as your palate.
Understated yet confident in its simplicity, our kitchen serves a mix of Kumaoni and international cuisine, made with seasonal produce procured from village farms nearby and foraged from the surrounding forests.
With a special focus on using complex fibers, macrobiotics and superfoods that are native to the region – protein-rich black soybean daal, bhaang chutney made with ground cannabis seeds, and millet flatbreads – are exemplars of the Kumaoni kitchen.
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The Foresterie
Come Home to The Forest
OUR STORY
For millennia, the sacred course of the Ganga, spanning over 2500 kms, has fed the veins of a sprawling nation. Through mountains and plains, it is the carrier of faith for millions. It is in the former that it flows through its most pristine stretches. Here, nestled in four acres of protected forest, lies an oasis, built with thoughtfulness and designed to reimagine luxury. We call it the Foresterie.
Community and Sustainability Commitment
Here are some key sustainability & community practices that these hosts are committed too. Please use the key below the icons for reference. You might see that some measurements are not currently in place and that’s okay, we choose to support our hosts on their imperfect road towards a better world and we understand that that takes time.
Eco Certifications
Just as we admire each of our hosts for their singularity, we appreciate that their sustainability journeys are also unique. Because of this, we do not require our hosts to have an eco certification or two under their belt, we simply guide them on improving their sustainable business practices one imperfect – but positive – step at a time. If a host has eco certifications they will be shown below, if not, then know we are working towards this together.
NGOs & Local Impact Projects Supported
Each of our hosts strive to have a positive impact on their local communities. Some of our hosts already have established connections with local partners to enrich the lives and wellbeing of their communities, others are in the process of creating these long term relationships. If a host has local NGO connections they will be shown below, if not, then know we are working towards this together.
Aquaterra Charity Trust
We employ 100% local communities, train and set their career paths to ensure atleast 80% of all revenues go back into the region we work in. We have also, through our parent firm, run the Aquaterra Charity Trust:
The Aquaterra Charity Trust (ACT) aims to facilitate a means for us, at Aquaterra Adventures™, our guests, and friends, to understand the myriad issues that plague Himalayan populations, and to give back to the communities that enrich the simple culture of the people of the Himalaya. It allows for you, to make a positive difference in the lives of those in less fortunate positions, in a sustainable, culturally sensitive and responsible manner.
Individuals/organizations are encouraged to state their preference of community they would like to see their donations at work in, or they may allow the ACT to determine the most pressing need their gift may be used towards. Projects are determined based on community needs, assessed by observation, our experience in working in these remote regions, and holding discussions with the community in consideration, as well as with local, or regional organizations concurrently working in the area.
What our hosts say..
Transparency is essential if we are all going to grow and improve together and this is why we have dedicated this section to sharing what we love about each place and its hosts. We work with each of our hosts to improve their guest experiences, sustainability practices and local impact, this is where you can learn more about that along with what still needs to be improved, the measures being taken to ensure our hosts continue to move forward and every now and then we’ll come back to update you on their progress.
Poonam, Partnerships & Responsible Tourism Design @ Singular Places – January 2023
My visit to The Foresterie was very pleasant; HP, the gracious host (alongside Vaibhav), showed me around and explained everything. I loved the Foresterie’s setting, amid a forest patch and encircled by native-plant-planted gardens, as the title suggests. These two villas’ high ceilings and design are quite appealing, with views of the forest and Himalayan ranges. I appreciated how their team is made up of local men and women, some of whom come from nearby communities.
In the near future, I would love to see them adopt more eco-friendly practices and we discussed ideas for future improvements together. Last but not least food and service were outstanding!
LOCATION
The Foresterie
Atali Dogi, Milestone 30,
Badrinath Road, Rishikesh,
Uttarakhand, India
Contact
Mail: stay@theforesterie.com
Phone: +917060072708
The Foresterie is a return to nature. We believe, in the changing context of our times, that this will redefine true luxury in the years to come. The pleasure of a mountain home is complete only when you can leave the house-keeping and upkeep in safe and trusted hands. We have a team that understands your every need and personalises your service experience. All you have to do is call us a couple of days before with your choice of menu, and show up!
Choose from a 12-hour activity schedule or take a wander along neighbouring forest paths to the nearby villages of Majhli, Sarasu or Byasi on your own. Choose to hike, raft, kayak, climb, read, relax or just read a book at the bugyal lawn, or laze at the jacuzzi with an afternoon beverage. The choice is yours!
Vaibhav has been guiding in the Indian Himalaya and beyond both mountain and river trips since 1992. He helped plan this oasis of solitude and has helped curate many wonderful experiences that are available at the Foresterie.
His passion has been to share the beautiful surrounding wilderness while also utilising his extensive experience of both hospitality and the outdoors to ensure a harmonious and restorative local experience for all who stay.
Dive Deeper into this Destination
Explore unique experiences, sample local flavours and get to know this destination like a local with our curated cluster of Singular Hosts in this area.
OTHER SINGULAR PLACES
Still looking? Check out some of our other Hosts
Dolkhar Ladakh
Designed consciously for a true Ladakhi experience
OUR STORY
At Dolkhar, inspired by Ladakh’s people, culture, and traditional values, we have built a boutique resort that integrates a little piece of Ladakh with the rest of the world while keeping our values of conscious, sustainable and contextual travel central. We create spaces that balance the familiarity of comfort with the excitement of embarking on a new journey of discovery.
Community and Sustainability Commitment
Here are some key sustainability & community practices that these hosts are committed too. Please use the key below the icons for reference. You might see that some measurements are not currently in place and that’s okay, we choose to support our hosts on their imperfect road towards a better world and we understand that that takes time.
Eco Certifications & Efforts
Just as we admire each of our hosts for their singularity, we appreciate that their sustainability journeys are also unique. Because of this, we do not require our hosts to have an eco certification or two under their belt, we simply guide them on improving their sustainable business practices one imperfect – but positive – step at a time. If a host has eco certifications they will be shown below, if not, then know we are working towards this together.
Zero waste & zero plastic ecosystem
Dolkhar aims at creating a zero waste and zero plastic ecosystem: our laundry bags and notepads have been made from waste by our differently abled friends at Pagir. Our soaps are locally made from apple/sea buckthorn/apricot by ‘Ladags Organic Store’. In trying to craft the most comfortable experience for you, we have carefully chosen the best. The bathroom amenities have been custom made for Dolkhar by ‘Bare Necessities’- a zero waste, non polluting, community driven product and service company. Our toilet paper and napkins – recycled and eco friendly – come from GoodKarma.
NGOs & Local Impact Projects Supported
Each of our hosts strive to have a positive impact on their local communities. Some of our hosts already have established connections with local partners to enrich the lives and wellbeing of their communities, others are in the process of creating these long term relationships. If a host has local NGO connections they will be shown below, if not, then know we are working towards this together.
Ceramic Craft
Ajang Tsepal and his son Rigzin le from Likir- a village fifty kilometers from Leh, are the last traditional potters of Ladakh. With them lies the key to eons of knowledge that had migrated from across the border. The father son duo are cognisant of the importance of passing on their Craft and in collaboration with Dolkhar and Hatti, have been working towards promoting and preserving this Craft.
At Dolkhar, you can either immerse yourself in a pottery workshop by Ajang Tsepel and Rigzin le on the property itself or take that trip to likir and see both the amazing likir monastery, the village by the mountain and the entire pottery process as it happens from making the clay to firing. Hatti is a social enterprise also co-founded by Rigzin Lachic (Founder, Dolkhar) that works towards Craft revival.
Metal Craft
Folklore has it that the metal artisans of Chilling and Sumdha were brought here from Nepal to build a statue for a monastery. On seeing the beauty, skill and magnificence demonstrated by the work of these artisans, the king of that time gave them a large piece of land to inhabit and pronounced them residents of Ladakh. It is interesting that even today there is mostly only one region that practices this Craft and the metals used- copper, brass and silver are all sourced from outside of Ladakh.
At Dolkhar, local Craft and culture play a crucial role in creating its identity and we extend our connection to Craft with you through these experiences. Depending on the time our guests have and depending on how deeply they want to explore the Craft, we can organise a day trip to Chilling or a short trek to Sumdha, a village of metal workers.
Wool Craft
The Changthang plateau in Ladakh is a vibrant landscape of nomadic tribes, their livestock, and this incredible self sufficient way of life. The plateau is also is home to beautiful, refined textile Craft in sheep wool, pashmina and yak wool. The Craft is also practiced by the women from changthang that have migrated to Khanakling (a village 2 kms from leh) and found solace and connection to their home by spinning, weaving and knitting local fibers.
Here, at Dolkhar, depending on the time you have we can either organise for you, a trip to meet the women of kharnakling- torchbearers of Craft preservation, or we can take you to where the magic really began, to the stunning Changthang plateau (~ a 10 hour drive from Leh).
Thangka Painting
Thangkas are religious painted scrolls depicting Buddhist deities, traditionally done on cloth. Over the years, techniques like embroidery and applique have been added. They are believed to be pictures of the spiritual worlds. Thangka is a traditional form of Buddhist art with Tibetan, Indian, Chinese, and Nepalese influences. Hence there are different schools and styles. Various factors determine this – geography, availability of raw materials, socio-cultural influences and the schools of Buddhism they follow.
In Tibetan art, the emphasis is placed on the “sacred process” and devotional aspects of the work rather than the aesthetic qualities and originality of the finished product, as is often the case with Western art. Most works are done anonymously. Personal expression and the selling of Tibetan art are frowned upon.
PAGIR
PAGIR stands for People’s Action Group for Inclusion and Right. PAGIR was created precisely for the purpose of creating a just, equitable and inclusive society at one of the remotest, challenging and beautiful places on the earth; Ladakh.
Our laundry bags and notepads have been made from waste by our differently abled friends at PAGIR.
Supporting local artisans
We have collaborated with over forty Ladakhi craftspeople from different villages on embellishing the interiors with the use of local materials. As an extension of our love for local and handmade, our rooms are stylistically elevated by the sheep and yak wool rugs hand woven by women from Kharnak, Changtang, our cushion covers and throws have been made by “Superb Ladakh” – a local weaving unit. We use locally made wooden barrels called “dzems” as dustbins.
We use locally sourced ingredients from farmers of different regions of ladakh viz Lehdo, Turtuk, Nang and Nubra etc. Our soaps are locally made from Apple/Sea buckthorn/ Apricot by ‘Ladags Organic Store’. In-room goodies and amenities features local Ladakhi herbal teas and local cookies ‘puli’.
What our hosts say..
Transparency is essential if we are all going to grow and improve together and this is why we have dedicated this section to sharing what we love about each place and its hosts. We work with each of our hosts to improve their guest experiences, sustainability practices and local impact, this is where you can learn more about that along with what still needs to be improved, the measures being taken to ensure our hosts continue to move forward and every now and then we’ll come back to update you on their progress.
LOCATION
Dolkhar Ladakh
Lower Tukcha Road
Opposite Community Hall
Leh, Ladakh 194101
Contact
Mail: reservation@dolkharladakh.com
Phone: +91 7889497040
Ladakh is a valley perched between the high Himalayan mountain ranges. A valley that has history wrapped up around so much folklore that it is difficult to tell fact from fiction. It is a traveller’s dreamland for its beautiful landscapes of purple and grey mountains, for its lakes that reinvent shades of blue, for flora and fauna unlike anywhere else in the country and for people that are deeply connected to their culture in the face of the most rapid attempts at industrialisation the world has ever seen.
Dolkhar is located in Tukcha at the heart of the main town, Leh – a place that was once a pit stop on the legendary silk route. The boutique stay is close enough so that you have access to everything you might need – from the airport to groceries to medical facilities while still being far enough so you hear the mountains’ echo.
At Dolkhar we are trying to represent Ladakh in its most authentic form and our experiences are tailored for you keeping just that in mind. From treks on frozen rivers to immersive craft workshops, all our experiences are created, contextually and consciously.
An insight into our Chef’s tasting experience:
Our menu incorporates produce from Dolkhar’s kitchen garden and local, ethical, sustainable producers to showcase a cuisine built on immense respect for nature and seasonality.
Our chef, after spending ample time in Ladakh eating with the locals of the region and following narratives of lost ingredients, has curated a very special tasting menu as a eulogy to his travels by giving local ingredients centre stage.
Our Chef’s tasting menu consists of 7 courses: Amuse bouche | Soup | Pre entree | Entree | Palate cleanser | Main | Dessert
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We also offer the following experiences, you can learn more about each of these under the NGO Support tab above:
- Wool craft
- Ceramic craft
- Metal craft
- Thangka painting
Lachic spent all her life outside of Ladakh, and somehow never felt quite satisfied with her life. Every year, when she come back to Ladakh for her summer holiday her grandmother would ask whether her education would help her give back to the people of “her land”. It was only after the sudden demise of Lachic’s grandmother that her question came back and made Lachic introspect and realised that her purpose lay in going back to Ladakh.
“Dolkhar” was her answer to what tourism in Ladakh could possibly look like if it was built around love and respect for Ladakh, its people, and the planet. She named “Dolkhar” after her grandmother in aspiration of sustaining the space in a way that she would have imagined and nurtured it.
Dive Deeper into this Destination
Explore unique experiences, sample local flavours and get to know this destination like a local with our curated cluster of Singular Hosts in this area.
OTHER SINGULAR PLACES
Still looking? Check out some of our other Hosts
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