It was the year 1995 that we had first visited this beautiful destination. Both, the expansion of Indian tourism industry and the economy, was in a nascent stage. The roads were narrow and poorly maintained, mostly jeepable beyond Almora. It is said that Binsar drew its name from the Duke of Windsor, who visited this region in the earlier part of the 20th century. But much before that event, Sir Henry Ramsay, the commissioner of Kumaon had built a bungalow for himself, on a spur of the Hill, sometimes in 1875. The Bungalow which retains much of its original charm is known as the Khali Estate Mountain Resort. It was this bungalow which was our object of travel.

After a long drive we settled for the night at The Millieu Villa Birder’s Homestay, Kaladhungi, which made for a very relaxing stay. The views from our room over the village of Choti Haldwani were fabulous…meadows, orchards & forests as far as the eye could see! The Homestay is separated from the Kaladhungi Forest Range by a narrow road, with electric fencing on the far side to ward off any wild animals, for Kaladhungi is an adjunct to the Corbett National Park. The food, vegetarian, dished out by the chef was very wholesome and well appreciated. That afternoon we were guided by the knowledgeable Mr. Harish Pujari to Henry Ramsay’s irrigation canal, built around the year 1875, siphoning water from the Boar river which flows besides and below, through the dense jungles of Haldu, Runi, Kaphal, Tun and Semul trees. We also visited the first iron foundry in north India of c. 1878, which was eventually closed down as it was consuming most of the Kaladhungi forests as fuel for this foundry, some years later.

Starting early the next morning, we were at Binsar by late lunch. It is no more than about 80mi but on account of the serpentine road, consumed a good 5 hours. To access the Khali Estate, one needs to first register at the Binsar Bird Sanctuary gate. The last visitor is allowed by 6PM and thereafter the gates are closed.

The manager at Khali Estate, who had remained in constant touch with us, was awaiting our arrival, with the entire staff, to give us a very warm reception. Owing to the lateness of the day, we quickly checked-in and went straight to the dining room for a hot lunch of home-cooked vegetarian food, served with chapatis and rice. Maharaj ji, as the chef is respectfully called in India, made sure that everyone in the party was happy! We slept that late afternoon and the tea was served in our rooms at 6PM as instructed. It started raining that evening but we enjoyed ourselves sitting in the verandah with the distant lights of Ranikhet twinkling after dusk had fallen.

The Estate is a remarkable place, remote and solitary, with well-wooded hills all-around, of tall Oak, Cedar, Pine & Kaphal trees. The cottages have ensuite clean bathrooms. Nothing fancy about the rooms, but very comfortable, with views of the old building on one, and the eternally snow-clad Himalayan massif on the other side! The ceiling and the floors are built of cedar wood. There is a tea-coffee maker but no television or internet. In these colder destinations a room refrigerator would be considered a luxury. One needs to go near the dining hall to access workable internet. The main building, retained as it were a 150 years ago, has a remarkable pedigree. It was owned not only by Sir Ramsay but also by Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru and his sister Vijay Lakshmi Pandit. Mahatama Gandhi stayed there as well in the 1930’s. We were shown the rooms occupied by them and are now under renovation. One of these rooms has a beautiful sky-light approachable by a narrow wooden staircase from with- in. The building is what to me looked like ‘Dhajji’ walls, which has mud and dead-wood mortar, and held together by a wooden scaffolding. This sort of old colonial buildings are earth-quake proof, built as these are in areas prone to such devastation. No wonder the structure has survived for so long and is yet in good condition. The estate has a concrete Lawn tennis and a Badminton court for the more athletic! It is located at an altitude of about 7000’.

The walks around the estate are serene, no traffic & no pollution of any kind. The birds chirp incessantly. Some 9mi farther up is the zero-point, the last 2 mi, beyond the forester’s hut, is accessible by foot alone! There is a tower built from where one can see the entire Himalayan massif. It is a pleasure identifying the peaks from there. The approach road in itself is an adventure. The road is narrow with sharp hairpin bends. The sceneries however are worth taking this trouble.

Binsar would be one of the best destinations for all those readers who wish to have a glimpse of the snow clad Himalayas!