Gentle walks, wonderful wildlife, and welcoming village hosts await in the tranquil Binsar WIldlife Sanctuary. It’s a thoroughly engaging, immersive, and enjoyable experience deep in the foothills of the Himalayas where you can often see some of the highest peaks as you come round a corner, or stop for a picnic lunch. Your own guide will help you to spot animal and birdlife as you walk the ancient woodland trails and stay in three very special villages.
The itinerary, and the villages you stay in, will be decided based on how much walking you want to do each day, but usually guests stay in 3 of our 5 villages with guesthouses in the Binsar sanctuary, and walk between them each day, although you can choose to stay for two nights in one village if you would prefer.
If you want to really relax, we recommend the Kumaon Experience short break, where you stay in one guesthouse and make the most of your time in the village.
You stay in three village/hamlets in our community owned and run guesthouses. Each cottage is built with a proudly local design and style, with three en-suite bedrooms, each with twin beds, a lounge/dining room as well as terraces with wonderful views. We can accommodate another bed for a child (0 to 11 years).
You have the freedom of each guesthouse – to sit, watch, read, dream, recover – as well as the freedom to explore each village. As the guesthouse is community owned, and all staff are local villagers, your stay is contributing to villagers’ financial welfare.
On ancient footpaths, your guides will lead you on gentle walks between these far off the beaten track hamlets that are thriving because of the skills, knowledge and determination of the farmers – growing a huge variety of vegetables, herbs and fruit for almost year round harvesting – and because of a select number of guests like you.
You’ll find your guides – and even your porters – are brilliant at spotting leopard paw prints, porcupine quills, troops of beautiful silver macaques, the sounds of barking deer, the signs of wild boar, and Binsar’s stunning birds, especially those that migrate through in March/April and September/October.
Reasonable fitness is preferable, but these are hill walks not mountain hikes, despite the magnificent mountains all around, and guides adjust distances and speeds to ensure your comfort and enjoyment.
The Binsar Wildlife Sanctuary lies about 20km from Almora in the Kumaon region of Uttarakhand.
Transfers from Haldwani, Kathgodam or elsewhere are available on request, and we can also arrange for train journeys. Book in advance for our negotiated rates.