MAKING A GABLE ROOF over my eyes with my hand, I peer into the distance. My father is tracing the faint outline of hills in the distance, announcing their names. Nodding and sipping our crisp ginger tea on the little terrace verandah of our cottage, my mother and I follow his index finger. We might be tired from our journey to Ramgarh—perched in Uttarakhand’s Kumaon region—but our fall down the rabbit hole of nostalgia is dizzyingly fast.
Four decades ago, my father—then a young and sprightly forest officer—traversed most of this region in rickety green jeeps, on his bulky Royal Enfield, and on foot where neither could go. In the early days of his career, he facilitated multiple plantations that transformed the pine-infested Kumaon hills, converted bare land patches into forest nurseries, and sealed many friendships with families at remote outposts. Oblivious to his work, my mother was attending college barely 40 kilometres away in Nainital, where I would eventually take birth and grow up. Ramgarh is where she brought me and my brother for a break when we were kids, she tells me as she takes in the cottage-dotted hillside that was once pure wilderness.
Perched high above Ramgarh town on the Gagar ridge is our elfin cottage, The White Peaks. It offers a great vantage point for the surrounds: Talla Ramgarh, or lower Ramgarh, spread out below, a winding forest trail that connects the hamlet to this ridge, and true to the homestead’s name, pallid peaks of the Kumaon Himalayas that rise like lightly whipped foam in a sea of blue on a clear morning. In the distance stands Tagore hilltop, believed to have been the poet’s haunt on his hill visits and popular today with tourists for a day trip. They pair it with a visit to writer and activist Mahadevi Verma’s home-turned museum. We choose to hike up to Jhandidhar the following morning, a gradual incline through oak and rhododendron forests starting right outside the cottage and going all the way to a small hilltop temple with a 360° view.
Living in the foothills of Nainital, my parents are reasonably fit for their age, and in under an hour, we cover the nearly two-kilometre-long uphill hike. From the top, we can see the radar station and Cheena Peak of Nainital, seemingly close as the crow flies, and places we last visited together as a family— before the pandemic brought us together again. First eagerly, then grudgingly, we finally seem to have found our bearings on this trip.
Continue reading your story on the app
Continue reading your story in the magazine
New Gear For New Travels
Here’s our selection of some nifty new gear that’s certain to add extra oomph to your next vacation.
10 Hidden Gems Of India
The last two years have prepared us to expect the unexpected, so why not explore the unexplored in 2022? India boasts some of the most culturally abundant and visually spectacular places in the world. Pick one or more of these 10 indian destinations to travel to and discover new lands in the coming year.
When Travel Heals
Going for a holiday just after you have lost your mother to COVID-19 may not be the most popular idea, but it was the only way for a grieving family to escape the agony with which they were living. And so, they headed to the Chettinad region of Tamil Nadu in search of peace and recuperation.
Masks of Glory
Charida is not the most popular tourist spot in West Bengal. But its obscurity is one of the reasons we choose to discover the undiscovered ‘mask village’ of India.
Palace of Grandeur
The Grand Mercure Bengaluru at Gopalan Mall offers a slice of Karnataka’s rich architectural and culinary history and culture. We check-in at the palatial property for a plush staycation.
The Road to My Roots
A family finds harmony and plenty of nostalgia in the hilly forests of Ramgarh, Uttarakhand and the Kumaon Himalayas.
GARDEN of FABLES
On the fringes of Darjeeling, Kurseong is home to India’s most expensive tea, the world’s first tea factory, and a mystical natural phenomenon.
MORE than just FOOD
Kochi’s boutique cafés go beyond the traditional meal to o er artisanal experiences that reflect the port city’s varied expressions. From artist residencies to couverture masterclasses and upmarket design stores, there’s much to explore and savour.
Magical Moments
Travel blogger and dancer, Nina Okhotina, is also the founder of the clothing brand, The Dress Stories. Her fl owy, one-tone dresses add a touch of magic to her Instagram pictures from her Indian trips. The Russia-born social-media star reminisces about her time in India and the people that made it special.
Goa with a Twist
Innovative dining, well-curated high-teas, offbeat local trails, and unparalleled hospitality—Hilton Goa Resort crafts a world far removed from the Goa to which we are accustomed.
मध्याह्न कब होता है?
लोकल नून पता करने के तीन तरीके
PERSISTENT FRAMEWORK FOR STARTUPS
High-quality homestays in villages have been branded as ‘VilloTale’ and marketed online to travellers
LEAVE A TRAIL
Mastercraftsman | The masters of the craft share their insights and photographs
Book protesters vandalise Khurshid's Nainital home
The home of Congress leader and former Union minister Salman Khurshid in Satkhol area in Ramgarh block of Nainital district was vandalised on Monday afternoon.
With Delhi in midst of its pollution season, many make beeline for hills
The rising levels of air pollution in Delhi and surrounding areas is forcing residents of the national capital region (NCR) to head to the Uttarakhand hills in the hope that they could breathe fresh air and minimise the risk of respiratory diseases.
With 140 species on 3 acres, Nainital gets India's biggest aromatic garden
Dehradun: An aromatic garden, with over 140 fragrant plant species from all over India, like chandan, tulsi and parijat, planted across 3 acres of land, was opened in Lalkuan, Nainital on Sunday. The garden is the country’s biggest such facility, forest officials claimed.
Rain fury: Death toll rises to 52 in U'khand
Uttar Pradesh, Sikkim, and areas of North Bengal pounded by torrential rainfall
Climate crisis, land-use change ruining ecology
34 people dead, was the heaviest ever recorded in the region
34 killed, towns inundated in Uttarakhand flash flood
At least 34 people have died and more are missing after a flash flood swept through Ramgarh in Nainital district, where the popular lake town was also inundated and cut-off from the rest of the state, where a number of landslides too took place.
At least 42 die as rains batter Uttarakhand
Nainital cut off from state; many feared trapped