Vacation in Almoda-Binsar

It was not an easy task to hunt down a scenic, serene and secluded location. After a lot of research, I found Binsar an appealing location. It had everything - A secluded location away from the noise of city and very close to nature, exotic atmosphere and a very beautiful 360 degree view of Himalayan ranges. 

We (I & My wife - Vandana) thought about lot of places - Shimla, Manali, Dharamsala, Gangtok etc. The only thing that all these places had in common was - they were famous and crowded. I was interested in a lesser crowded place as I love being nearer to nature. Finally, we decided to go to Binsar.

We took a flight to  New Delhi from my home town - Ahmedabad and a connecting train from Old Delhi Railway Station to a place called Kathgodam and then a cab from Kathgodam to our resort.

Eagle's Nest - Our First Cottage

Binsar is a wild life sanctuary located at a distance of 33 kms. from Almoda Town in the heart of Kumaon and blessed with a captivating view of Himalayas. Unfortunately, we were not able to find a decent place to stay in Binsar Sanctuary itself. Had panoramic view of Himalayas been the only priority, I'd have opted for the KMVN (Kumaon Mandal Vikas Nigam) Guest House. However, I didn't want to mess around with accommodation and food. KMVN Guest house has electricity from 7-9 AM and 5-7 PM only (not very sure about the timings though, however electricity is available 2 hours in the morning and 2 hours in evening). Khali estate was one more option, however I wasn't convinced about the quality of accommodation, hence I started looking for alternatives. After some research, I came across a nice resort - Kalmatia Sangam. The resort is located between Almoda Town and Binsar (approx. 19 kms from Binsar). I liked the way the cottages were designed, privacy offered and something that really attracted me was the view of Himalayas.  One can get  a panoramic view of Himalayan ranges from the cottages - similar to KMVN Guest house. KMVN has the best view as its located at the highest possible altitude in Binsar though. I opted for a 5 night stay package which included 2 different cottages - Eagle's Nest and Himalayan Magpie. Our first priority was Himalayan Magpie, however it was not available for first 3 days, hence we opted for Eagle's Nest and then moved into Himalayan Magpie for last 2 days. After our stay we had a different opinion though, Eagle's nest was much better than Himalayan Magpie. It had the best possible view of Himalayas.

We took a morning flight to New Delhi and reached Delhi by 11:30 AM. A visit to Delhi Akshardham Temple was also on our list. I had stayed in New Delhi previously for a month or two and did get a chance to visit Akshardham, however it was the first visit for Vandana. After getting down @ the airport, we took a cab straight to Akshardham temple and kept our luggage in Akshardham Cloak Room. It was a long queue and by the time we reached into the the temple premise (after clearing the security check) it was almost 1:30 PM. We still had approximately 3 hours before Pradarshani (Cultural shows by temple) ends.

We went to the main temple first. After the darshan in main temple, we went to the cafeteria. It was Shivratri and both of us were fasting. We did take the Lassi though. Unfortunately that was the only thing served in the temple for people who fast. Wish, Akshardham follows the protocol  that normally all Swaminarayan temples follow and serve faral (food that could be had when one fasts) as well.

We immediately started for the Pradarshani as we already were experiencing tight schedule. By 5 pm, we were done with Pradarshani which consisted of multiple things including an introduction to lord swaminarayan, nauka vihar (cultural boat ride) and a movie on God Shree Swaminarayan.

Next task for us was to take the train to Kathgodam from where a cab was already arranged for the pickup.