This mountain retreat in the Himalayas promises physical and spiritual highs
A luxury tour operator in the remote region will soon debut its most ambitious project yet – and the views are staggering.
There’s no high quite like bed tea in the Himalayas. A pot of gingery chai and buttery shortbread delivered at dawn and savoured, in my case, while swaddled in bed linens and gazing at a sky crowded with peaks more than 6000 metres tall. To the west, the telltale trident of the Nanda Devi range. Ahead are the five-pointed alps known as Panchachuli and, on the eastern horizon, Nepal. Lesser mountains all around. Birds carolling madly. Pure bliss.
The pale sky blushes pink and orange and then, rather dramatically, sunrays set fire to the snowy steeples of the Great Himalayas. It’s a ravishing sight that reminds me this corner of northern India is known as Devbhoomi, the realm of the gods. You don’t need religion to recognise the special power of this place.
Witnessing India’s majestic mountains in such comfort is a rare privilege made possible by luxury adventure outfit Shakti Himalaya. I’ve journeyed with them previously in Sikkim and Ladakh and am now on a return visit to the Kumaon region of Uttarakhand state to experience Prana – the latest, and greatest, alpine lodge from Shakti founder Jamshyd Sethna. Anchored on crop terraces halfway up a colossal hill forested in oak, chir pine and scarlet-blooming rhododendrons, the seven-suite retreat will open officially in October. I’m here for a spring preview and Prana’s strikingly elemental architecture is giving me a faint sense of déjà vu. In a good way.
Sethna first made his name with Banyan Tours, India’s leading travel planners, before launching the pioneering Shakti concept in 2004. By renovating traditional village houses to sumptuous standards and connecting them on fully hosted circuit walks, he made these remote regions accessible for the first time to sophisticated, active travellers.
Shakti has some knockout properties in Ladakh and Sikkim, but for 17 years the flagship was 360° Leti, a stunning four-suite lodge handcrafted from raw materials on a terrace above the Ramganga Valley in Kumaon. Leti’s promise of sublime isolation and indulgence lured everyone from Hollywood stars to corporate tsars seeking peace or exhilaration or both among the tallest mountains on Earth.
Prana is an evolution of Leti. Or, to borrow a concept from Hinduism, a reincarnation. It’s Leti in a purer, more enlightened form but with the same DNA, right down to the recycled stone and wood of the original. “Prana is not a question of redefining what we do, but making it far more comfortable and appealing,” Sethna explains. While it remains true to the tradition of Leti, “the location, I think, is far superior. We’re that much closer to the Great Mountains.”
Architect Sam Barclay, co-founder of Mumbai-based Case Design, says Prana has been “built on the shoulders” of its predecessor. “The formal language is a little more contemporary and hopefully more inspiring. It follows the forms of the hills, nestled into the landscape to provide privacy to the rooms.” Prana was also built on the shoulders of 170 skilled workers from across the subcontinent and a team of 60 mules that hauled materials from the nearest roadhead to this secluded site almost 2000 metres above sea level.
The lodge’s style might be described as rustic modernist – all straight lines, few flourishes and skilful, thoughtful use of indigenous materials. All the buildings feature dry-stacked walls of local quartzite schist, teak carpentry and abundant glass. Roofs are clad in copper tiles, handmade on site by temple craftsmen brought in from southwestern Karnataka state. The suites, one of them two-bedroom, offer separate sleeping and living areas clad in north-facing glass to frame the spectacular panoramas. Transcendent design meets a powerful sense of place.
Prana is officially in the village of Ramari but there’s no village to speak of, not even a shop. The remoteness is central to its allure. “There is no reason on God’s Earth for anyone to come to this location,” Sethna says, slightly disingenuously. He chose this site specifically for its front-row perspectives of Nanda Devi, which first captivated him during hikes in Kumaon as a young man. “I want people to come and see a part of India that I truly love.”
The lodge’s interiors are softened with handwoven textiles such as yak-wool carpets crafted in Ladakh, Danish sheepskin rugs and organic kala cotton bedspreads from India’s western desert region of Kachchh. Languid platform lounges and Eames-style armchairs encourage relaxation, while bedrooms have built-in corner writing desks facing the Himalayas for inspiration.
The buildings are designed to maximise the north-facing outlook – clever clerestories let in southern light and warmth – without competing with the extraordinary setting. The aesthetic is almost minimalist, although Sethna dislikes that overused word. “It’s stark,” he offers by way of alternative. “I wanted to avoid bright colours within because there are bright colours outside. The whole purpose is to be up here living in these amazing surroundings, to experience nature.”
Besides the suites there is a main lodge housing the dining room, lounge, library and two kitchens, the second for cooking classes and guest-chef events. There is also a yoga platform with gun-barrel sightlines down the Ramganga Valley that are far too distracting for asanas. A forest cabin containing a sauna and soaking tub will be a hit with weary hikers.
After bed tea or coffee, days at Prana unfold exactly as you wish. Shakti’s expert guides have mapped out invigorating, culturally immersive walks ranging from three to seven hours. I’m the first guest mad enough to hike to the Ramganga River, a steep drop of around 900 metres past barking deer and goral (a goat-antelope) and tiny hamlets where the locals insist you stay for tea and a chat, which you must. This is not some tourist gimmick – there are no tourists here – just a genuine expression of highlands hospitality.
I arrive at the rushing Ramganga to find staff have arranged breakfast for me on the bank. A small banquet of tropical fruits, curd and honey, cereals, boiled eggs and something deliciously Indian, a potato-stuffed paratha bread with pickle, all laid out on a colourful dhurrie. Served beside a Shiva temple. Beneath a jacaranda tree. The river singing merrily as azure-winged kingfishers dart through the air. The details, as usual with Shakti, are absolutely on point.
Another morning I set out at six with guide Rohan Dhar to climb to the top of Jhandidhar Ridge – our home ridge – where we fall into step with a herder and his 85 sheep and goats. The animals’ collar bells ring out over the valley as we chat about his life up here and the sacred place the Himalayas have in his heart. This is a side of India only a select few will ever see.
Most walks can be customised to suit different fitness levels and there’s always a squadron of staff – guides, porters, drivers, waiters – on hand to provide as much amenity as humanly possible in such a faraway place. Expect chilled towels and juices and scenic picnics at every turn. Hiking is not compulsory, except to get into and out of the property, a 30- to 45-minute walk. Otherwise guests are welcome to spend their days luxuriating at the lodge. Do some yoga, sleep in, read a book, take a bath. There are no rules and no judgement. Being present is the point.
Behind the lodge there’s a small temple dedicated to a forest god called Ajendi Bubu. He’s a benevolent local deity, part of the 30-million-strong Hindu pantheon, who helps those lost in the forest find their way home. “He will never do you harm,” Dhar tells me. It’s a serene spot to visit in the late afternoons – to sit on the natural stone platform beside the shrine and watch as golden light floods the valley below.
Sundowner cocktails are a signature of Shakti stays. At most properties there’ll be a crackling brazier, a mobile bar and hot canapés. At Prana, cocktails are served indoors in the lounge and library where glass walls connect guests to the great outdoors. Staff will eventually arrive to usher guests into the dining room for the evening meal. Sethna is an epicurean and talented chef who insists isolation shouldn’t mean inferior food.
Dinners are typically impressive multi-course affairs featuring regional Indian specialties, but the kitchen can cater to any tastes and most cuisines thanks to Sethna’s habit of bringing in chef friends to share their recipes with his team. In fact, star Australian chef Christine Manfield arrived during my stay for a week-long residency to add some specialty breads and classic Southeast Asian dishes to the roster.
Prana is about a six-hour winding drive north of Pantnagar airport, itself an hour’s flight from Delhi (but there are work-arounds – see right). Given the long commute, on a whim during Prana’s construction, Sethna also added a new circuit lodge, Panchachuli, at the halfway point. Guests must walk in here, too, climbing agricultural terraces to arrive at a two-storey village house and three distinctive, pitched-roof chalets thatched with grass and clad in blackened timber. The highlights of my stay here are breakfasts and cocktail hours on the terrace surrounded by birdlife and brilliant views. At night, the fairy-lit valley villages compete with a dazzling sky as owls call into the darkness. There are two other, more traditional village houses – Jwalabanj and Kana, both beautifully decorated – that guests can also work into a Kumaon adventure.
Sethna first fell in love with the mountains at boarding school in Darjeeling where he was, by his own account, “a kind of miserable only child” from Bombay (aka Mumbai) who’d been packed off to the foothills for his health and education. “I used to sit behind the chapel and listen to the reverend’s wife, a lovely New Zealand lady, Mrs McLean, playing Bach on the organ,” he says. “And behind the chapel was Kanchenjunga. That mountain, over the years, became like my friend in a sense. It was a place of retreat in my mind’s eye.” Prana is the culmination of his lifelong obsession with the Himalayas.
The writer was a guest of Shakti Himalaya.
THE FINE PRINT
Prana is a six- to seven-hour drive from Pantnagar airport, which is a one-hour flight from Delhi. It’s also possible to charter a helicopter from Delhi to Kapkot (two hours), from where it is another hour’s drive to the Prana drop-off. All guests have to walk to the lodge. Seven-night Kumaon itineraries, including stays at Kana and Jwalabanj, two nights at Panchachuli and three at Prana, cost from $US8,304 per person twin-share, fully inclusive of meals, drinks and accommodation, activities, guide and support staff, local transfers and taxes. Five-night, six-day stays at Panchachuli and Prana cost $US6,747 per person. shaktihimalaya.com
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