Binsar calling

If you don’t like walks, you won’t like Binsar. Nothing defines it better than its long winding paths. As the solitary tarmac road spirals up, pine gives way to a dense mix of oak, rhododendron and deodar. Like the rest of Kumaon, Binsar has been a relatively lesser-known destination. At 8,500ft, the petite 49.5-sq-km wildlife sanctuary near Almora was among the early conservation efforts in India.

Looking to the trees while walking the forest comes easy in Binsar, a birding hotspot. It is home to over 200 resident and migratory species that play peek-a-boo all day, and nocturnal ones, that go chuk-chuk-chuk all night.

My life came a full circle when I moved back to Binsar, after spending a decade away from the mountains I grew up in. This time, I met Binsar of yore, through the eyes of a husband who spent his summers here as a child.

Binsar owes much of its history to Henry Ramsay, commissioner of Kumaon from 1856. He is said to have searched for a summer residence in Kumaon for a decade before he chanced upon Binsar. The house he built in the 1860’s is now a heritage hotel. After he demarcated his estate, Ramsay invited four junior officers to choose theirs, and declared the place a forest reserve to prevent mindless construction.

Ramsay’s conservation philosophy stills runs strong in the people who live in Binsar. Lucky to call it home, my life here has shown me the other side of conservation. It’s easy to talk about protecting the wild from the safety of an air-conditioned office in a city, but when a herd of wild boar digs out the potatoes you grew so lovingly, it breaks your heart. It’s tough not to curse monkeys that destroy flowerbeds in play, or begrudge leopards that prey on your beloved dog. But then you have swathes of beautiful forest that make Binsar the heaven it is and the picture is incomplete without the wildlife.

Although most guides take tourists to Zero Point, my favourite walk remains the one that goes north towards Hunting Rock, a fairly easy and level 4-km stretch. The melodious voice of the rufous sibia, a small and colourful mountain bird, will keep you company. Hooting owls and the gentle purr of turtle doves are the other musical accompaniments.

If you’re on this trail at dawn or dusk, there’s a good chance of spotting ghoral , a kind of mountain goat-antelope, families of wild boar, pairs of yellow-throated martens, or, if you’re very lucky, a graceful leopard. If you hear a sharp dog-like bark echoing through the forest at regular intervals, it’s the barking deer.

From Hunting Rock, you get a magnificent view of the Himalayas: the Trishul, the Nanda Devi, the Panchachuli, and the ridges in-between, all lined up proudly like winners at a beauty pageant. You can turn around and walk up to Jhandidhar, also called Zero Point. The sunrise over the peaks is a delicious view from here, as one can see nearly every hill of Kumaon on a clear day. This is why the Union Jack used to be planted here to announce the arrival of a British officer, lending it the name of ‘Flagstaff’ or ‘Jhandidhar’.

Another walk I love is in the direction of the central ground, by which stands an 11th-century Shiva temple built by the Katyuris, the ancient rulers of Kumaon. Worth stopping at is a little naula across the field, which, again, most tour guides won’t tell you about. First built in Kumaon by the Katyuris, naulas were structures built over a natural spring to indicate the level of the underground water.

Up the hill across is the little cottage where I live. The flight of steps adjacent to my house leads up to an old unused bungalow on the estate that was gifted by Queen Victoria to her personal physician, Dr Govan and his wife. If you are a history buff, take the trail leading from the south gate of the Grand Oak Manor. Right at the end of this trail are the ruins of a prison that Ramsay operated when he moved his office to Binsar from Almora for the summer months.

Make sure you don’t leave Binsar without savouring the beautiful image of Katdhara, one of the four villages within the sanctuary, which continues to survive without electricity. I visit it for an annual organic ‘shopping spree’, when we buy fresh produce of buckwheat, hemp seeds (hard to believe, but it’s an important ingredient in Kumaoni food) and malta, a local variant of the citrus family, from the friendly local farmers.

TRAVEL LOG

Get there : Pantnagar is the closest airport, with flights that go thrice a week from Delhi. From Delhi, you can also take the overnight Ranikhet Express or the early morning Shatabdi to Kathgodam, the closest railhead. Hire a taxi to Binsar from Pantnagar or Kathgodam (four hours and four-and-a-half hours respectively).

Stay : Grand Oak Manor (Binsar Estate, PO Ayarpani; grandoakbinsar.com ; double room with breakfast and dinner from ₹8,500). A budget option is the Tourist Rest House (Kumaon Mandal Vikas Nigam; kmvn.gov.in ; package varies).

BL ink Tip : While early mornings are great for birding, it is dusk that Binsar leopards love. A short drive down the main road at that time could reward you with wild encounters.

Shikha Tripathiis a writer and photographer based in Binsar

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