Would you like to experience life in the Himalayas, spend a night in a tent and shun the modern transportation means in favour of your own two feet? Binsar Village Stay program is for you.
Binsar Village Stay is a 4 day / 3 night program that covers 2 villages – Risal and Dalar. You will spend 1 night each at Binsar Forest Retreat, a tent in Risal village and a guest house in Dalar village. In the villages, your host family will be locals who have called Binsar home for thousands of years. You will dine in their homes and experience their life closely. Since these villages aren’t connected by motor roads, you will walk to reach the villages.
Binsar Village Stay is open for booking between 01-May-2024 and 30-Jun-2024.
Tariff
This program has to be booked by a single group at a time.
| Group size | Tariff* (for 3 nights / 4 days) |
| 2 adults | ₹27,500 + GST @ 18% |
* Includes lodging, all meals (morning tea, breakfast, lunch, evening tea and dinner) for the entire program of 3 nights / 4 days.
Tariff (for 3rd and 4th person)
| Age of person | Tariff** per person (for 3 nights / 4 days) |
| Adult | ₹8,700 + GST @ 18% |
| Child above 12 years | ₹8,700 + GST @ 18% |
| Child between 5 and 12 years | ₹3,700 + GST @ 18% |
| Child below 5 years | Free |
** Price includes all meals (morning tea, breakfast, lunch, evening tea and dinner) for 1 person for the entire program of 3 nights / 4 days.
Includes
- Backpack offloading: 1 bag upto 15 kgs / person. For offloading excess bags, the price will be ₹1,000 + GST @ 18% / bag
- Meals (from lunch on day 1 to breakfast on day 4)
- First night: stay in Chestnut room or an equivalent room at Binsar Forest Retreat
- Second night: stay in tent in Risal village
- Third night: stay in guest house in Dalar village
- Daily walk, with a guide for 3 days
Does not include
- Room service
- Non-vegetarian food
- Soft drinks and alcohol
- Forest entry fees – This should be paid at the forest gate before entering the Sanctuary)
- Driver accommodation – We don’t have driver accommodation for this package. There are plenty of accommodation options for drivers outside the Sanctuary gate, towards Basauli
Binsar Village Stay Itinerary
Day 1
Arrive at Binsar Forest Retreat by 12.00 PM
Stay
Chestnut room or an equivalent room at Binsar Forest Retreat
Amenities
See here for details: Chestnut room
Activities
- Hike: Ghoralkot walk
- Briefing about the program and a peek at the next few days
Hike: Zero Point – Ghoralkot
After lunch, we will go for a short hike – a warm-up. The trail starts from the Retreat and goes up a steep climb to Zero Point, about 1 km away and 400 feet up. We will return from a different route, via Ghoralkot. For more details, see: Ghoralkot walk
Distance / time: 3 km / 1.5 hours
Day 2
Offloading bags to porter(s):
- Personal items that you would like to take with you on the hike will have to be packed into duffel bags. These bags will be carried by porters / mules.
Stay
The stay in Risal village will be in a 2 + 2 person tent.
Your host family lives about 30 metres down the hill slope. All meals will be served in the host family residence.
Amenities
- 2 separate sleeping areas, that sleep 2 people each in sleeping bags. In addition to the sleeping bags, we also provide laundered sleeping bag liner and pillows with laundered pillow covers. The floor of the tent will also have a sleeping mat that acts as a cushion.
- 3 solar torch lights for use in the tents.
- The tent has an outer space that can be used to sit out and where bags can be stored (all food must be taken out though – to be stored with the host family).
- You will also have a camping table and 4 stools on the camping ground outside the tent.
- The toilet tent will have a pit dug in the ground and you will have to squat down. This will be a dry toilet. Toilet paper will be provided in the toilet tent. Alternatively, you could use the host family’s wet toilet (squatting style).
- Bathroom, with hot water in buckets.
Activities
- Pitching the tent
- Tour of the village
- Pick vegetables for dinner
- Bonfire and interaction with the host family
Hike: Binsar Forest Retreat – Risal
After breakfast, we will start our hike with a sharp descent to the Mayolikhan trail – this is a great hike, initially through oak forest and as we descend further down, the pine forest. Mayolikhan trail is on the south-western side of the Sanctuary. We go across the Mayolikhan trail to walk down a steep ridge that will take us to Risal village. We will arrive in time for lunch.
Distance / time: 4.5 km / 3 hours
Day 3
Stay
The stay in Dalar village will be in a guest house.
Your host family lives about 30 metres from the guesthouse. All meals will be served in the host family residence.
Amenities
- The guesthouse has 2 separate sleeping areas, one on each floor. Each room has:
- Twin beds
- A Sofa with a coffee table
- The en suite bathroom is on the ground floor only and has a western style flush toilet. The bathroom has running hot water.
- Electricity
- Bukhari (wood stove)
- Uncovered veranda
Activities
- Visit the government primary school
- Bird watching with trained guides from your host family
- Pick vegetables for dinner
- Bonfire and interaction with the host family
Hike: Risal to Dalar
After an early breakfast, we will start our hike along a beautiful stream running through the chir pine forest. It will take us to a motor road running through a cluster of villages. We will then walk up the motor road for a short distance before turning off towards a trail that will take us to Dalar village. We will arrive in time for lunch.
Distance / Time: 6 km / 4 hours
Day 4
Hike: Dalar to Binsar Road
After an early breakfast, we will hike from Dalar village to the Binsar road. This is a gentle walk up through the pine forest. It joins the Binsar road (that goes up from the Santuary Gate to the Forest Rest House).
Distance / Time: 2 km / 1 hour
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