Itmenaan Estate

Itmenaan Estate covers six acres in the Almora district of the Uttarakhand Himalayas, near Binsar, and holds just eight rooms and cottages. The scale is the point: no crowds, no noise, and the option to book the whole estate.

Every cottage and room looks out at either the snow capped mountains, the oak forest or the valley, and once you step outside your own door you have all three. Interiors and exteriors were designed to local ethos rather than imported style.

Guided walks to the local village, the temples and natural sights such as the waterfall are included in the package price rather than sold on top. Meals are seasonal and made on site. The estate has been featured in Lonely Planet, India Today and 1843, and holds an Outlook Traveller award for best hill boutique hotel.