Mesmering Chakrata and Uttrayan Hotel; you will not want to return home
Chakrata – Situated at an altitude of 7000 feet on the Himalayas, the town mesmerizes everyone who comes here with its peaceful atmosphere and pollution free environment. This town is 78 kms away from Dehradun and comes under the Jaunsar Bawar region of North West Uttarakhand.
The distance from Delhi is about 298 kms, Chakrata was established by Colonel Hume and his associate officers. He was associated with the 55th Regiment of the British Army. Looking at the environment here, the British used this place as a summer army base and presently, commando training is given to the army soldiers here.
There are good hotels, resorts for the visiting tourists and in this series; another excellent hotel has recently opened in Purodi (Chakrata) – ‘Hotel Uttrayan‘.
Recently, we stayed at Hotel Uttrayan on our Chakrata trip, even after spending three nights at Uttrayan, my son Devannsh did not want to come back to Dehradun(home) from here. The hotel has very good villas, rooms, indoor games, bar, beautiful sunrise from the balcony of the rooms, golden sunlight falling on your bed as soon as the sun rises, hot water bath tub with Jacuzzi and delicious food, who would want to leave from here.
Amit Joshi, the owner of Hotel Uttarayan, says “It was my dream to build such a hotel in Chakrata where guests get all the luxury, comfort and facilities. Today there are many good hotels in Mussoorie, Nainital but there is no peace. Our effort is to provide luxury stay to the guests in the beautiful valleys of Chakrata.”
And believe me, we found Hotel Uttrayan to be true to this thought.
The hotel staff will take very good care of you, one can say if the body of Hotel Uttrayan is its owner Amit Joshi, then its soul is his 22-year-old daughter Sara Joshi. Sara has done her graduation from Delhi and today she has come to the mountains, to her roots, to fulfill her father’s dream.
Sara says that “If we the youth leave our villages and mountains and run after the glitz of the cities, then who will stay here.”
‘Buddhi Diwali’ is widely celebrated by the local villagers in Uttarakhand, it is celebrated exactly one month after Diwali (31 October 2024). Sara Joshi told us “this year we are going to organize a three-day program for our hotel guests on Buddhi Diwali, wherein we will take our guests to celebrate Diwali in the villages of Uttarakhand, where they can experience our culture and heritage”.
At Uttrayan, we witnessed the many faces of mother nature in a single day; a mesmerizing sunrise at 6 am in the morning, we saw Himalayan eagles in the clear blue sky while walking from Purodi village to Chakrata (3 km) at noon, pleasant view of sheep’s, goats, cows grazing on the mountains, we enjoyed wandering at the Sadar Bazaar of Chakrata.
While returning to Uttrayan at 4 – 4.30 pm the clouds welcomed us at Purodi village and amidst the clouds, the beauty of Purodi village and Hotel Uttrayan was a different heavenly form. In about an hour or two the sky was clear again, now we could see thousands of stars twinkling in the night sky.
This view of nature from the deck area of our hotel in the calm Himalayas was mesmerizing and breathtaking; we were hypnotized. One can witness such enchanting forms of nature in a day only from the Himalayas.
