Himalayan Village
Sonapani, Uttarakhand.
Himalayan village sonapani is flanked by pine forest on the right and rhodendron & oak forest on the left hand side. and in between are these twelve cottages, connected by stone pathways and separated by vegetable gardens & flower beds.

a dramatic view of the sunset has caught everyone's attention. suddenly, a himalayan magpie zips past and as if in slow motion, descends on to a branch of the nearby tree. and you wonder - what to see and what to miss out on! there's drama everywhere out here.

welcome to himalayan village sonapani!
no phones in the rooms. no television to distract. there's only music - of the cool mountain breeze. complimented by swinging of the leaves. and the birds flapping their wings in unison.

it is no wonder that those who experience this once, return again and again. to a special sunrise. a special walking trail. a special place to sit and finish the novel one has been reading for six months now! ...returning to moments suspended in time.

welcome to a retreat from today's fast world.
at times, people feel the need of a vacation immediately after one, as they come back tired and stressed out. hectic schedule of travel and stay does not allow you to savour the fun of being on a holiday!

at sonapani, we promise you a completely different experience. we promise you a place that is miles away from everything that you would want to leave behind, yet so close to everything that you dream of.
 
 
These spacious cottages are built using compressed earth blocks (a development alternatives technology). a blend of british, kumaoni and modern architecture, the cottages have tinned roofs, mud-plastered interiors and modern attached bathrooms, thus creating a unique ambience of comfort and tradition.

Each room has a double bed, two chairs, table and a dressing area - all made of pine wood. with the window opening towards the himalayan peaks, one can view the snow clad ranges even from the cozy comforts of the bed. the main peaks visible from here are trishul, nandadevi, maiktoli, nandakot and panchchuli. a massive 175 degree view on a clear day will definitely linger in your memory for days to come.
 
Facilities
Dining Hall
At a vantage location, the dinning hall boasts of ample space and ventilation. it also doubles up as a conference hall. the pine wood furniture is so designed that a simple re-arrangement can make the hall look like a restaurant or a conference hall. right in front of the dining hall is the bonfire area, for you to sit and chat around a fire.

Food
once at sonapani, we know you would feel fresh and enlightened. and hungry too. and we know what 'food' means then! our kitchen is geared to serve indian, mughlai and chinese cuisine. but we also ensure, simultaneously, that the food is less on oil and is more of a 'home cooked' variety - something which is easy with the digestive system.

Facilities
to host our guests, we have twelve independent cottages, spread across the fields. the cottages are connected by stone pathways, with small vegetable gardens and flowerbeds all along, thus creating a village like feel.
 
Facilities
it's 20 acres of land, with forest and villages all around. being here and exploring the areas around is in itself an activity.

these activities can be done by groups as well as individuals. for some of the activities, we would need advance notice, specially for adventure activities like rock climbing, rappelling and simulated river crossing because the experts who take you through these activities are to be told in advance to drop by.

the various activities at himalayan village sonapani are as follows:
rock climbing, rappelling, simulated river crossing
these activities are conducted on nearby rocks. expert guidance is necessary for these activities and we ensure that the activities are conducted by trained facilitators to ensure high level of safety for the participants.

jungle walks
jungle walk is an interesting activity. one can do it every day and yet not get bored. it's because the jungles have a lot hidden in them. and the revelations are slow and full of surprises. the idea behind a walk maybe to simply explore a trail, or maybe to get a feel of the jungle. or to climb on top of the cliff you have been eyeing since days. you can follow the birds while the kids collect dry leaves for their scrap books.

village walks
one of the idea behind creating sonapani was to expose city dwellers to the village life. while walking through the village, one can see the life of a villager from close quarters. you can interact with them and share experiences, theirs as well as yours. we can also arrange for a villager to host you for lunch. believe us, it will be one of the finest experiences here, provided you go unbiased and are ready to accommodate the local taste to your palettes.

trek to kapileshwar
a 10th century kapileshwar temple (shiva temple) is a 2 hours trek from sonapani. shiva is the original deity of this land and this temple is amongst his most sacred temples. right next to the temple is a small rivulet where one can indulge in some water splashing.

Games
sonapani offers ample opportunities to play games like volleyball and cricket. while we have a volleyball court in our premises, the cricket ground is in the near vicinity. playing cricket with village youngsters is great fun as most of them are ardent cricket followers and practice the game regularly.
we also have options of tougher treks and jungle walks for the enthusiasts. we can also plan out activities for you if you are coming in groups. while at sonapani, you can also try out a bit of farming. it is slightly tougher than gardening but can be great fun. this activity stands a strong chance of re-igniting the agrarian aspects of your genetic code!
 
How to Reach
there are two options for reaching himalayan village sonapani.
the first option is to take a train to kathgodam, the railhead of this region. the train running between kathgodam and delhi is called ranikhet express.

the train no for delhi-kathgodam is 5013 while kathgodam-delhi is 5014. the options available are 2nd ac sleeper, 3rd ac sleeper and 2nd class sleeper.

the train leaves the old delhi railway station at 10.45 pm (normally from platform no. 3) and reaches kathgodam at 6.10 am next morning.

the other option is to reach kathgodam by road. from delhi, kathgodam is approximately 275 kms. to reach kathgodam, one has to go via hapur, moradabad, rampur, bilaspur, rudrapur and haldwani.

kathgodam is at the foothills and from here we begin our hill journey. one has to cover 69 kms of these winding roads, driving through bhimtal, bhowali, ramgarh and nathuakhan to reach village satoli.

at village satoli we park our vehicle at mr. govind ram's house and walk for about half an hour through the village road flanked by orchards, fields and village houses. it is a pleasant and almost a flat walk. and please do not worry about your luggage (though we would prefer that you travel light). and if your kids can’t walk that long, we have our own transport company to carry them along - a fleet of ponies!.
 
Packages 2015

Valid: 01st April to 10 July, 2015.

02 Nights / 03 Days Package:

Himalayan Di Cottage: Rs.6,525/- 02 Pax.
Himalayan Trio Cottage: Rs.7,700/- 03 Pax.
Luxury Family Cottage: Rs.8,875/- 2 + 2 Pax.
Himalayan Family Cottage: Rs.11,220/- 2 + 2 Pax.

Includes: Accommodation, Welcome drink on arrival, Bed Tea, Breakfast and dinner, Free use of recreational facilities & Taxes..
   
Tele : +91-11-46862772, 41612107. Mobile: 9810002772, 9910002772.