Dense Deodar, oak and pine forests, with the hidden alpine meadow “bugiyal” revealing itself around a corner of the never ending winding road. Slate roofs and stone walls dot the landscape, the crisp mountain air assailing the senses, as you arrive at the Kanasar Eco-lodge, a family-run eco-tourism venture located in Koti-Kanasar, a 25 km drive from Chakrata in Uttarakhand.
The Jaunsar-Bhawar region is home to the Jaunsari tribe, which our hosts the Rana’s belong to. The Jaunsari’s claim that their ancestry can be traced to the Pandavas in the Mahabharata. Given protected status by the government, the area is rich in its biodiversity as well as unique in its culture and architecture.
The Eco-lodge has two cottages which can accommodate 4 to 5 people each with one washroom on the ground floor and 10 tents upto 4 people each with shared washrooms. Built on the ancestral farm of the Rana family, it is one kilometer away from the village of Koti. Perched midway on the south western slope of a hill, the cottages have a picturesque view of the alpine mountains beyond and the apple orchard in the valley in the foreground below. The weather is pleasant throughout the year, with snowfall in January-February. The landscape celebrates the seasons with apple, apricot and peach blossoms in April-May, bountiful abundance of the apple harvest in July-August and the sculptural form of the leafless apple tree, along with the colors of autumn leaves on the apricots and peaches in October. The Deodar-evergreen and omnipresent!!
Whatever be the season the air is rent with the cries of the Himalayan Magpie on the branch of the apricot or the red streak of the Scarlet minuet as it flits by. A mid altitude birdwatchers haven, Kanasar is an ideal place to explore some alpine bugiyals, and some undiscovered forests. Visit the shrine of Mahashu devta, the deity of the Jaunsaris or simply take in the crisp Himalayan air and the charm of the villages – enjoying hot cups of tea and delicious locally grown rajma, rice and bhang-ki-chutney.