Jilling Travel

India’s one of the famous tourist places in Jilling located in Uttranchal is tucked away in a biodiverse deciduous forest at an altitude of 6,000- 7,200 ft in Kumaon 38 Km from Kathgodam and 300 Km North East of New Delhi.

The journey to the core of one’s being is in many ways the hardest to make. This is why I suppose I stared goggle eyed when Steve Lall my host a Jilling casually suggested that the quickest way to unload the burden of my big city baggage would be to take a walk in the surrounding forests in the nude. There would he guaranteed be no prying eyes and the only thing I needed to fear was my own misplaced sense of metropolitan middle3 class morality.

In the next two days and a bit that I was in Jilling, I did much else that nourished my should but I didn’t take him up on that offer or was it a dare perhaps I wear my inhibitions like a suit of Armour for fear of unleashing some deep seated primal instincts. Perhaps im just a pring. But the invitations to take a walk on the wild side couldn’t have been extended in a more appropriate environment. Jilling estate spread over 50 pluse acres of mixed deciduous forest is of course no nudist camp but it’s the nearest thing to an idyllic Garden of Eden. And its owner a practical environmentalist and nature friendly holiday facilitator has sworn to protect its virginal beauty and purity to the point of not allowing the local panchayat to build up to the estate.

This is why visitors to Jilling must walk or hire a pony or a palki for the last couple of kilometers uphill from Matrial. It’s a gentle hour long climb past oak and pine forests and bright red rhododendron blossoms and armies of plum, peach and apricot trees. But the absence of a macadamized roadway right to the top ensures that only the reasonably ift and the very ardent nature lovers make the effort to come.

This to me is as it should be. For eJilling isn’t run of the mil tourist resort to which anyone who coughs up the admittance fee may demand entry it’s a cultural experience a way of life an invitations to sit at the high table of Nature’s garden party. Treat it like a badge of honors that must be earned.

In Jilling leisure expands to fill the time allotted to it. City slickers who live a frenetic life may find that time hangs heavily on their hands here but that’s only if they haven’t opened up their minds to the limitless possibilities of the great wide open spaces. If you’re the outdoor king you’ll likely find 24 hours a day isn’t quite enough to do the things you want to do.

Walking

Explore the many walking trails through the forests to the surrounding villages, and interact with the villagers you’ll gain interesting insights into the way of life in the hills, kumaoni shamanistic rituals and much else. Jilling Estate provides a day guide for free if you find the gradient a strain you could hire a pony for the day. The forests are dense natural formations of oak chestnut, deodar and pine with an interspersing of rhododendrons, a thick undergrowth of ferns and several gurgling jungle streams. There are also plum apple and apricot orchards, which yield fruit in April-May. It’s perfectly okay to pluck them right off the tree and wolf them down.

Camping

Pitch tent anywhere in the forest that the guide thinks is sage or on the ridge 7,200 ft that overlooks the valley. The estate provides tents and other camp facilities but only on condition that you won’t disturb the animals and birds and are careful not to set off forest fires. Spend a night on the ridge under canopy of millions of stars and you could catch an early morning glimpse of barking deer or mountain goat on the craggy slopes.

Birdwatching

There are over 110 known Lower Himalayan bird species, including some endangered species like the cheer pheaseant in Jilling and wherever you are on the estate you’ll never be far form birdsong. Often given the air of serenity that reigns over the estate it may be the only sounds you’ll hear all day. From March onwards, Jilling also comes alive with countless species of butterflies you could go to sleep on a daisy meadow and wake up to the flapping of butterfly wings.

Wildlife

Almost everyone in the hills has a story to tell about sighting a leopard or a black bear not all of them are pleasant encounters. But a visitor who spends no more than a few days must get incredibly lucky to sight some big game, even form afar. Rather more easy to spot are wild boar, sambhar, barking deer and mountain goats. Steve has a powerful beacon light which when flashed on the hillsides may show up a scurry of nocturnal animals.

Treking

Jilling Estate organizes more rigorous treks to Milam Glacier, Pindari Glacier and Panchchuli. These 5 to 15 day treks to about 15,000 – 16,000 ft, complete with tents and porters and guides are typically organized in September – October after the monsoons, when the landscape turns indescribably green. The campsites are in scenic locations far away from regular rest houses. And Steve Lall is something of a motorbike freak and occasionally ofganises mobike trips to Kumaon, Garhwal and Nepal. Fees very with treks and size of groups for details check with the estate.