Uttarakhand
Yoga on the Ganges, old hill towns, and wide Himalayan views. We explore Uttarakhand's hills with a private guide.
Plan My Uttarakhand TripWhere To Go
Uttarakhand
Uttarakhand sits where the Himalayas meet the plains, and it has drawn pilgrims for centuries. Hindus call it Devbhumi, the land of the gods. Rishikesh, on the banks of the Ganges, is one of the world's best-known centers for yoga and meditation. The same river also powers rafting and other adventure sports nearby. Up in the hills, Nainital grew around a natural lake during British rule and still keeps that colonial charm. Mussoorie, further north, earned its old nickname the Queen of the Hills as a British-era retreat from the summer heat. We move through these hills privately, at a pace built around each traveler.
What To See
What A Private Guide Actually Shows You
Uttarakhand's real highlights are what a private guide builds each day around.
Jim Corbett National Park
India's oldest national park, established in 1936 and the birthplace of Project Tiger, spanning sal forest and the Ramganga river.
Corbett Jungle Safari
A permit-zone jeep safari into Corbett National Park with a naturalist, at dawn or dusk, tracking tiger, elephant and deer sign.
Robber's Cave
A narrow limestone gorge with a knee-deep stream near Dehradun, popular for wading through the cave passage on the way to or from Haridwar.
Kempty Falls
A waterfall dropping about forty metres near Mussoorie, developed with pools and changing rooms, popular for wading and swimming.
Gun Hill
Mussoorie's second-highest point, reached by ropeway, once used to fire a midday cannon and now a viewpoint over the Doon valley and snow peaks.
Naini Lake
The crescent-shaped lake at the centre of Nainital, ringed by wooded hills, with boating and the Mall Road promenade along its shore.
Naina Devi Temple
A Shakti Peetha temple at the north end of Naini Lake, rebuilt after an 1880 landslide, one of Nainital's most visited shrines.
Naini Lake Boating
A rowed or pedal-boat outing on Naini Lake, past the Mall Road promenade and the Naina Devi temple.
Triveni Ghat
Rishikesh's main riverside ghat, where a Ganga aarti of lamps, bells and drifting flower-lamps is held every evening.
Rishikesh White-Water Rafting
A grade II–III rafting run on the Ganges near Rishikesh, from Shivpuri or Marine Drive down toward the town, with a guide, helmets and life jackets.
Ananda Wellness & Ayurveda Programme
A day within Ananda in the Himalayas' structured wellness stay — an Ayurvedic consultation, treatments, and a group yoga session.
Rishikesh Ashram & Ganga Aarti Walk
A guided evening walk through Rishikesh's ashram quarter and across Laxman Jhula, ending at the Ganga aarti on the riverbank.
How To Travel
Journeys Through Uttarakhand
Every journey here comes with a private guide and driver for each day on the road — full pricing lives on each journey's own page.
Slow Uttarakhand — Luxury
Arrive in Rishikesh — Rishikesh — Rafting and the Evening Aarti
Corbett Wildlife Safari — Luxury
Arrive in Rishikesh — Rishikesh — Rafting and the Evening Aarti
Corbett Wildlife Safari — Premium
Arrive in Rishikesh — Rishikesh — Rafting and the Evening Aarti
Classic Uttarakhand — Luxury
Arrive in Rishikesh — Rishikesh — Rafting and the Evening Aarti
Classic Uttarakhand — Premium
Arrive in Rishikesh — Rishikesh — Rafting and the Evening Aarti
First-Timer's Uttarakhand — Luxury
Arrive in Rishikesh — Rishikesh — Rafting and the Evening Aarti
First-Timer's Uttarakhand — Premium
Arrive in Rishikesh — Rishikesh — Rafting and the Evening Aarti
Ananda Wellness Retreat — Luxury
Arrive in Rishikesh — Rishikesh — a Day of Ayurveda and Yoga
Char Dham Gateway — Luxury
Arrive in Rishikesh — Rishikesh — Rafting and the Evening Aarti
Char Dham Gateway — Premium
Arrive in Rishikesh — Rishikesh — Rafting and the Evening Aarti
Rishikesh & Haridwar Spiritual Escape — Luxury
Arrive in Rishikesh — Rishikesh — Rafting and the Evening Aarti
Rishikesh & Haridwar Spiritual Escape — Premium
Arrive in Rishikesh — Rishikesh — Rafting and the Evening Aarti
Where To Stay
Real Stays, Chosen City By City
A private itinerary through Uttarakhand is anchored by real, handpicked stays — heritage palaces and boutique properties chosen city by city, not a single hotel chain repeated everywhere.
Taj Corbett Resort & Spa
The Taj sits on the Kosi river on the edge of the Corbett buffer zone, close to the Garjia and Dhikuli entry points into the park. The rooms and villas are set among sal forest along the riverbank, most opening onto a private deck over the water, with a spa, a large pool and machans built for evening wildlife-watching over the riverbed. The resort runs its own jeep safaris into the nearer Corbett zones with in-house naturalists. It is the most polished stay in the Corbett area, and its riverside setting, with birdlife and the odd elephant on the far bank, is a draw in its own right beyond the safaris.
Aahana — The Corbett Wilderness
Aahana sits on the Kosi river a little further from the park gates, on a wooded plot with its own stretch of riverbank and a resident troupe of langurs in the trees. The cottages are simpler and more rustic than the Taj's, in local stone and wood, several with a private plunge pool. There is a large communal pool, a spa, and a riverside deck used for meals and evening bonfires. Safaris into Corbett's Bijrani and Jhirna zones are arranged through the resort's own naturalists. It is a genuine jungle-lodge feel at a lower key and lower price than the riverside luxury resorts nearby.
Haveli Hari Ganga, Haridwar
The Haveli was built in 1918 as a private house directly on Har Ki Pauri, and it is still the only hotel with its own private ghat stepping into the Ganges. It is furnished as a haveli rather than a hotel: courtyards, carved wooden balconies, and a rooftop restaurant looking straight down the river toward the aarti ground. Guests can watch the evening aarti from the hotel's own steps rather than from the public crowd along the ghat, and the kitchen is strictly vegetarian and alcohol-free in keeping with the setting. It is a five-minute walk from the main ghat and the temples on either bank.
JW Marriott Mussoorie Walnut Grove Resort & Spa
The JW Marriott sits on its own ridge outside the main town, among old walnut trees, with the Doon valley falling away on one side and, on a clear day, a line of snow peaks on the other. It is built low and spread out rather than stacked, with an indoor pool, a large spa, and several restaurants. The rooms are large by hill-station standards, most with a balcony onto the valley or the forest. It sits a short drive from Mall Road and Camel's Back Road, close enough for an evening walk but away from the town's crowds, which on a busy weekend is most of the point of staying here.
Kasmanda Palace, Mussoorie
Kasmanda Palace was built in 1836 and later became the summer residence of the Maharaja of Kasmanda, right on Mall Road in the middle of Mussoorie. It keeps its turrets, wood-panelled halls and a small private chapel, hung with old hunting trophies and portraits, and it has featured as a film location more than once. The garden looks out over the town and, past it, the plains. The rooms are large and old-fashioned rather than modern, and the location, a level walk from Mall Road and the Mussoorie library, is hard to beat for anyone who wants to be in the town rather than above it.
Manu Maharani, Nainital
Manu Maharani sits on the lake road in Mallital, at the quieter end of Naini Lake from the main Mall Road bazaar. It now operates as Namah Nainital, a member of Radisson Individuals Retreats, under its long-familiar name. It is a modern hotel rather than a heritage one, built up in tiers so that most rooms get some kind of lake or garden view, with a spa, an indoor games room and a restaurant that opens onto the water. It suits travellers who want to be by the lake without the Mall Road crowds right outside, with an easy walk along the water to the boat jetty and the Naina Devi temple.
Naini Retreat
Naini Retreat was built as a British summer home on the ridge above Naini Lake, and it keeps the manner of one: a pitched slate roof, wood panelling, and a wide terrace that looks straight down over the water and the town. It is run by the Leisure Hotels Group, and the public rooms are furnished with period pieces and old photographs in keeping with the house. There is a small garden and a bar with the same lake view as the terrace. It is a short walk down to Mall Road and the lake, close enough for an evening stroll and far enough to be quiet at night.
Ananda in the Himalayas
Ananda occupies the former palace estate of the Maharaja of Tehri Garhwal, on a forested ridge above the Ganges at Narendra Nagar, about forty minutes from Rishikesh. It opened in 2000 as one of the first destination wellness resorts in India, and it is still the name most associated with the idea here: full-time Ayurvedic physicians, yoga and Vedanta teachers, and a spa built into the hillside with views down the valley. Guests generally come on a set programme — detox, weight management, Ayurvedic rejuvenation, or simple destress — built around consultations, treatments and daily yoga rather than a la carte spa visits. The old viceregal palace building holds the restaurant and library. It is priced and run as a serious wellness retreat, not a resort with a spa attached, and most stays run five nights or more.
Taj Rishikesh Resort & Spa
The Taj sits on a bend of the Ganges at Shivpuri, upstream of central Rishikesh, in the stretch known for white-water rafting. The rooms and cottages step down a forested hillside toward the river, most with a private balcony over the water. There is a spa, an infinity pool, and a rafting base run out of the resort for guests who want the river without arranging it separately. It keeps a quieter, more conventional resort format than Ananda's structured wellness stays — a base for rafting, yoga and the aarti at Triveni Ghat, about twenty minutes downstream.
From the Journal
Uttarakhand travel guides
Private Tour or Group Tour in India? An Honest Comparison
Getting Around India: Trains, Flights or a Private Car?
Eating Well in India Without Getting Ill: A Practical Guide
Continue Your Journey
Himachal Pradesh
Himachal Pradesh climbs from British-era hill stations to Tibetan monastery towns, so a private guide can trade a colonial mall road for a Himalayan valley in a single morning drive.
Golden Triangle & Uttarakhand
The classic first route with a spiritual detour — Delhi, Agra and Jaipur, plus the Ganges, the ashrams and the evening aarti at Rishikesh.
Delhi
Delhi layers seven historic cities into one — Mughal forts and tombs standing a few streets from colonial-era avenues and Old Delhi's working bazaars.
Uttar Pradesh
Home to the Taj Mahal — Agra's Mughal monuments make Uttar Pradesh the essential third stop on a private Golden Triangle route from Delhi and Jaipur.
Kashmir to Kanyakumari
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