In Geeta Ma’s words “Stupendo-fantabulously-fantastic”!!
When my husband, who is critical about everything that I pick – from t-shirts to food items (for him), actually liked the property and the vibe of the place without any “chu-cha”, I was relieved to have nailed the booking!
Located around 35 kms from Dehradun city, away from Mussoorie town, in a place called Hatipaon, Seegreen Lodge exudes its own individuality that makes it unique. We had the opportunity to meet the owner of the property and gather insights on how this space was formulated.
About The Owner
When I met Mr. Sanjeev Kamdar, he looked like he belonged to the mountains so when he mentioned he is from Mumbai, I was quite amazed and eager to know what made him choose the mountains. His verbatim reply, “I don’t want to die in the city”! Despite having a flourishing CA practice in Mumbai, a city that never sleeps, he always had a deep connect with the mountains. He is in his element in the vastness of these rolling geographical formations. Because of his closeness to the mountains, he always dreamt of having something on his own here. He even looked after a friend’s property for two years, that was in Landour – a good hour’s ride from his current space. Since looking after that property was taking a chunk of his time and he couldn’t concentrate on his goal of owning one, so he moved on to realize his dreams. And then Seegreen Lodge happened!
Mr. Sanjeev Kamdar - a man conscious of how his actions are impacting environment, is unintentionally meeting few of UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) such as generating job opportunities for locals and promoting local brands (you will find a quite a few local products on display – you can buy and help in the local economy).
How The Property Came Into Being
Every quaint space where artifacts have been curated with a theme in mind, must have a story behind it; and so does Seegreen Lodge. And the hero of this story is the Indian Scop’s Owl!! Yes, you read that right. Because it all happened due to the Indian Scop’s Owl!! An avid birder, Mr. Sanjeev Kamdar, who would go to any length to catch a glimpse of rare exotic birds, came to this part of the mountains on an expedition with Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) to sight the rare Indian Scop’s Owl. The group had come to visit one of the well-known bird sanctuaries in Mussoorie called Benog Wildlife Sanctuary, which is just two to three kilometers from Seegreen Lodge. That time Seegreen was a maggi joint with rooms on top that were used by guests for few hours’ rest. It was love at first sight for Sanjeev who fell for this property the moment he stepped inside. While the owner wasn’t keen on selling this property when Sanjeev approached him, they still kept in touch. After a year, Sanjeev’s prayers were heard, and the owner was ready to sell this space immediately – that was in 2014. Since the property is within the confines of a Reserve Forest, he had to procure a lot of permissions from the state and forest department but finally he was able to fulfill his long-standing dream of owning a space in the mountains.
What Does The Space Entail?
A café with quirky artifacts that are mostly owls, which have been collected by the Mr. Kamdar during his travels to various places, paintings of birds gifted by his son’s friends, a fireplace, a cozy set-up that feels like home, an outer deck to soak in the sunshine with a hot cuppa; is the highlight of Seegreen Lodge.
Apart from the café, the living quarters include three deluxe rooms, a log hut and a recently built glasshouse (still under constriction). And one cannot help but be amazed by the pristine view of George Everest Peak from the deluxe rooms and the secluded Log Hut where one feels completely isolated from civilization and can even hear one’s thoughts. The steps from the café take you to an open sitting area where you can rest your derriere and savor the surroundings through your senses. And my my!! What better way to witness the celestial magnificence on a clear night. One can lay back, gaze above and identify the constellations with ease.
The Best Place To Chill - Seegreen Café
Despite feeling chilly to the bone, with the wind blowing, I was just being shameless and couldn’t stop myself from heading to the outer deck and enjoying the feeling of “numb fingers” while my husband pretty much tried to fit his 6-feet frame in a 4-feet, two person seating-sofa!! He had become that comfortable. Nothing I did, could move him from that position (until the piping hot tea and parantha arrived).
What Should You Order?
• Everything is so good. Order anything!!
We tried the following:
• Pakora (I am generally not a fan, but my husband wiped the plate off)
• Chilly cheese toast (yumyum)
• Parantha (aloo and paneer) – I loved my paneer parantha (didn’t share with my husband so don’t know about the taste of aloo one but saw him relishing it).
• Hot chocolate (this one’s really good!)
• Pahadi Tea (I personally loved it because I don’t drink milk tea and this is good for the throat).
• Coffee (I found it okay since I am used to having really strong coffee, especially black coffee)
• Pizza – now this is something you got to try since this is another “hero”!! Their pizza is made from scratch. The base is made with hand-knead dough and not something that is readily bought from the market. Actual cheese is used instead of powder cheese, which is used by most of the outlets, with freshly chopped veggies (they don’t even chop veggies and keep, they are chopped only when you order).
P.S. – You need to sit by the fireplace to enjoy the pizza as you watch the embers fly inside the fireplace!!
Tariff:
Delux Room: INR 15,000 for 2 people for 2 days & 3 nights
Includes – Food (lunch, dinner, snacks), hike to the George Everest Peak and also trip to Lambi Dehar
Log Hut: INR 25,000 for 2 people for 2 days & 3 nights
Includes – Food (lunch, dinner, snacks), hike to the George Everest Peak and also trip to Lambi Dehar
Glass House: To Be Announced
P.S. - Tripoto Members can redeem Tripoto Credits for Mindful Retreats!!
The Highlight Of My Trip:
I wont say trekking at all…..I suck at it!! I huff and puff and huff and puff like a dog pants after running five miles, while I do that after 300 metres uphill.
For me it was my attempt at astrophotography. My phone has that option, and I was waiting to try it for a long time. Since cities are not ideal for those photography, I was praying that I get to do it here. Unfortunately, the day we arrived, it was pouring cats and dogs which went on till Day 2. I was pretty sure that I won’t get to try my hand at astrophotography. But somewhere, somehow my prayers were answered, and the universe conspired to help me realize my wish – never had I ever seen something so surreal in my life – the purity of it was so overwhelming, I teared up a bit.
My feeling as I gazed above - The vast blue sky adorned with its celestial bodies looking down at this tiny speck, just substantiated my insignificant existence!
How To Reach This Quaint Place:
Best way is to travel by flight or train.
By Rail
Reach Delhi by flight or train -> Take the 12017 NEW DELHI - DEHRADUN Shatabdi at 6:45 am -> Reach Dehradun at 12:55 pm -> Take a cab to Seegreen Lodge (Cab cost: Between INR 1,500 -2,000, we paid INR 1,500). The distance from the train station is around 35 kms and take a little over an hour to cover.
By Flight
Fly directly to Jolly Grant Airport -> Take a cab to Seegreen Lodge which is 66.1 km from the airport and takes a little over two hours to cover because of the winding road.
Places Around That Can Be A Visual Delight
George Everest House
The residence of the person after whom Mount Everest has been named (although he isn’t the one who went on the expedition!!). The house has been renovated by the government and offering government-approved stalls around a circle right in front of the house, for easy access to eatables. In fact behind the residence, you can go downhill to find the helipad.
George Everest Peak
900 metres from the house is the George Everest Peak which is hiked by most of the people but ensure to do it early morning. Unfortunately, we missed it since we went early evening and by the time we would have trekked down it would have been dark.
Benog Wildlife Sanctuary
Technically 7kms from Seegreen Lodge. 2.5 kms from Seegreen till the Clouds End Point from where you have to take a right and head to the entry gate to Benog Wildlife Sanctuary which is 4.5 kms downhill. We had rented a two-wheeler for the trip.
Cost of the two-wheeler: INR 800 for the entire day + INR 400 for petrol (we had asked the guy to fill fuel since the petrol pump was far)
Entry Fee At Benog: INR 150 for Indians
INR 600 for foreigners
Entry Timing: 7 am to 5 pm
What To Remember While Visiting This Place
• Don’t make loud noise because that will cause disturbance to the inhabitants of the sanctuary.
• Do not litter.
• Do not feed wildlife. At times wildlife may play with your gullibility and extract food items from you. But this is not recommended at all. If they get used to people feeding them during visits, they will start expecting food from all visitors and if they are not given food, then they will turn aggressive and snatch food. This may even lead to either of the parties getting hurt. To avoid this kind of conflict, avoid offering any food to wildlife.
• Carry your remaining food items back with you, do not leave them behind for wildlife. They will start relating visitors with food.
• Carry a raincoat or rain-poncho that will protect you in case it starts pouring.
• Wear proper trekking shoes for better grip on slippery pebbles or surface.
Lambi Dehar Mines
Synonymous with a dreadful mishap that occurred back in the 90’s when 50,000 mine workers died a gruesome death due to faulty mining practiced exudes a feeling of eeriness during the visit. This place is usually visited at night around 9 or 10 pm but there are some valiant souls who visit even after midnight (I saw some revelers heading that way, way past midnight!). The ruins is around 5 kms from Seegreen and you are taken there in their car.
Landour
Known for its colonial style architecture, Landour is contiguous with Mussoorie, it is around 9.5 kms from Seegreen and takes about 45 minutes to reach but the ride is what stands out. The towering alpines on one side and “duns” (meaning valley) on another side, this landscape will remind you of Ruskin Bond’s eminent narration of the mountains.
Best Time To Visit
Anytime!! Except the rains, although rains are pretty frequent during winters too.
It is important to be informed of the provenance of a property and the motive behind it – that speaks a lot about the character of an owner. This space was born of love, dreams and desires for a living closer to nature, specifically to the mountains with a feeling of home away from home. And that is exactly Seegreen Lodge provides its patrons. And a well-curated itinerary by Tripoto was the cherry on cake – they had covered it all, while I was happy spending my time relaxing and absorbing the sights the sounds around!
Booking this Tripoto Mindful Retreat was my first but will definitely not be my last since I know how minutely the itinerary was curated to make the experiences immersive. And best of all…….the properties are always offbeat!!
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