Nestled in breath-taking natural surroundings of a wildlife sanctuary, with the intoxicating perfume of fresh pine, musky deodhar (cedar) and aged oak trees serving as a sort of olfactory leitmotif, the quaint and ultra-exclusive Mary Budden Estate seems to have it all. An idyllic haven that’s even older than the Binsar Wildlife Sanctuary that it now finds itself wedged into, this is the perfect place to hit that much-needed ‘reset’ button on life.

As one of the last virgin expanses of wilderness in the mighty Himalayas, this sanctuary is a place of awakening and of self-discovery in the primeval forests of Binsar. All this, in the high north Indian state of Uttarakhand. A place that offers a great vantage point to be mesmerised by the rugged beauty of Himalayan peaks like the Chaukhamba, Panchachuli, Nanda Devi, Nanda Kot, and one of Hinduism’s most holy sites, Kedarnath.

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