Go golden in Sonapani

For the third of our four-Friday series, Trendy spirits you away from dust and heat, deadlines and gridlocks, up and away for great weekend getaways.

Mussoorie and Manali are packed to the gills. And Kufri and Kasauli are no better.

Our Trendy Traveller has discovered a little jewel in Uttarakhand. Bypass crowded Nainital and reach Sonapani, to a small cluster of cottages built over 20 acres by young couple Ashish and Deepa, who’ve fled the city to live in a 100-year-old wood-and-mud house, surrounded with trees laden with apricots, peaches and pears.

The fruits of their labour of love are for sharing — just step out of your one-bedroom cottage, and pluck them off the branches. Eat them fresh or trek up to the dining hall to relish the chutneys and jams made by the excellent chef. Try out the unusual combos — apricots and peaches with hints of lavender or tamarind.

You’ll like everything — the food, the pine-freshened air, the quiet, and the warm hospitality of the hosts. Explore the green paths, watch the rhododendron and oak leaves dance in the wind, sit by the bonfire when it gets nippy.

Do nothing else.

Sonapani (literally: gold water, after a natural spring located nearby) is about an 8-hour drive from Delhi, past Nainital, Bhowali, Ramgarh and Nathuakhan. Tariff: Rs. 1,500 per day per person on twin sharing basis. Visit www.himalayanvillage.com for more information or contact Ashish at (+91)9719005900, 9810633350 or ashish@himalayanvillage.com. Carry light woollies.

And click here for The Hills Have Ayes Part I in Kanatal and Part II in Giri Camp.