Pahadi House Partner Homestay

WindyRidge Plum Orchard Villa, Mukteshwar

A four bedroom house in its own plum orchard at Darima, taken by one group at a time, three km short of Mukteshwar

Darima, Gargaon · Mukteshwar, Nainital 4.8 from 18 Google reviews

A whole villa in a plum orchard

The house sits in its own orchard at Darima, on the Gargaon side of Mukteshwar, about three km before the temple. It has four bedrooms and you get all four. WindyRidge goes to one group at a time and is never let out room by room.

A deck runs along the front and the balcony is big enough to put a bonfire on. Most people end up out there after dark. Behind the house are plum trees, a garden, and then the drop into the valley. A cook and a caretaker live on the property, so meals are made in the house kitchen and you are not driving out at nine at night looking for dinner.

It is quiet enough that the first day feels strange. Reviewers here write mostly about the space and how clean the place is kept. What they do not always mention is that Mukteshwar has almost no local transport, so bring a car if you can.

Location: Darima Colony, Village Darima, Gargaon, Mukteshwar, Nainital district, Uttarakhand 263158. About three km from Mukteshwar temple. View on Google Maps

Setting: A four bedroom house standing in its own plum orchard, with mountain, forest and valley views, a garden and a long open deck

Food: Cooked in the house by the resident cook. Breakfast, home cooked meals on request, and a full kitchen you can use yourself. Order dinner ahead in the day rather than at eight in the evening

Tariff: From Rs 5,000 to Rs 7,500 a night. Send your dates and the size of your group for a firm quote

Facilities and experiences

Whole four bedroom villaOne group at a time
Spacious roomsAll four en suite
Balcony bonfireAnd a barbecue
Full kitchenCook for yourself if you want
Cook on siteMeals made in the house
Wi-FiWorks through the house
ParkingOn the property
Plum orchardThe garden is the orchard
Valley and forest viewsFrom the deck and the rooms
Pets welcomeTell us in advance
Caretaker on sitePawan looks after the house
Rainwater harvestingUsed on the property
Compost, no plasticWaste handled on site
Built localLocal material and local staff
UTDB goldRegistered with Uttarakhand Tourism

Registered with Uttarakhand Tourism, gold grade.

Your stay

Four bedrooms, whole house. Rate moves with the season and the number of rooms you need. Tell the family your dates and how many of you are coming and they will confirm what fits.

Bedroom with a carved wooden bed at WindyRidge Plum Orchard Villa, Mukteshwar

Bedrooms

Four · en suite · valley facing
  • Carved wooden beds
  • Attached bathroom to each
  • Windows onto the orchard
  • Sleeps a family or a group of friends
From Rs 5,000/ night
Fitted kitchen guests can use at WindyRidge villa, Mukteshwar

Kitchen and dining

Full kitchen · cook on site
  • Fitted kitchen you can use
  • Resident cook makes the meals
  • Dining table seats the whole group
  • Order dinner earlier in the day
On request/ meal
Lit path through the plum orchard at dusk, WindyRidge, Mukteshwar

Deck, balcony and orchard

Bonfire · barbecue · plum trees
  • Long deck along the front
  • Balcony big enough for a bonfire
  • Barbecue on request
  • Plum trees all around the house
Includedwith the house

Things to do

Darima is three km short of Mukteshwar, so everything the town has is a short drive and the orchard is where you start and end the day. Bring a car: local transport out here is thin and taxi rates are not kind.

Mukteshwar temple~3 km
Chauli Ki JaliThe cliff at the temple, ~3 km
Bhalu Gaad waterfall~10 km
Village walkDarima and Gargaon on foot
BirdingOak and pine around the orchard
Bonfire on the balconyMost evenings
Forest trailsStraight out of the orchard
RamgarhFruit belt, ~16 km
Sattal~40 km
Nainital~48 km, a day out

Good to know before you book

What the house gives you

  • ✓ Four bedrooms, the whole house to your group
  • ✓ Attached bathroom to every bedroom
  • ✓ A cook on site and a fitted kitchen you can use
  • ✓ Wi-Fi and parking on the property
  • ✓ The deck, the balcony and the bonfire
  • ✓ The plum orchard the house stands in
  • ✓ A caretaker living on site

Worth knowing

  • ✕ Meals are charged separately from the room, not bundled in
  • ✕ Order dinner earlier in the day. This is a house kitchen, not a restaurant line
  • ✕ Mukteshwar has very little local transport and taxis are expensive. Drive up if you can
  • ✕ Shops are in Mukteshwar, three km away. Stock up before you settle in
  • ✕ The house goes to one group at a time, so short single room bookings do not work here
  • ✕ Rates move with the season, so the quote is for your dates rather than a fixed tariff

How to reach

From Delhi~340 km · ~9 hr drive
From Kathgodam station~66 km · ~2.5 hr
Pantnagar airport~105 km · ~3.5 hr
From Nainital~48 km · ~2 hr
From Bhimtal~35 km · ~1.5 hr
Mukteshwar temple~3 km · ~10 min
From Almora~52 km · ~2 hr
Ramgarh~16 km · ~40 min

Most people drive from Delhi through Rampur and Haldwani to Kathgodam, then up by Bhowali and Ramgarh. The last stretch from Ramgarh to Darima is narrow hill road but it is tarred the whole way and a normal car manages it. If you are coming by train, get off at Kathgodam and take a taxi for the last two and a half hours. Send your arrival time and the caretaker will tell your driver where to turn off.

Questions people ask

Where exactly is WindyRidge?
At Darima Colony in Village Darima, on the Gargaon side of Mukteshwar in Nainital district, Uttarakhand 263158. It is about three km short of Mukteshwar temple, so you are outside the town but a few minutes from it.
Can I book just one room?
No. WindyRidge is let as a whole house to one group at a time. All four bedrooms come together, so you are not sharing the deck, the kitchen or the orchard with strangers.
What does it cost?
From Rs 5,000 to Rs 7,500 a night depending on the season and how many rooms you need. Meals are quoted separately. Send your dates on WhatsApp and you will get a number back.
Is there food, or do we cook?
Both work. There is a cook on the property who makes breakfast and meals to order, and there is a full kitchen you are welcome to use. The one thing to remember is to order dinner earlier in the day rather than in the evening.
Do we need a car?
It helps a great deal. Mukteshwar has almost no local transport and the taxis that do run are expensive. With a car the temple, Bhalu Gaad, Ramgarh and Nainital are all easy day trips. Without one you are mostly staying put, which some people come here to do.
Are pets allowed?
Yes. Tell us when you book so the family knows what is coming.
When is the best time to come?
March to June is warm and the orchard is in leaf, with plum blossom in early spring. September to November gives the clearest views of the snow line. Winter is cold and quiet and it does snow here. The monsoon between July and September is green, misty and cheap, with the caveat that the hills are the hills and views come and go.
How do I book?
Use the WhatsApp button on this page. It opens a message to the owners with the name of the property filled in so they know it came from Pahadi House. Send your dates and the size of your group. No advance is needed just to check availability.

A villa in Mukteshwar you take whole

Mukteshwar is a temple on a cliff, an old research institute, an orchard belt, and on a clear day a view of the Nanda Devi range. It is not a big town. Most of what gets sold as a stay here is a room in one of the resorts along the Bhowali road. WindyRidge is a house instead, at Darima, four bedrooms, one group at a time.

The plum orchard is not landscaping. It is what the land was before the house went up and it is still worked, and in spring the blossom comes up against the windows. There is a deck along the front for the mornings and a balcony for the evenings. Most of a stay here happens on one or the other.

Why Darima rather than Mukteshwar town

Darima is three km short of the temple, on the Gargaon side. In season Mukteshwar fills up and the road through it turns into a queue. Three km out there is the orchard, the valley and nothing driving past the gate. The temple, Chauli Ki Jali, the shops and the ATM stay ten minutes away for when you want them.

What is close by

  • Mukteshwar temple and Chauli Ki Jali, the cliff with the view, about three km up the road.
  • Bhalu Gaad waterfall is around ten km, a short walk in from the parking.
  • Ramgarh, the old fruit belt where the orchards start, is about sixteen km.
  • Sattal and its lakes are around forty km, an easy morning out.
  • Nainital is about forty eight km and takes roughly two hours each way, so it works as a day trip rather than an afternoon.

The food

There is a cook on the property and a fitted kitchen in the house. Breakfast is made for you and dinner is whatever you ask for, as long as you ask early in the day. Several reviews single out the food. One complains about having to order so far in advance. Both are worth knowing before you turn up hungry at eight.

How this listing works

WindyRidge is a partner property on the Pahadi House list, not a house we run. We check the homes we list, we put them in front of guests, and the enquiry goes straight to Sanjeev and Pooja, so you are talking to the people who will host you. If you run a homestay in the hills and want to be on this list, it is free to register.

To check dates, message the family at +91 99990 07796.

Take the whole house for a few days

Send your dates and the size of your group on WhatsApp and the owners will come back with a rate and whatever else you need to plan the drive.

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