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Culture & Living
If safety, solitude and self-indulgence are what you’re after, these remote lodgings and exclusive camps are for you
Spiriting away to an isolated location for an opportunity to surrender to nature can be the ultimate salve for stressful lives. The beauty of a habitat, the clean air, the soothing sounds of chirping birds is both, mentally stimulating and incredibly relaxing. And you don’t need to rough it out to enjoy the great outdoors. Imagine this: Go biking, strolling or on a safari, then return ‘home’ to a plush bed, en suite bath and gourmet meals. It’s probably why the enthusiasm for glamping, where glamour meets camping, is sweeping the globe. The popularity makes sense, especially in the COVID-19 era. The allure of high-end camping also brings a wave of accommodations that aren’t always in the wild, from a tree house in a hill station to a yurt on a desert. If you’re planning a socially-distanced getaway, we looked up the most luxurious properties in India to catch a break at.
Jamtara Wilderness Camp combines the best of the safari experience with middle-of-nowhere luxury. The property is tucked in Jamtara village, and just a stone throw away from Pench National Park—the evocative setting for Rudyard Kipling’s classic The Jungle Book. Spread across four acres of unfenced land, this glamping property boasts 10 plush tents to do as you please. Local artworks, wooden flooring, antique colonial furniture including a plush bed and a desk, a private patio, air conditioner, and en suite bathroom with a tub make up the interiors of each tent. If you’re feeling adventurous, you can sleep under the star-spangled sky on a four-poster machan that sits on a local farmer’s land. The best part is, a majority of the revenue from this effort is given back to the farmers. Whether you choose the native or continental cuisine, the produce is grown on-site or sourced locally. When not wildlife spotting at the national park, you can take a plunge in the pool, curl up with a book or relish a cocktail at their al fresco bar with a campfire.
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The 30-acre Reni Pani Jungle Lodge sits adjacent to the forest of the Satpura Tiger Reserve. Choose from four luxury tents, each outfitted with a living area, king size bed, en suite bath and other amenities. You may not have to look too far to spot wildlife, as the watering hole by the tents is frequented by animals. The other options are the mud cottages. Over and above the archetypical jeep safari, the area allows canoe or elephant variants, in addition to a walking safari. For something out of the ordinary, experience their mobile tenting facility along the same trail that Captain James Forsyth (the famous British conservator from the East India Company) first charted. The Gol Ghar is the common place with a dining area, a bar, a library and a lounge set.
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The Machan in two words? Luxurious and eco-friendly. Just at a short 17 kilometres from the bustling hill station of Lonavla near Mumbai, the resort sits on 25 acres of dense forests of the Western Ghats, dubbed a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Spend a weekend or more tucked up in the treetops in a high-end treehouse to blissfully cut off from the rest of the world. The Machan offers a choice of six machans perched 35-40 feet above the ground, giving utmost privacy and panoramic views of the picturesque surroundings. Each spacious treehouse features exclusive decks and warm, lived-in interiors peppered with antique furniture and objets d'art from across the world. Some treehouses come embedded with a separate living room, a bath on the deck, glass facades or a receding ceiling perfect for a starry night. After a yoga session or a jungle trails, unwind at The Machan’s spa with treatments that combine local and Western techniques. The Machan is completely self-sufficient, generating all its power from wind turbines and solar panels.
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Ranthambore remains one of the most popular tiger sanctuaries in the country, with good reason: around 50 tigers living in a huge game park encompassing woods, mountains, grasslands, marshy lakes and arid peripheries. Perched on the edge of the reserve is an elegant tented camp, set in 10 acres and surrounded by the Aravalli Hills, Aman-i-Khas. It stands out for its mix of nature and Mughal appeal, combined with Aman’s signature pampering (read: spa). The large air-conditioned tents echo traditional Mughal pavilions and come with twin writing desks and a freestanding bath. You can relish native and continental fare made using organic produce from the camp’s in-house garden at the dining tent or a cocktail by the central fire.
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African tents meet erstwhile hunting lodges of the Raj at The Bison Resort in Kabini Backwaters. The glamping property is tucked within the deep jungles of Karnataka, and lies between Bandipur National Park and Nagarhole National Park. The rustic, waterfront and private bush machans are all furnished with four-poster double beds, couches and en suite bathrooms. Enjoy herds of elephants and gaurs grazing right from your verandah. You can also pick from a wide selection of activities, including treks to local tribal villages and sunset boat rides.
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Secluded resorts to city hotels–9 stays for a socially distanced ‘workation’