Review: Mary Budden Estate | Binsar Wildlife Sanctuary | Best resort in Almora

As our car drove through the windy and misty roads of Binsar Wildlife Reserve, I was lost in thoughts. A few of these thoughts were about how my life was shaping up right now, but most of it was about what to expect in the next few days that I was invited to spend at the Mary Budden Estate. Interestingly this estate is located only a couple of hours form my mother’s hometown Almora, yet I had never even heard of it. The estate is older than most structures in the entire region, and with so much history and stories associated with the place, I was’t sure if the place can live up to all the expectations. Just as we took the next turn, it started to rain and our speed slowed - a lot like how my life felt right now. Slow, and maybe that’s not a bad thing at all.

That's me at the Estate

Early morning light at Mary Budden

Before you go further, you have a choice - you can watch a review of the property on my YouTube channel below or read further to enjoy some of my writing. Or do both because both are unique. 

History of Mary Budden

The story of a historical place like Mary Budden must start in the past, so let’s go back to the middle of 19th century. This part of India was quite different then though Almora was already a major centre and also a cultural hub. It was around that time that Mary Budden decided to set up an orphanage for girls up in the mountains where they received education, food and a safe place to stay. It was a small place and accommodated only 11 girls at a time. Nothing much is known about the girls who studied here, but that would be an interesting story to follow. Coming back to this old home, it changed hands many times over the next hundred years or so and is now a boutique homestay managed by MRS Hospitality, the same group that runs my favourite hotel in India - Suryagarh.

Loved the detailing here...

Mary Budden has stayed mostly true to the old structured it inherited from the first owners. It’s located within the Binsar wildlife sanctuary and that makes making any changes to the structure almost impossible. So the Mary Budden Estate is set up an area of 3 acres and has seven cottages. Each cottage actually has a nice view of the valley and is designed in a very old school like comfortable style. I stayed in two different rooms - one was on the top floor from where I could get a nice few of the valley and the second one was actually on the ground floor. I love my room on the ground floor because it opened into this nice open seating space where you could sit in the morning drink your coffee read your book and just soaking all the sunshine at the property.

My room at Mary Budden

Living room in my room

Just outside my room

One of key highlight of my stay at the property was food which was a mix of so many different cuisines beautifully blended together to create experiences which you possibly get anywhere else. Do not miss out on trying out the Himalayan cuisine which which was my first meal at the property and trust me it was just so delicious. It was a blend of many different kinds of Himalayan cuisines like Kumaoni, Tibetian, Ladakhi and more. You can, of course, eat your meals (do folks still do it??) in your in your room but I would say that the best way to do this would be to eat them outdoors. 

My lunch table

The best cake there!

I ate my meals at all different corners and the best was open space where you can sit on big wooden logs and eat your meals. For your evening chai, which is amazing by the way here, you should head down to the Deodhar Point. This point is also a great place to see the sunset so while you're there sipping your tea and watching the sun go down. I can give you a pro tip - definitely carry a shawl or a jacket because even in summers it can get cold.

Deodar Point

And finally for dinner you can actually ask the staff at Mary Budden to create this very special experience that they do for special guests where they light up the space with lamps and candles and then serve you the best Kumaoni food that you can find. The food is all sourced locally and prepared by local Kumaoni cooks.

My special dinner!

Mary Budden is also pet friendly, unless your dog is really big. Do connect with them in a advance and let them know about your plans of traveling with your pet.

Dogs at Mary Budden

Experiences that Mary Budden

Mary Budden is the kind of resort you’ll come just to relax. Far away from traffic and city noise, just by being here you’ll feel peaceful. As my friend Bandana told me later, it’s a perfect place to daydream and I can’t agree more with her. Having your early morning ginger chai while watching the trees sway gently to the wind, and wearing a winter jacket even as rest of North India melts in heat are indeed surreal experiences. However, these are not the only experiences you’ll get at Mary Budden - there’s a lot more. I was there only for three days, and I could’ve spent a week there easily, so I decided to do a couple of experiences considering my love for food and then as a follow-up to burn all the calories.

Hamlet in the Hills

This is a special meal experience where you do a half an hour drive and then a half an hour hike through the forest to reach a small Kumaoni village called Dalad. Mary Budden has built a local Himalayan style house there and hosts guests there for lunch. This place was so beautiful that I actually requested to stay overnight. Sadly for me, the house isn’t yet ready to host guests to stay but hopefully that’ll change in future and that might be another reason for me to visit Mary Budden. On this trip though we were welcomed with Gin-tonic and then had Kumaoni food - thankfully I knew most of the food and could show off my Kumaoni roots to my friends. 

My gang for the hike!

Lunch at Dalad village

Dalad is special not just for the house and the food, but also for the hike though the misty forest. It’s not a hard hike at all but so fulfilling. If you end up even going to Mary Budden, don’t skip this experience - even if it rains. Our day started with rains but ended with bright sun so always expect the unexpected in this part of the country.

Ramsey Trek

Sir Henry Ramsey was the collector for Almora, and as soon as he set foot in Binsar, he fell in love with the place. He loved walking and used to follow a path which later become popular as the Ramsey Trek. Back then these forests were wild and leopards were rather common so it’s quite impressive that he walked so much in such dense forests. Leopards exist even today but are only a few and the forest is also possibly not as dense. Since this is part of a Wildlife Reserve, you still have pretty dense forest. The hike is 11 kms long and can be done within 6 hours. 

Ramsey Trek

Was it hard? Frankly not. It wasn’t a steep hike or a technical one in any way, so as long as you are fit and used to a little bit hiking, you can certainly do it.

This trip was short, perhaps too short and I can’t wait to come back here again - especially in winters when it snows here too. I can imagine how stunning this place would look in pristine white snow. 

Reaching Mary Budden

Reaching this boutique homestay is a bit hard and I guess that adds to the charm quite bit. Here’s what I did - I was traveling from Delhi so I first took a train to Kathgodam, and then a taxi from Kathgodam to Binsar. The train journey is overnight and the taxi ride took six hours - it can be much less also if the traffic and road conditions are on your side.

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Disclaimer: I was at Mary Budden on their invitation as a guest. All views expressed are my own and based on my personal experiences.