Customized Mountain Travel for Groups

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Bring the outside, inside!

As the world comes to a halt, once again, responding to the second Covid 19 surge. people across the world are staying at home, quarantining and practicing social distancing as an effort to slow down the spread of the virus.

Keeping in mind the safety of yourself and your loved ones, staying home is absolutely necessary right now. This also means many of us have found a lot of time on our hands. If you’re like us, and browsing Netflix all day and the idea of not being able to get outside to explore is difficult, give this a read!

Travel but make it virtual

With travelling to far off places basically at a standstill, let’s embrace the new way to see the world, virtually! Check these out and pick the one that suits your test the best -

https://www.travelandleisure.com/attractions/landmarks-monuments/unesco-world-history-sites-virtual-bucket-list-attractions

https://www.travelandleisure.com/attractions/museums-galleries/museums-with-virtual-tours

https://khakitours.com/experiences/WalkBooking.aspx?Status=Upcoming&ToursTicketsId=121&ToursId=105&Name=HutatmaChowk%20:%20Virtual%20Walk%2010&TourTypeId=7&Category=Walk

While you are happily taking these tours, also start planning for your trips once the restrictions are lifted. Here’s how you can do it

Jot down your travel plan

Make a detailed itinerary of the places you want to visit, experiences that you want to have there.

Pin all the places you want to visit

You can go as wishful as you want, pin all the places that you want to visit on the world map. In fact, this is the time to make that travel wishlist.

Plan for places that bust your stress with their outdoor nature, scenic beauty with lush forests, gurgling rivers and serene lakes. Our top recommendations would be Sikkim, Meghalaya and Nagaland. Nothing beats the beauty of the North East!

Having said that, enough with the planning!

You don’t have to be productive all the time! Lockdown frees up valuable time to properly take care of ourselves, fully relax and switch off. Allocate part of your day to doing the things that make you feel good. For some people, this might be getting fresh air, practicing yoga or doing a workout. For others, it’s cooking a hearty meal, reading a book or taking a bath.

Here are some of the things you can try out to de stress. It will do wonders for your mental health and keep you feeling strong and motivated

Get outside. Lay down some blankets in your backyard or string up hammocks, bring music and spend the day outdoors.

Have a picnic. Pack all your favourite snacks and drinks and have a long lunch or dinner. You can enjoy your backyard or even have it in your living room.

Watch the sunset. For an added atmosphere, add some outdoor lighting and indulge in sunset drinks till nightfall.

Play an outdoor sport. Get some tennis or squash racquets and hold a tournament in your backyard. Basketball is also hours of fun.

Join an online yoga or exercise class. Exercise releases feel-good endorphins. And when there is so much bad news at the moment, it is a good idea to get those endorphins up and an opportunity to get fit. You can find free classes on YouTube. One of the more popular ones is Yoga with Adriene. Further, Yoga International offers a free trial of their yoga courses.

Have a dance party in your living room. Another way to release endorphins and get fit is to dance. Put on some music and dance the night away. You’re on holiday! Additionally, join an Instagram dance party. Mark Kanemura, Lady Gaga’s former backup dancer hosts regular live dance parties. You can also find other dance parties on hashtag #LiveDanceParty.

Start a small garden. Herbs, flowers or vegetables, it’s merely about the joy in watching things grow! And if you do get vegetables, it’s a bonus! Make sure you buy seeds when out shopping or even better, get some seedlings from a nursery.

Take this opportunity to disconnect from the chaos of the outside world and reconnect with yourself. Stay active, eat healthy and be kind to yourself. It will strengthen your immune system, do wonders for your mental health and keep you feeling strong and motivated during this strange time.

Happy quarantine everybody!

#quaratine

#lockdown ideas

#travelideas

#quarantine wellness

#quarantine tips

[onhighgrounds]

One mile at a time

You can’t truly explore India if you limit yourself to the cities and urban spaces. Whether you’ve never visited the country, or you’ve lived here your whole life – stepping out of your city and stepping into a place unexplored can be a life changing experience. And, is there anything quite as fun as hitting the road? The uniqueness to stopping for food, tea breaks by the roadside, taking pictures, signing while you zoom off to a new destination.

We took one recently and zoomed off about 2000 kms! Here’s all the things we did

Day 1

We drove from Delhi to Rishikesh, and it was pouring down, with almost no visibility! Riding into the foothills of Himalayas in Uttarakhand with the fresh showers and lush greenery made for a welcome sight. Although only a couple of hours long, the ride was worth it for the lovely view of the mountains and the Ganges. Needless to say we stopped at the Laxman Jhula! Why wouldn’t we?

We stayed overnight at a place well positioned near the Laxman Jhula with beautiful view of the Ganges.

Our next was Tehri, one of the most beautiful districts in Uttarakhand. Everyone should come to this district once in their fledgling life and should be enjoying here either in a religious way or in an adventurous way.

If you wish to explore the places close by, don’t miss the towns of Devprayag and Chamba. Devprayag is one of the five scared prayags (confluences) of the Alaknanda, and Chamba is a township lying high at an altitude of 1524 mts., offering a splendid view of the snow-capped Himalayas and the serene Bhagirathi valley.

We then drove to Dhanaulti, on the on the Mussoorie-Chamba route. Dhanaulti, located amidst thick, virgin forests of Deodar, Rhododendron and Oak, has an atmosphere of perfect peace & tranquillity. The long-wooded slopes, relaxed outdoors, cool crossing breeze, warm and hospitable inhabitants, lovely weather and fabulous view of snow-covered mountain made it ideal for us to take our lunch stop. We stopped at this beautiful riverside camp for lunch before heading to the Jim Corbett and called it a night at a jungle safari camp.

Day 3

This day was all about driving across Kumaon, from Jim Corbett to Chaapad et al and lots in between! Established in 1936, Jim Corbett National Park is the oldest national park in India with the highest number of tigers. The park has an abundance of flora and fauna, which makes it perfect for safaris. In the park, you can catch sight of animals like Royal Bengal Tiger, Deer, Indian Hog Deer, Sambar Deer, Otter, Asiatic Black Bear, Sloth Bear and more.

First stop from Jim Corbett was Pangot, a gorgeous hill station and it is a good option to visit while you are enjoying your trip to Corbett. Since it is just 96 kilometres from the Jim Corbett Park it is an ideal short getaway to explore the surrounding places around Jim Corbett National Park. 

Next stop was Satoli. Satoli rests on the slope of a hill about 2 hours away from Almora village in the lap of Kumaoni mountains. The pure air and silence is a welcome respite from the soot of the city and its hustle bustle.

We ended the day at this beautiful rustic Himalayan resort with picturesque Himalayan views, endless expanses of gorgeous orchards of apples, peaches, and apricots. Their cottages still retain an old-world charm and is a marvellous spectacle straight out from some European countryside village. The nights were too dreamy here!

Message us to book yourself a stay here!

Day 4

Next day was driving all the way to Khairna, a small hamlet in the Nainital district, by Kosi river. If one goes to Khairna, they most likely wouldn’t skip Betalghat. We didn’t either!

Betalghat is an excellent little village surrounded by lush Jim Corbett buffer forested areas nearby Nainital. This quaint little village is renowned for its natural beauty and charming atmosphere that you get to experience here. The weather here remains wonderful throughout the year, and provides for safaris into the jungles. 

Next we were off to Padampuri, a cozy hamlet elevated 1600 meters high in Kumaon hills. Padampuri is our favourite place to witness the best of Kumaon beauty of mountainous landscapes and crystalline lakes, its rich flora and fauna. It is approximately 30 kms from Nainital  and Mukteshwar making it an easy drive.

We were back to our resort in Satoli and then back to Delhi the next day!

The entire road trip across the region of Kumaon Uttarakhand was a complete indulgence for the senses. We would suggest you indulge one with your loved ones as well!

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Curated travel with On High Grounds

Today, as the world is slowly opening up, those who have been locked up and are looking to stretch their legs. But where and when can we travel? That is still very much unclear as border closures, quarantines, and other measures are likely to stay with us for some time to come. Our role as curators of offbeat travels in this continuously changing space is an important one.

Before COVID-19, exploring a crowded city used to be exciting and invigorating. Wandering through bustling markets, enjoying dinner at a bistro brimming with locals and visiting tourist hotspots were often the hallmarks of a fulfilling holiday! However these trips are now likely to incite anxiety and fear in people.

So how can we re think travel? Can we think of sustainable ways to travel? Can we think of destinations which are closer to our homes, which don’t involve a lot of commute using public modes of transport, yet gives us that escape from our hectic lives?

We are thinking on the lines of curated itineraries focussing on more driveable remote locations, with activities such as birding tours, biking tours, treks etc, where tourists are less likely to come in contact with others.  Road trips are likely to gather even greater momentum as people’s desire to travel will nudge them to take the plunge to travel on their own in 2021. This clubbed with handpicked accommodation and stays with immersive culture and culinary experiences is what On High Grounds works to offer you!

Hey! We are ourselves are still uncertain about when the world will be able to freely travel once more. But we know, In a post-COVID-19 world, travellers will be much more cognizant of the need to travel to destinations that make it easy to maintain social distancing practices and that is where we can help you.

We will design itineraries  for you that avoid public forms of transportation and crowded tourist areas and offer you best offbeat stays and experiences!

Get in touch with us today!

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Customised Group Travel to the Himalaya

Our prime region of travel is the Indian Himalaya and these trips are for Schools, Colleges, Corporates and Social Groups. The aim is to provide Outbound Learning Experiences to the participants based on their unique and specific requirements.

We work on an aggregator model and have empaneled more than 60 offbeat location partners across the Himalaya and the Sahyadris with whom we have explored these regions personally and can vouch without any doubt that they are the real deal!

The biggest advantage when you travel with On High Grounds is that we don’t have any vested interests when it comes to going to a particular location, associating with a particular organization or staying at a particular place. The entire Himalayan range and the Sahayadris are open for us. We pick and chose locations, organizations, places of stay based on a very transparent method. The idea is to work with the best in that particular location.

The kind of trips we organize include: treks, homestays, reading, painting, cooking, wellness, skiing, rafting, para-gliding, mountain biking, jungle safaris, exploratory treks, jeep safaris, camping, themed trips and even some serious technical skill building all built in and wrapped around the specific theme of your Outbound endeavour .

The trips are for everybody. Age, gender , physical capability , no bar. On High Grounds co-founders will always lead the trip – that’s mandatory and is also one of our USPs to give you the ‘straight from the horse’s mouth’ experience!

We work directly with the local people/ agencies/ co-operatives to plan and conduct trips. We try and make a contribution towards the place and people where we go for every single trip of ours.

[onhighgrounds]

When was the last time you went to an Offsite or a Training and it didn’t turn out to be a closed room affair in a nearby resort or a 5 star city hotel? When was the last time you visited the hills and it was more than a bonfire, alcohol and some light adventure?

On High Grounds is an initiative for the new Corporate to have a mix of WORK and FUN, amongst the highest mountain ranges in the world, with a difference.

For OHG, a trip to the Himalaya is about learning from the tough yet contended life the locals lead, about getting up close and personal with nature at its purest and most importantly its about putting things in perspective.  Literally, we are going to be on higher grounds when we are in the Himalaya. Figuratively, to soar high, one needs to be grounded and there is nothing better than the mighty Himalaya to deliver this message.

Our Corporate trips are designed exclusively as per the requirements of your group and hence there are no preset itineraries. Location, duration, activities and stay options are all customized.

While on the trip, besides the ‘work’ – training/skill development which may be the primary objective, the ‘fun’ part of the trip will focus on adventure activities, exploration of the region, interaction with the locals, understanding their culture, customs, food and making a meaningful contribution.

Traveling with OHG allows you to experience Himalaya from the point of view of the native. CSR is at the heart of all our trips. We dont add it as an “extra”, we plan our trips around it.