An annual meeting was planned at Powalgarh and the great incentive
was the location! Powalgarh, (Uttarakhand) was made famous by Jim Corbett for
having hunted the largest ever tiger in these forests. Titled, “The Bachelor of
Powalgarh”, Corbett recounted his tale of tracking and killing this tiger that
took him over a decade in his famous book, “The Maneaters of Kumaon”. There
were two more things that attracted me to this place. The first was the
homestay where we were booked called ‘Eco Harryman’s and the second being that
this was close to the Powalgarh Conservation Reserve.
We drove from Delhi and about six hours later, finally arrive at Eco
Harryman’s, an old house tucked away, hidden from the main road. We are greeted
by Manralji who runs this homestay and I was looking forward to chatting with
him. Manralji belongs to a family where several members were part of the Indian
Army. He too wanted to join the Army, but his family wanted him to look at other
options. He got a diploma in electronics from Delhi and was exploring
employment opportunities when a chain of events brought him back to
Uttarakhand. This was the time when Uttarkhand was struggling for independent
statehood. He wanted to be part of the movement and also in some ways promote
the natural beauty of the state. He decided to then start a tourism initiative
from his family house in Powalgarh. In the year 2000, the state Forest
Department started looking at ecotourism in earnestness and Manralji’s place
was best suited for this. In 2012, the nearby forest was declared a
Conservation Reserve, thanks to the efforts of a group of dedicated young
locals who called themselves the
Pawalgarh Prakriti Prahari (PPP). Manralji supported this group and it is his place
that has now become the hub for all the PPP activities. PPP is focussed on
promoting ecotourism and conservation in the Conservation Reserve. I was
curious about the name of the resort and Manralji explained Eco Harryman’s is
actually an acronym based on all the people who were part of the formation of
the first coordinating committee.
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| Manralji and his colleage |
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| Eco Harryman's Homestay |
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| The Rooms |
This resort has three rooms on the ground floor and three on the
first floor with varying number of beds. The rooms themselves are comfortable
and clean. There is a common set of toilets and bathrooms at the back. Across
from this is another building that has on the first floor an outdoor venue for
meetings. The room has also lots of books and other interesting reading
material on the natural history of the region. A look at the vast collection
books and the wildlife related artwork on the walls indicates that we are in
the company of a true naturalist. One walks across a beautiful fruit orchard to
get to the dining hall that can also accommodate quite a few people to sleep
in, if required. An ideal venue for school/college camps. Manralji’s wife looks
after the kitchen and serves delicious organic local cuisine.
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| Activities offered at the Homestay |
This resort is now run in collaboration with the PPP, members of
which also facilitate birding trips and nature walks for the guests. Manralji
has dedicated his life to conservation of this area and it is indeed a pleasure
to stay in this delightful place and be exposed to some of the natural wonders
of Powalgarh. Eco Harryman’s is indeed a homestay with personal care and
attention given by the hosts. The main gate of Corbett Tiger Reserve is 18 kms
from here, in case one wants to venture beyond the conservation reserve.
