Kumaon stories part II: Not to be in your comfort zone is great fun, we learnt!
A former garden department official working with the Uttarakhand government used his knowledge to transform a barren hillock in Chaukori village into a Kaaphal orchard, an organic garden complete with six cows for dairy needs, and domesticated bee colonies for organic honey. His eldest son opened this property for homestay, while his mother -Neelam aunty -the only woman in the family -dished out home cooked food for the visitors. Kaaphal Hill, the village homestay gave us a glimpse of the life in Kumaon hills, the cuisine, and left us wondering whether we are too meek to adopt the life in the hills. It was only alter that we realised that this was indeed the window to the Kumaon life Chaukori (Kumaon himalayas) We found Kaaphal Hill homestya on airbnb. Tarun, the eldest son in the family takes the bookings and coordinates with the tourists. We traveled from Kausani to Chaukori in our self-drive ZoomCar -the Jazz. As we were coordinating with Tarun for directions, h...