Eagles Nest

To be completely clear, Eagles Nest is a hotel found by accident, booked through trust, and guarded jealously, furtively, to be rebooked over the years.

Part of my praise comes from the knowledge that finding a decent place to stay in the hills can be a tedious affair. Middle ground’s a shaky place in hillside hospitality. Hostel enthusiasts will make a case for the cheap and cheerful B&B, and folks who negotiate only above a certain thread count will flee to luxury resorts with a shudder. 

You will, after a bit of a trek all over the internet, find the upper, classier end of B&Bs, and of course, the white-sheeted, room-serviced mimics of five-star counterparts, but if you’re a traveller who can’t handle the last-minute shock of a bad booking or the boring predictability of cookie-cutter hotels, look no further than Eagles Nest.

The property, which commands the upper reaches of Dhongri hill in Gallu village above Dharamkot (to say ‘perched’, as I was tempted to, would have been a terrible mistake), is the result of many stupendous years of history. What was once the remains of a stone house built more than 150 years ago by an American Pentecostal mission became the home of an English couple, Bo and Sheila, who bought the land from the owner in the 1970s and rebuilt the house painstakingly over years. Now a hotel, the property has unmistakable personality that only years of beloved inhabitation can buy. 

All of this is established in ways that struck me as gratifying, and confident in their non-negotiability. There is no motorable road up to the hotel, for instance, and there are no plans to build one. Upon making your way up the rickety roads of Dharamkot, which often turn to slush come monsoon and winter, you must trek your way up the hill yourself – an easy 10-minute walk if you’re able, a huffy-and-puffy 20 minutes if you’re not.

There are other signs. The lushly landscaped hydrangeas, which come in more colours than I knew. The stable – an original leftover from Bo and Sheila’s home – gorgeously devoid of its horses through the afternoon, because they’re grazing in the meadow on the property. Bits of shopping lists tucked inside the thousands of books on the property as makeshift bookmarks. And the couple’s own current home, just shy of the main hotel, now lived in by Sheila, I’m told. Though the hotel is managed by Aashvim Hospitality Services as part of their BookMark Hotels venture, there is a deference still paid to its previous owners – a fact, to me, that seems almost unbearably charming. 

Getting to Eagles Nest

This is a hotel built for privacy, seclusion, and utmost quiet. The unmotorable path up is proof enough, but so is the location itself, high above Dharamkot proper. It is indeed possible to drive up till where the road is motorable if taking a cab or coming by personal conveyance, but normally, folks prefer to take a bus or flight to Dharamshala, after which there are plenty of cabs to be had. The hotel is happy to arrange one for you as well. 

Luggage will be carried up for you once you reach that last little bit that vehicles can’t manage, but the 15 to 20 minute walk up and down the property isn’t something that can be too easily done several times a day if you’re fussy about that sort of thing. Late check-ins aren’t encouraged for the same reason. It’s best for visitors to reach while there’s enough daylight to guide them here – about 7pm in the summer and 5pm in the winter. 

What to expect at Eagles Nest

Eventually, the bumpy path smoothens out, and you enter Eagles Nest land, which is reminiscent of a picture book – trails leading off the road into the forest as the sun glints in the far, far distance. A cobbled pathway taking you up to the property, lined with trees inhabited by barbets. Horses poking their noses out of their stables to inspect you as you walk past.

The hotel itself isn’t too large – 12 rooms and five suites, with most of the rooms in the main property, and the suites off to the side. The property’s simple, understated, yet utterly grandiose. Everything’s built with rough-hewn stone and finished with pared-back wood interiors. What it isn’t, though, is a fanciful reimagining of an English lord’s home. Furnishings are warm but minimal, stopping shy of the excess that hotels like this can sometimes verge on when trying to convince clientele of intrinsic taste and class. The den, which we immediately dubbed the reading room thanks to the gobsmackingly tasteful collection of books on the shelves, is easily the most elegant room in the house. 

The dining room’s small, personal – a long wooden table with chairs on either end, plus a couple of tables here and there if the hotel gets too busy. This entire thing looks out onto the garden, which in turn leads, through a tiny landscaped walkway, to a viewing point from where you can see an astoundingly panoramic view of this side of the hills – Dharamkot, Dharamshala, McLeodganj, Triund, and more. 

Because we visited on the cusp of monsoon, right around the time the roads began to really pose an issue, the hotel was almost empty. Perhaps that was why it felt more like a home than usual, though something tells me that even nearing maximum occupancy, service remains friendly, top-notch, and as personalised as it did for us. 

The rooms at Eagles Nest

You’re treated to a spectacular view of the mountains from any room you occupy. The minimal theme carries through – rooms are unadorned, except for some bookshelves and a painting of whatever flower your room or suite is named after. Bathrooms are modernly fitted and have running hot water and basic toiletries, while beds are soft and perfectly comfortable. There are, charmingly, no televisions in the rooms. In short, nothing distracts from the Dhauladhars outside. We spent a decent amount of the day sitting on the balcony watching the sun and the mist illuminate and shroud the hills intermittently. 

The food at Eagles Nest

By this point, you won’t be surprised to learn that you can’t order off a menu here. A chef decides the meals – a set menu of several dishes – every morning. In practice, that allows for much flexibility. A sweet smile and the chef’ll accommodate what you like, maybe throw in a dish or two to please you. It’s very similar to deciding what’ll be made at home.

The food’s home-cooked and tastes like it. Breakfast is standard fare – eggs of choice, porridge, fruit, paranthas. Lunch is usually Himachali or North Indian, with lots of local preparations of vegetables and chicken. Dinner is usually Continental – the kind of dinner recipes my Catholic-convent-educated grandmother taught my mum. Chicken, sauteed vegetables, cottage cheese steak, pasta, garlic bread. A dessert succeeds lunch and dinner: gulab jamun, homemade brownies, kheer. 

It’s important to note that Eagles Nest doesn’t serve alcohol, but you’re free to get as much of your own as you want, and they’re happy to chill your wine or serve your whiskey at any time of the day.

Amenities at Eagles Nest

The hotel’s well equipped to deal with bored folk, but not obnoxiously kitted out with things that’d jar the peace of the place. Plenty to do outdoors: they’ve got three horses you can ride before 9.30 am in the morning, a cricket pitch that’s not officially part of the property but used often by guests, a badminton net, and croquet sets. 

Nice treats for indoorsy folk too, like the reading room I so lovingly mentioned before, the viewing point (which comes with plenty of place to sit and gaze at the stars), and a spa and sauna facility. This last one, should you wish to use it, is available only at a day’s prior notice, since the masseuse is called up from the village below. Guests craving a slightly more frenetic sort of entertainment can use the rec room, which has two table tennis tables, a snooker table, a foosball table and video games.

The area around Eagles Nest

Don’t get me wrong – though you’re vertically removed from immediate action, there’s plenty to do around Eagles Nest, if you’re alright with a little bit of walking around. 

Just where the motorable road ends is the starting point for the famous Triund trek, which takes about half a day to complete. You could also hike up to the beautiful Gallu waterfall nearby, which takes about two or three hours in total. Another trail takes you through the forest to Naddi village. There are, actually, plenty more trails you can follow, from various points on the hotel property or nearby. 

You could also cab it to Dharamkot (about 15-20 minutes’ drive) – or if you’re particularly adventurous, walk the pagdandi snaking down the hillside to the town. Lots to do here in the form of pottery lessons, shopping for crystals and jewellery, café hopping, or walking over to Bhagsu village for the famous Bhagsu cake. Dharamkot hosts a fair amount of trance and techno nights on the weekend, so keep an eye out for those. 

McLeodganj is equally close, and it’s a bigger town with lots more tourist activity. You could visit Namgyal Monastery, where the Dalai Lama lives, do lots more shopping – for shawls, rugs, and more – and visit some bars and cafés. 

Who should visit Eagles Nest

There’s something reverential about the tranquility of this hotel. In my view, it’s best suited for travellers who are able to cope with peace and quiet, enjoy long walks, don’t mumble about a lack of Ubers and food delivery services, and, above all, love nature. If you’re one of them, there’s nothing about Eagles Nest you won’t like. 

Time Out tip: Take advantage of your proximity to the outdoors. The hotel’s admittedly beautiful, but I think it’s best intended as a launchpad for several other things you can do around it. Coming back to a home-cooked dinner and perhaps a cup of tea in the den after your wanderings is only an added bonus.