A sudden weekday holiday along with the weekend makes your mind wander to a place, maybe close by, where one can relax and kids can have fun.So, we decided on Taj Corbett Resort and Spa in Uttarakhand for the next couple of nights. It’s about a six-hour drive from Delhi. Kids were quite excited , packed their bags and were ready to leave the early next morning to avoid traffic.We stopped at McDonald’s on our way and stopped at a couple of places to buy tuck for kids.
As we reached Ramnagar, we decided to go to The Nest Cafe and Farmstay for lunch, obviously after checking out Trip Advisor ratings.
We ordered butter chicken with rotis , dry snacks for kids and mocktails.The place is tastefully done with good food.
It was an easy and smooth check-in at Taj with a welcome drink.We opted for a Deluxe cottage and we got an extra bed arrangement for our elder one. Spread over an area of 13 acres, theTaj Corbett is concealed in the thick of a mangrove shield, alive with flowers, that are crossed by pebbled paths leading to charming cottages with open sit-outs. A peaceful resort adjoining the river Kosi, Taj Corbett brings you closer to nature.The evening tea was included in the package, served in a beautiful setting, facing the greenery and Kosi river flowing next to it.We enjoyed the evening snacks with our tea and coffee.
There were monkeys around…keeping an eye on any food left on the table so that they can pounce on it but they were regularly sent away by the guards and helps present there.We took a stroll around the property after the tea and we were informed about a show was being organised in the open theatre.So , there is a group by the name of Rainbow who performs about the various stories of Jim Corbett.It was nicely done and kids enjoyed it.We checked a good place on Trip Advisor near Taj and decided to take dinner outside. It was Grill Kebab Treat Restaurant which was about 300m from Taj.We ordered kumaoni chicken, kumaoni aloo and kababs, food was good.The next morning was beautiful, cloudy, sunny, pleasant….We had the breakfast in Taj ,layout of the buffet was good but the best was the kumaoni parathas with different types of condiments and chutneys.
Since the weather forecast was not great for a jeep safari or animal spotting as it was mostly cloudy and rainy for the day and more so we had also not done the booking so thought we will skip it this time.We checked with the concierge service at Taj,though they were booked they offered us a couple of things like….a tour to a nearby village ,a picnic by river Kosi along with packed snacks basket. The weather looked so unpredictable that we decided to be on our own.After breakfast, my younger one made herself busy in the kids’ room and I and my son played badminton for some time.We got ready and our first stop was Moustache Cafe which was close to Taj. With the rustic charm and wonderful ambience set in the wilderness, we enjoyed our pasta, coffee and muffin in the cafe which is run by a couple.As soon as we stepped out of the cafe, it started raining.We decided to go to Corbett Falls.Corbett Falls is a waterfall located at 15 km from Ramnagar. Developed as a picnic spot for tourist, Corbett Water Falls is surrounded by dense teak wood forest. Sound of the waterfall makes perfect melody with chirpings of the birds.It has a good parking area and can easily spend an hour there
The weather was really nice that day, rain showers, wind…We decided to go further ahead and visit the Jim Corbett Museum. The museum is situated in Choti Haldwani. It is the heritage bungalow of Edwards Jim Corbett,the environmentalist, gives a short view of his wild world ,his guns, furniture, office ,old pictures and his house. My son got a book written by Jim Corbett and some wooden stationery stuff from the souvenir shop.On our way back,we stopped at a fast-food stall , which looked quite busy.It served hot steamed vegetarian momos,some Chinese dishes and also dry thukpa.Eating hot momos and thukpa in the car , raining outside,it was fun.We reached the hotel during tea time which was good.The kids enjoyed watching different birds over the river through the telescope which was installed at the Tree Top buffet area at Taj.
As it was raining so there was no outside show but a movie was shown in the recreation area about the Kumaon region and Jim Corbett which my son saw. For the dinner, we decided to take in Taj. This speciality grill house- Jims Grill is round, open ‘machan-like’ structure with seating around the centre. This Gole Ghar has a tree running right through its middle.
It was raining off and on , beautiful lighting ,live music was being played by two artists and we were eating pizza, some grilled chicken, pasta ..it was perfect.There was a cat loitering around the restaurant,which according to the people there was regular and harmless.My daughter was totally entertained by the cat.It was a great evening at Taj.
Next morning, my husband took the trek with Taj people to Garjiya Devi temple while I and kids were sleeping.There were outdoor activities like camping were planned for children post breakfast. Explore Taj Kids is a kid’s program based on adventure, discovery and questing, all the while learning about nature, survival, camping etc.But due to the rain and weather it got cancelled.But instead did some archery after the breakfast in the garden facing the cliff and the river.
It was time to check out and say bye to our place for our last two days.Taj Corbett was a great experience and would definitely go again.On our way back we stopped at Devbhoomi Outdoor Adventure activities for my son who wanted to try some.Its next to the Nest cafe so my son did some wall climbing and zip lining ,I enjoyed my coffee at The Nest cafe.Weather was good for a drive back to Delhi and we did stop at the Doabas Punjabi Dhaba nestled in the fields. We had yummy parathas with white butter and some chickpeas. Impromptu decision to take a short break was very enjoyable and a good change for the kids. Enjoy….
