Dunagiri Retreat
Dunagiri, Ranikhet 110030 India
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#4 of 37 B&Bs / Inns in Ranikhet
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A Nature Retreat in a lush hill forest setting overlooking a dramatic rural landscape. At Dunagiri, you are completely in harmony with nature - distances seem infinite and heaven close. Silence speaks in a thousand tongues here - all calm, joyous and serene. Very few places are left on our planet where we can enjoy tourism experiences in such pristine, tranquil and calm environment amidst ancient forests. A spot of stunning natural splendor, being one with nature is easy to do at Dunagiri Nature Retreat. Its greatness lies not merely in its fascinating history and captivating beauty, it is rather the peaceful and spiritual atmosphere of this place that strikes the mind and brings peace to the soul. Known by various names such as Drongiri, Dronagiri and Doonagiri - a visit to Dunagiri is a holiday like no other; it is a journey into the innermost recesses of the soul, a re-discovery of the essence of being. Go for nature walks, treks in hills and wilderness, visit Cave of Mahavatar Babaji of Kriya Yoga mentioned in An Autobiography of a Yogi.
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Property amenities
Free parking
Free breakfast
Pets Allowed ( Dog / Pet Friendly )
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Room service
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Charming
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Dunagiri, Ranikhet 110030 India
73Reviews2Q+A14Room tips
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This place is a sacred sanctuary to meditate and connect with oneself and nature. Highly recommended. I travelled solo from Los Angeles and felt so safe and taken care. The staff is like family. Home cooked meals were delicious!
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Date of stay: September 2023Trip type: Travelled solo
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Room Tip: Prepare your taste buds for delicious meals.
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This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
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We heard of Dunagiri Retreat Centre through a friend. Since it is close to a spiritual place of interest for us, Mahavatar Babaji’s cave, we decided to book it for 5 days / 4 nights during the month of August. We paid 16,000 INR + 18% GST (around 200 EUR) PER NIGHT for 2 adults and 2 children, inclusive of all meals. Turns out this was VASTLY overpriced compared to the experience we got, and once you get there, you are stuck. This place is popular with foreigners, many of whom have not experienced proper Indian hospitality before, may not fully understand how much things should cost in India, and some don’t even realise how much they are paying for the retreat, as they book it as part of a bigger package. The reality is that the owner Mr. Piyush Kumar appears to be focused on extracting money from guests and cutting corners wherever he can. Firstly, we were assured by the owner that we will be able to enjoy the peace and serenity of the retreat space. This was particularly important for us because we went there to rest, meditate, breathe fresh air, do yoga, etc., and didn’t spend a lot of time outside the retreat as it was rainy season. In reality, the retreat centre has massive construction going on. This meant we had no peace or quiet, with sounds of machines and hammers starting at 8am until the evening. The yoga room in the retreat centre was full of dust and not usable. Secondly, the food was at best a major disappointment, at worst an outright scam. We enjoy simple vegetarian food, but the amount and choices of food were not consistent with the high price we paid. In all meals there were no alternative choices and many times the kitchen cooked EXACTLY the same food as the day before. The portions of vegetables were ridiculously small for 4 guests. It really felt we were either at a prison, or at a weight loss retreat. On requesting more food, we were shocked to hear from the kitchen staff that the owner had ordered less vegetables and that they didn’t even have enough for themselves. Thirdly, the service levels are HIGHLY inconsistent with paying 200 Euros per night. The owner left the property on the second day, leaving us with two kitchen staff, who said they didn’t know much as they had only been employed for a few months. The rooms were not cleaned on some days and we had to chase for clean towels and more toilet paper. The electricity kept going on and off on one of the days, we understand this happens in India sometimes but there was a large generator at the retreat that the staff didn’t know how to operate. As a result we were sitting for hours with no electricity, for no reason. The staff seemed nice but helpless under the instructions they had been given. They didn’t seem to know where things were and when we asked for a hair dryer to dry our shoes, we were given a heater that wasn’t working properly. Lastly, if you have a retreat charging this amount of money in a remote place where most mobile networks are unavailable, you need to provide basic internet access. When we arrived, we couldn’t even tell our family we arrived safely. The portable Wi-Fi we got never worked properly. On the positive side, the rooms were spacious and nicely decorated. We were happy when the owner decided to give us 2 rooms instead of 1 for the 4 of us at no additional cost, although we suspect this was the case only because there were no other guests at the retreat for the entire week. It would have been a real struggle to fit 2 adults and 2 children in a single room. Overall we felt quite cheated and fooled - and would not recommend this retreat to anyone. We are very flexible people, used to basic facilities where we live ourselves - by no means are we demanding people. However, we do believe there is a limit to the service that is acceptable, especially at this high price. Once you arrive, you travelled for many hours and feel like giving the place a shot. With no feasible alternatives nearby, this is the reason why the owner thinks it get away with appalling service. Since we had a recommendation from a friend, we paid in advance for the accommodation costs and taxes. We didn’t receive any receipt of payment. In light or our poor experience we complained to Mr. Piyush Kumar and were offered a complimentary stay, which he knew we would not accept. We asked for a partial refund and a receipt of payment, after which he stopped replying. We might not get any money back but hopefully we can discourage people in going there and getting fooled by people taking the name of Babaji and God. Thank you for listening.…
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Date of stay: August 2023Trip type: Travelled with family
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This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
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Had the most wonderful time in Dunagiri retreat! It's truly one of the most serene places I've ever been to. The staff is extremely kind, warm and hospitable - Pandit ji makes the most delicious food I have ever eaten in my life, I couldn't wait for my next meal there. The owners Piyush ji and lovely Katy are gentle kind souls. This is a place I will be visiting year on year - it's just a piece of heaven on earth.
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Date of stay: December 2021
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This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
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Dunagiri Retreat is one of the most beautiful place you can be in the lap of Himalayas Originally planned to stay for a day and when we met Piyush Kumar the owner who is a perfect Gentleman and down to earth person with a great vision, Enjoyed his company so much we extended our stay for another day which was absolutely fantastic and Blissful. Peaceful and Serene. Wake up to the perfect sunrise and excellent breakfast and food. The rooms were super nice and were lucky to meet Maharajji and chat with him. Thank you very much Piyush Baba for the fantastic hospitality by you and your staff at all times. Will definitely try and come next year.
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Date of stay: October 2017Trip type: Travelled with friends
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Room Tip: All rooms have the Mountain View
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This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
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It’s a secluded place offering a great stay in the lap of Himalayas. Difficult to reach, as a good access road is badly needed. Mr. Piyush Kumar is a gentle host trying his best to provide for every necessity at such an isolated place. But I personally feel it’s Little overpriced than what they really offer during a stay. Spacious Rooms with great view but need heaters/ bonfire. Food is simple, tasty n satwik. ( please don’t expect non veg) It would be more appealing if they can also provide for driver’s accommodations. Coz at such faraway places it’s difficult to find a shelter for your driver. ( please negotiate about driver’s policies before you visit) Overall good, truly retreats
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Date of stay: November 2017Trip type: Travelled with family
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
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One of the most special places in the world. Piyush and his team do everything possible to make it a unique experience for each guest. This has been our second Yoga retreat to Dunagiri and I know we'll keep returning for many more. Dunagiri has been lovingly created & designed, it thrives on kindness and warm hospitality. Its quite simply the perfect place in nature to retreat to. Our group had the time of their lives. Thank you to everyone at beautiful Dunagiri retreat for making our Yoga Retreat with you so smooth and calm to organise and so incredibly special.
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Date of stay: September 2017Trip type: Travelled on business
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This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
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Dunagiri temple and mountain is very beautiful. It becomes more beautiful when we alone visit and walk sometimes. Temple is on the top, need to go by many stairs. There is just Temple of Divine mother and excellent mountain views.
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Date of stay: June 2017Trip type: Travelled solo
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
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Dunagiri Retreat is just that - a retreat for tired bodies and souls who seek peace and tranquility from their usual hectic stressful sides. It's pretty at first glance there is definitely tremendous energy that envelopes you. This is the place where we were first introduced to the Mahavtar Babaji known to have passed on Kriya Yoga to his disciples. One needs tremendous enthusiasm and a never say die spirit for that hard climb up to the cave where he is supposed to have first appeared. Once there you are glad - the cave is peaceful, cool and one automatically gets into a meditation mode no matter how ordinary a mortal you feel you are. We enjoyed the walk up to the shrine behind the retreat, visiting the famous Dunagiri temple and would have loved a forest walk if we had more time Piyush and Katy are genial hosts they can converse on anything that interests you. A lot of retreats are held here. There was Sufi whirling by a group from Singapore while we were there. Accommodation was disappointing.. The rooms need a total face lift. Half the things don't work. With just one major domo Manoj running all over the place cleanliness is a big issue. Our room got a cursory sweeping and the bathroom was not cleaned during our entire stay of two nights. Disappointing if you look for basic human comforts. Food can be far far better and adequate enough to fill growling stomachs constantly hungry in the mountain air, hygiene definitely needs to be paid attention to in the kitchen. Flies feasting on the salad is not a pretty sight. Remember the reason you go to Dunagiri Retreat for then no physical discomfort should matter…
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Date of stay: May 2017Trip type: Travelled as a couple
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This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
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The Dunagiri Retreat, run by Piyush Kumar, is a small place up and away in the Kumaon Himalayas. A wonderful place, to have got away from the city, and spent time during the monsoons. What a sight with the clouds and mist coming in and the views of the mountains and valley when it clears. This place is not for everyone though. No TV, no newspaper, and mobile works occasionally or at certain places only. the food is vegetarian and strictly no booze. Wonderful treks through the forest. You may be lucky to spot a leopard here. Any weather is a good time to be here.
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Date of stay: September 2016Trip type: Travelled as a couple
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This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
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An amazing place at home with nature the hosts Piyush and Katie are brilliant and helpful the accommodation is excellent . The tours organised all included in the holiday takes one through wooded walks ,temples and hills with spectacular views of the Himalayas The food is the best part cooked under the supervision of Panditji is out of this world I for one definitely intend to go back and stay longer
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Date of stay: October 2016Trip type: Travelled with friends
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
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LOCATION
IndiaUttarakhandAlmora DistrictRanikhet
NUMBER OF ROOMS
9
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Frequently Asked Questions about Dunagiri Retreat
What are some of the property amenities at Dunagiri Retreat?
Some of the more popular amenities offered include free breakfast, free parking, and room service.
What food & drink options are available at Dunagiri Retreat?
Guests can enjoy free breakfast during their stay.
Are pets allowed at Dunagiri Retreat?
Yes, pets are typically allowed, but it's always best to call ahead to confirm.
Does Dunagiri Retreat have any great views?
Yes, guests often enjoy the mountain view available here.
Is Dunagiri Retreat accessible?
Yes, it offers wheelchair access. For specific enquiries, we recommend calling ahead to confirm.