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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Free parking
Free breakfast
Pets Allowed ( Dog / Pet Friendly )
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Dunagiri, Ranikhet 110030 India
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My family had been planning a trip to dunagiri since quite a few years and we finally managed to make it in June, 2012. We were quite impressed by the reviews we'd read and the pictures posted here as well as on the retreats website. The retreat was everything we had imagined it to be. Very quaint but incredibly spacious, it was a delight to live in the retreat, with good home-cooked, predominantly organic local food and excellent service. I'd like to specially mention the bathrooms!! They were done up so well and so artistically! The overall planning off all the cottages was done very well, ensuring each guest had the maximum amount of peace and privacy possible. Our trip happened to be at an excellent time with respect to the fresh produce. Fruits hung abundantly on the trees…
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Date of stay: June 2012
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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When I started searching for places where I could get away from the hectic city life for at least 3 weeks with my family, I looked at tons of options that are available these days. Wrote to many people, spoke to tons of them but everywhere I was disappointed because it seemed that everyone was only interested in the money but not in who I was or what I was looking for. A friend directed me to www.dunagiri.com. The first look at the website gave a positive feeling and I wrote to the name mentioned in the website, PIyush. I received a prompt reply from him and soon we realized that he lived in Delhi too. We met up a few times, spoke for hours about what my expectations were. Being musicians, both my wife and me were looking for something deeper than just a beautiful place. We also…
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Date of stay: June 2012
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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My friends and I landed up at Dunagiri quite by chance - we were taking a break after almost a year, looking for a lot of silence, quiet, with some walking trails and the agenda of being able to "do nothing much". After speaking to Piyush, we left Delhi early one hot Friday morning in my trusty Scorpio. Yes its a little far - 12 hours or so by road. The beautiful wild flowers (daisies?) that lined the road leading up to the Retreat gave us the first hint of the magical view lying in wait. A glimpse of the mountains in the distance (they play hide and seek in this season), flowers on the hillside, a distant temple bell, birdsong.....the sheer quiet wrapped around us like a comforting blanket. We snuggled in. Panditji welcomed us with herbal tea and cooked up a storm (I think…
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Date of stay: May 2012
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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Our journey to Dunagiri (26-30th May'12) turned out to be a mixed bag of good and bad. Dunagiri is a religious place with peace and tranquility. But it was sad and disheartening to see that there seems to be an organised setup opearting putting jungles on fire. For the 4 days we were there, We could see no Himalayas. Only jungle fires here and there and lots of smoke and suspended particles making haze around. The heat was predominant and we could only get some cool breeze (main reason for going to mountains) only in the nights. The main places to visit there are Baba Maha Avtar caves, Dunagiri Ma Temple and Sukha Devi Temple. Unfortunately, we could not visit Mansa Devi temple, which requires 7 KM jungle trek one way up the hill. Unfortunately, Dunagiri Retreat is the…
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Date of stay: May 2012
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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Response from Infinite_Spaces, Owner at Dunagiri Retreat
Responded 12 Jun 2012
Dear Shudhi, Thanks for your review on TripAdvisor as it gives me an opportunity to express my views and those of my staff. At the outset, all of us feel sorry for the holiday experience you just had. However, betweeen Gopal, Panditji, Kailashgiri in front of you, Leelaram and Harishram working 175 meters away from you on our Musician's Cottage, and me available to you 24x7 on phone, none of us are really sure exactly how much of each of us is included in your count of "one and a half". I am also not sure how many people were you expecting to serve the two and a half of you that were visiting us. By the way, you forgot to mention Tarun, Gopal's 21 year old son who walked several kilometers of hilly jungle treks so you could visit Mahavatar Babaji's cave that you wanted to visit. Or perhaps you took him too for granted, an attitude which might explain how people go missing from your counts :). One and a half we might have been, but we did indeed cater to your need and demand, however reasonable or unreasonable at any hour of the day. Even if it meant you calling Gopal at 9 pm demanding to be supplied more water. This was when the 2 and 1/2 of you had consumed a full tank of 1000 liters within the previous 8 hours!!! Perhaps it never occured to you that at the time you were visiting the hills, 99 percent of human beings around you did not have water even to drink, such are the highly unusual hot and dry weather condition this year, even if we forget about the animals and birds that are dying of thirst. Of course it is these very conditions that have led to forest fires which you had indeed noticed; however you obvisouly were unmindful of the scores of people gathered around the few remaining water sources, because they cannot afford to "buy" water which very very few of us can. Yes, we DO NOT have any fans, airconditioners and refrigerators - and this is by choice not ignorance. If you are advocating the use of such devices and 1000s of liters of water per person per day within remote, pristine oak forests at 8000 feet facing snow peaked Himalayas, then I am afraid you are indeed unsuitable to be visiting such places in all seasons when you need such devices. My staff had called me (there was more thn one person who called me to say this, and believe me there was no "half" among them) - I quote them verbatim - "we may be poor but even then we have self-respect. We will rather quit than being talked to in this degrading manner by someone whom we are supposed to treat like a visiting house-guest. Our house-guests do not behave like this". This of course hurt me immensely as my endeavor at Dunagiri has always been two-fold: 1. To provide a comfortable stay to our guests 2. To provide employment with dignity to my staff. These staff are my friends, not my servants. How can I possibly rob one objective for the other? Even then i called the 3 villages around us for replacement staff to serve you for the remaining one day, but by then word of your behaviour had spread around and nobody at all was ready to come. The straw which had broken the camel's back was your threat of taking away livelihood of 15 village families who are directly or indirectly employed by us - when you said you will not LET ANYONE visit Dunagiri Retreat ever again!!! Once all of them had walked, out even if I was personally present it have been of little use to you! Finally, when first your husband then you called at 8.30 at night to complain to me about our staff, i had been already trying to make peace the whole day as i tried to resolve this crises that you had created. Though i was "all the way in delhi" and though you might not be counting me now as even half a person :), trust me we were all trying our very best to serve you so you could have a good holiday, which you were apparently refusing to have. It was then that with a heavy heart i had to suggest you leave, first time ever we have had to do so, of course giving you a full pro-rated refund for the unused portion of your stay. In the end, let me again say sorry to all concerned for the experience we have had to go through. I do thank you for following my suggestions of leaving a day early, else the conditions that got created were such that somebody would have had to request you to do the same. Regards, Piyush.
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This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
The Dunagiri retreat offers a unique opportunity to get a glimpse of rural India, embedded in untouched nature, even et the end of the dry season (I travelled there end of May)... The amazing biodiversity of the region, the large areas of native forest, the possibility to be guided over traks of different difficulty make the retreat an excellent place for nature lovers. Add to this the great food and the special silence that falls at nighttime. Last but not least, I greatly appreciated the owner's efforts in making this place an occasion for local people to learn how beautiful and delicate their land is, and that conservation is a value. There are few places like this, where one can get in touch not only with nature, but also with the local culture and habits.
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Date of stay: May 2012
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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For city dwellers, a place like Dunagiri retreat brings in so much stillness, so much peace and a very grounding experience. The silence, the stunning visuals and the vast spreads of mountain land soothes your senses. The location of this place is very unique and so difficult to find in the mountains- with undulating hues of valleys sashaying on your front to the stunning Himalayas on your back. The beautiful sunrise and a majestic sunset are just about a small climb apart. The rooms are large and uncluttered, the food is amazing and the people warm and friendly. Its a great place to rejuvenate and reconnect with nature.
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Date of stay: December 2011
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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After a few hours of flying and adventurous bus rides, we arrive in Dunagiri. Acchaa.! When we arrive, we are greeted by a hospitable staff unlike any other. Piyush and the beautiful staff of Dunagiri Retreat provide an experience hard to put into words. Just go to Dunagiri Retreat if you get the chance and experience it for yourself. Piyush's passion saturates Dunagiri Retreat. Let go and experience the heart of India. Its easy to in Dunagiri. Piyush's knowledge and compassion will touch your heart. Surrounded by temples and the beautiful hills, Dunagiri is the perfect place to stay for convenient access to incredible spiritual sites. If going to Dunagiri Retreat is an option, I highly recommend going. Just go. You will be glad you did.
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Date of stay: October 2011
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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i visited dunagiri in June 2010 and like most other people was searching for a place to stay. i came across dunagiri retreat and liked it at first go. Piyush, one of the most humble man i ever met, created the place with a lot of love and care. My stay at Dunagiri retreat was filled with loads of love from piyush's parents and Iem ( one of ladies staying there) and i can never forget the experience. From food to bedding to toilets to service to location to views...everything was perfect !! will visit soon :) -Karan p.s : finally i got time to write a review :)
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Date of stay: June 2011
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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Piyush has created an incredibly spiritual retreat in Dunagiri. His vision to date and into the future has given the universe an amazing treat. He treats the land and surrounding area as one would a beloved friend. Complete with his background, his knowledge of the hills and history and his ability to be a wonderful tour guide, we enjoyed two weeks of bliss. The views, the food, the service and the rooms were 5 star! The great staff became part of our family and we were saddened to leave them. We shall have to return to see Piyush's vision continue to unfold and to check up on our new family. The long trip is worth the priceless experience at Dunagiri Retreat!
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Date of stay: October 2011
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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For eons Dunagiri has been a destination of self realization for seekers, gurus, masters, and sages alike. The divine energies that drew these individuals is no less prevalent in this current age. The proximity to sacred sites and spiritual beings brings the experience to it's climax. Yet what realy made this place sacred for me was how well Piyush has cultivated authenticity by keeping the resort grounded in it's village roots. While the retreat boasts being eco friendly, the food is amazing and the views jaw dropping. It is the integration of the locals and their open loving approach to those who visit that melts and opens your heart. This retreat has shifted my overall perspective to life in a way that will continue to unfold and benefit those around me for the rest of my…
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Date of stay: October 2011
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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