Binsar

Perched high atop the Jhandi Dhar ridge at an elevation of 2,420 metres (7,940 feet) in the Almora district of Kumaon, Binsar is one of Uttarakhand’s most pristine, ecologically vital, and awe-inspiring wildlife sanctuaries. Covering 47 square kilometers of dense, ancient oak, rhododendron, deodar, and chir pine forests, Binsar served as the summer capital of the royal Chand kings of Kumaon between the 11th and 18th centuries.

The supreme crowning glory of Binsar is Zero Point, a dramatic vantage point reached via a gentle 2 km forest walk from the roadhead. From here, travelers are treated to an unmatched, spellbinding 300-kilometer panoramic arc of the Greater Himalayas. Standing at Zero Point on a crisp morning reveals Kedarnath, Chaukhamba, Trishul, Nanda Devi (India’s second-highest summit at 7,816m), Nanda Kot, and the five sentinel peaks of Panchachuli glowing in brilliant white and gold across the northern horizon.

Declared a wildlife sanctuary in 1988 to protect its fragile broadleaf oak ecosystem, Binsar is a sanctuary in the truest sense. Its silent, moss-draped forests provide safe haven to elusive Himalayan leopards, barking deer (kakkar), mountain serows, wild boars, red foxes, flying squirrels, and Himalayan black bears.

For ornithologists and bird lovers, Binsar is nothing short of paradise. Recognized as an Important Bird Area (IBA) by BirdLife International, the sanctuary hosts over 200 species of birds, including the brilliant Himalayan monal, koklass pheasant, red-billed blue magpie, cheer pheasant, rufous-bellied woodpecker, verditer flycatcher, and majestic eagles soaring on mountain updrafts.

Deep within the forest stands the historic Binsar Mahadev Temple, constructed in the 10th century by the Chand king Kalyan Chand, along with colonial-era forest estates like Mary Budden Estate and Grand Oak Manor (formerly the residence of Sir Henry Ramsay, the legendary British Commissioner of Kumaon). Luminaries from Swami Vivekananda to Jawaharlal Nehru sought solace in these quiet woods.

With no commercial noisy markets, no television culture, and strict environmental conservation that closes entry gates at sunset, Binsar offers the rare, precious gift of profound natural silence — broken only by the musical song of mountain thrushes, the rustle of deodar pine needles, and the whispering winds of the high Himalayas.