Shakti Himalaya

In the early 2000s, founder Jamshyd Sethna joined a friend on a trek through the Kumaon hills. The village houses were falling down and the food was dismal. But the mountains, he said afterwards, were celestial. He turned the route into one of India's first village-walk holidays, then built 360° Leti, an utterly unique collection of four award-winning luxury cabins with wood-burning stoves, brass-fitted bathrooms and Burma teak furniture. All four lodges are built sustainably from natural materials and by local people, and obviously make the most of the sweeping views over the snowcapped peaks beyond. Solar panels run the lodge, and kitchen scraps feed livestock. Staff are hired from villages nearby, so people can work without having to leave home. Choose to hide away here to decompress from modern life, cosy up with a book from the library or take a guided meditation class, or combine it with the four to five day Kumaon Village Walk, a hiking trail and community homestay in the remote Kumaon region.