About Us
The Dolina Retreat
Meet The Host
Capt. Vikrant Singh Lohan
I have retired from the Merchant Navy after traveling around the world for 30 years as a Master Mariner. Having seen almost all the beautiful places on earth, I decided to anchor myself in between Dehradun and Mussoorie. I found the Dolina in 2006. It took me 10 years to slowly develop this mountain valley ensuring that we disturbed no living creature on the mountain and at the same time maintain the ecological balance of nature at this remote location. Like in all mountain dwellings, water is the most essential commodity. We are lucky to have and supply only natural spring water to all our residents. I am very passionate about this property and want to have minimum carbon foot prints as nature has no pollutants. ...In my 10 years of developing Dolina Retreat, nature showed me so many things that I felt it should be shared with all nature lovers, and so I started a homestay here. I interacted with the locals and villages nearby, the shepherds who come down from the high altitudes for grazing their flocks of sheep and goats during the winters. I learnt a lot of local knowledge and history about the area. I trekked all around the mountain upto 3 kilometres on all sides of the Dolina and realised the abundance of wildlife, some resident and some migratory on the mountain. I hope that we can continue to live in harmony with all creatures great and small at Dolina Retreat.
A Secret Paradise:The Story of Dolina Retreat
Come, get lost at The Dolina only to find yourself. This is my invitation to you to come to a secret paradise, hidden deep in a bowl in a mountain locally called khaddar and geographically known as a Dolina within the first range of Himalayan mountains. Located at 6000 feet above sea level, this paradise is surrounded by a few hundred acres of oak and rhododendron trees, forests so deep and silent where wild beasts reign supreme. You enter a venerable old walnut orchard, so well concealed that you feel you have entered a special private world. Allow yourself to be enveloped by a world of silence and peace, where all your stress and worries drop away, like the leaves from a tree. Now you are in an eco- system where the purity and beauty of the wilderness is simply stunning. Tune into the myriad sounds of nature- the singing of crickets, the chirping of Himalayan birds and the rare sighting of The Himalayan Griffin only seen in this paradise.
Come de-stress, relax and rejuvenate yourself in this paradise. Indulge in some forest bathing, which is totally reviving for the mind, body and spirit. For the more adventurous folks we have nature trails, wild life spotting, bird watching from a tree-house, picnics and treks to remote waterfalls with natural pools. Take a village walk and visit the temples nearby, the Naag Mandir and the Bhadraj Mandir.
In summer, enjoy the cool breeze high up here and watch the forest come alive after the cold winter spell. In winter, share the campsites with the shepherds who graze their wild goats and sheep in the forests around Dolina. These shepherds have come all the way from Himachal Pradesh and you have an opportunity to see their hand made woolen and sheep skin products, try their food, talk to them and watch how their Himalayan mastiffs protect and direct the herd of a few thousand sheep. Enjoy the snowfall in February and keep warm around a bonfire and enjoy a barbeque. You can live in style at The Dolina Retreat. The rooms are well heated and insulated against the coldest of days. Feast on traditional Garhwali meals, cooked with local produce grown in the organic garden and nearby villages. We offer only natural spring water for drinking and bathing.
The Dolina is 800 feet above the new Mussoorie by pass road, just 15 km from Mussoorie, 24 km from Dehradun city and 280 km from Delhi. In just 5 hours, you can be transported from the stress of New Delhi to the peace of Dolina.