Jilling happened by chance for us and despite knowing that this place can be reached only by foot or pony from the main road; little did I expect the climb which confronted me when I reached there. The estate is about 2 kms from the main road; about 40 minutes to an hour by foot. It’s a pretty steep climb on cobbled roads. But once you reach there its complete heaven. They have about 4-5 single and double bed cottages across their estate with cooking facilities in only 2 of these cottages. Nandini welcomed us with fresh nimbu-paani and then we were escorted to our cottage across the woods. The food comes from the Lall’s own house for all the guests and is cooked by Mrs. Lall herself with help from a few villagers. 
There is actually no facility to have hot water for bathing there, so water is heated on chestnut wood fire early morning in large containers and it’s interesting to have a bath in chestnut smoked water. 
The Lall’s are extremely friendly and warm hosts and they make you feel completely at home. They took us out for a forest safari with Mrs. Lall herself taking the gun to scare animals away. Nandini took us around to show animal marks all over the forest and also taught us how to understand an animal’s diet through his poo. 
Like all of Uttaranchal, Jilling is best visited between April - June and in the September/October months. It’s not for first time visitors to the Nainital, Bhimtal area, who intend to stay here and visit various places through the day as the climb back to the estate at the end of the day can be tiring. Jilling is for people trying to run away from the hustle-bustle of city life; who would like to wake up early morning to sunshine and snow covered peaks. It’s for people who like to enjoy nature and are willing to go back to the basics like heating water on wood and walking through quiet jungles in search for nothing.
We spent 5 days in Jilling and they went by very quickly. Some people who go to Jilling during Christmas claim that it looks beautiful as snow covers everything there. We visited them in autumn and the place looked beautiful with tall green grass and colorful flowers.
Some of the things you should do if you ever go there is watch Mrs. Lall get fresh milk from their own cows; have a bonfire in the jungle in the night; go for an animal safari where the villagers will do the ‘beat’ to push all the animals in one corner of the jungle for awesome animal viewing and of course visit the villages. One of the villages is situated next to the river flowing nearby and though it’s quite a walk from the estate, it’s worth the effort.
Steve also helps people set-up excursions to other mountain peaks nearby, various tourist attractions, fishing activities and temple visits.
Home cooked food, a walk through the woods, gentle breeze, snow covered mountain peaks glistening in the morning sun, trip down to the local village, dangerous cliffs, jungle safari – that’s what forms a part of Jilling.
The Lall’s are extremely friendly and warm hosts and they make you feel completely at home. They took us out for a forest safari with Mrs. Lall herself taking the gun to scare animals away. Nandini took us around to show animal marks all over the forest and also taught us how to understand an animal’s diet through his poo. Like all of Uttaranchal, Jilling is best visited between April - June and in the September/October months. It’s not for first time visitors to the Nainital, Bhimtal area, who intend to stay here and visit various places through the day as the climb back to the estate at the end of the day can be tiring. Jilling is for people trying to run away from the hustle-bustle of city life; who would like to wake up early morning to sunshine and snow covered peaks. It’s for people who like to enjoy nature and are willing to go back to the basics like heating water on wood and walking through quiet jungles in search for nothing.
We spent 5 days in Jilling and they went by very quickly. Some people who go to Jilling during Christmas claim that it looks beautiful as snow covers everything there. We visited them in autumn and the place looked beautiful with tall green grass and colorful flowers.
Some of the things you should do if you ever go there is watch Mrs. Lall get fresh milk from their own cows; have a bonfire in the jungle in the night; go for an animal safari where the villagers will do the ‘beat’ to push all the animals in one corner of the jungle for awesome animal viewing and of course visit the villages. One of the villages is situated next to the river flowing nearby and though it’s quite a walk from the estate, it’s worth the effort.
Steve also helps people set-up excursions to other mountain peaks nearby, various tourist attractions, fishing activities and temple visits.Home cooked food, a walk through the woods, gentle breeze, snow covered mountain peaks glistening in the morning sun, trip down to the local village, dangerous cliffs, jungle safari – that’s what forms a part of Jilling.
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