Chail, Himachal12 – 15 November 2026
The week after Diwali
इस दिवाली कहीं घूमकर ठहरकर आते हैं
This Diwali, find your inner light.
Not Diwali night itself. The four days after it, when the mountains light their own.
The shape of it
One resort, three nights, and nobody else in it
Keep Diwali at home exactly as you always do, with your own people. This journey begins afterwards, on the 12th of November, once the festival in the plains is finished.
Up here it has not started. These valleys hold their Diwali later, and keep it the old way — a rope of grass lit end to end instead of crackers.
Ekant Retreat Resort is booked privately for the four days. No other guests, no reception queue, no strangers at breakfast.
Day oneReach in time for lunch, settle in, and high tea as the light goes. A Himachali folk night after dark.
Day twoA slow morning and games everyone can play. Chail Palace and the Stone Kumbh Shiva Temple after lunch. As the evening comes on, the mountain Diwali begins.
Day threeMorning yoga or a nature hike through the deodar forest. An optional kiwi orchard or polyhouse flower tour. Sunset at Kali ka Tibba, and after dark, a singer who comes for our group alone.
Day fourA long breakfast, everyone in one photograph, and the drive down.
Day one · Thursday 12 November
The valley comes up to the resort
The drive from Chandigarh takes three and a half to four hours. The plains flatten out behind you, the road begins to climb, and somewhere past Kandaghat the pines close over it. You leave Chandigarh at three hundred metres and reach Chail at two thousand two hundred and fifty.
Reach in time for lunch. The afternoon is yours, and a little rest before the evening is a good idea.
The drive upYour vehicle meets you at Chandigarh and stays with you all four days. At the gate you are met by name and taken straight to your room.
Lunch, then nothingLunch from noon. Nothing is asked of you after it — the afternoon is for taking in the first feel of the mountains from your own balcony.
High tea at fiveTea and something hot to eat as the light comes off the ranges. The best hour of the day here, and a short one.
The folk nightFrom seven, dancers and musicians from the valley itself. Hot snacks come to your seat. Dinner at nine.
The first evening
Dancers, beats, and nobody in a hurry
A full Himachali folk troupe comes up from these valleys and plays what it plays for itself. Several different dances and tunes, in their own order, with nothing shortened for visitors.
A night to watch and to listen. Nobody is pulled into a circle. For most people it is the first evening in months where nothing is asked of them.
Where it happensIn the garden, with the resort lit behind and the troupe close enough that you hear every drum.
What comes roundHot drinks and hot snacks, brought to your seat so nobody has to leave it.
Day two · Friday 13 November
The Diwali these valleys keep
Tea and coffee from half past six for anyone up with the light. Breakfast runs until half past ten. You are here to relax, so nobody is woken for it.
An optional tour, chargeableA jeep safari through the Chail Wildlife Sanctuary, early in the morning. Tell us if you would like it after you book, and before you come.
Family games, late morningPut together for mixed ages and played in teams, so nobody is singled out and the grandparents stand a fair chance.
Chail Palace and the Stone Kumbh Shiva TempleOut after lunch in your own vehicle. The palace a Maharaja of Patiala built up here when Shimla was closed to him, or so the story goes. Then the Stone Kumbh Shiva temple, which one man has been carving by hand for close to forty years after Shiva came to him in a dream. He is still at it.
The second evening
The night we light it ourselves
This is the evening the journey is built around. Come dressed for Diwali — all of us, in what we would wear at home for it.
The rope of grassA rope of munji grass, twisted and lit end to end, which is how these mountains have always kept Diwali. Done before dark while there is still colour in the sky, and the light comes from your own hands.
Everyone in their bestThe one night of the four when the whole group is together, in full Diwali colour.
After the lightingLight-hearted games made for mixed ages, antakshari, karaoke, and a projector screen under the open sky.
No closing hourDinner at half past eight, and the evening runs as late as the group wants it to.
Day three · Saturday 14 November
A temple at sunset, one voice after dark
There is a lot in the last full day, and none of it is compulsory — the forest at first light, an orchard if you want one, a temple on the highest ridge, and a voice that closes the journey.
First light, if you want itMorning yoga on the lawn, or a nature hike through the deodar forest. Nothing strenuous, nothing compulsory.
An optional tour, chargeableA kiwi orchard where the fruit comes off the branch in your hand, or the polyhouse where the valley grows its flowers. Tell us which you would like after you book, and before you come.
Kali ka Tibba at sunsetThe temple to Kali on the highest ridge around Chail, deodar the whole way up. On a clear evening you can see as far as Shimla while the sun goes down behind the ranges. Carry a shawl or a jacket.
The last nightFrom seven, a singer from the valley, arranged for our group alone, for the whole evening. Dinner at quarter past nine.
The third evening
One voice, and things worth saying out loud
One singer from the valley, one guitar, and an evening in no hurry. Some of the songs you will already know, and some you will be hearing for the first time — played close enough that you hear the whole room come in on the chorus.
Later it turns into a gratitude circle — everyone in one circle, and whoever feels like it says a few words about the three days, or about the people they came with. Nobody is forced to speak and nobody is called on by name — but what does get said is usually the kind of thing a city evening never leaves room for.
Day four · Sunday 15 November
Nobody is in a hurry to leave
Luggage comes down before breakfast so no family has to rush. Everything after that is slow, and meant to be.
A long breakfastOpen until half past ten, and most of it spent sitting rather than eating.
Everyone in one photographTaken on the lawn before the cars are loaded.
The drive downYour own vehicle again, leaving at the time you fixed the night before.
Your flightChandigarh is three and a half to four hours away. We suggest nothing out of there before four in the afternoon, so that nobody has to cut breakfast short. If yours is earlier, your vehicle is ready whenever you need to leave.
In pictures
Where the four days happen
What is included
From Chandigarh to Chandigarh, nothing else to pay
The whole resortThree nights at Ekant Retreat Resort, booked privately. Every room with a balcony over the valley.
Every meal, every dayEarly tea, breakfast, lunch, high tea, evening snacks and dinner, all four days. Vegetarian throughout.
Your own vehicleChandigarh to Chail and back, one vehicle per four guests with a driver, kept with you throughout.
All three eveningsThe Himachali folk night, the Diwali celebration, and the singer who comes for our group alone.
Everything we do togetherChail Palace, the Stone Kumbh Shiva Temple, and the drive up to Kali ka Tibba for sunset.
Photographs and filmA photographer and a videographer with us for three days. Nothing is staged and nobody has to pose — the pictures and the film reach you afterwards.
Your mornings, if you want themYoga or a nature hike through the deodar, arranged for you if you tell us before you come.
Before you come
A few things worth knowing in advance
Reach in time for lunchYou can travel when you like, but the first day is far better if you leave Chandigarh by ten in the morning and are in by early afternoon.
Bring proper winter clothingDays are bright and around eighteen to twenty degrees. Nights usually fall to four or five degrees, and every evening is outdoors.
The kitchen is vegetarianAll four days, and no alcohol is served by Aaroh. A festival you can bring your parents and your children to.
If the weather turnsA warm indoor hall is kept ready for all three evenings. Nothing here gets cancelled for rain.
The optional toursThe jeep safari on the second morning, and the kiwi orchard tour and the polyhouse flower tour on the third, are optional and chargeable. Tell us which you would like after you book, and we will have it ready. Everything else here is included.
What it costs
The price, and how the rooms work
An adult, sharing a room₹39,999 per person up to 30 September 2026, and ₹45,999 after that.
A room to yourselfAdd ₹15,000 to whichever per-person price applies — ₹54,999 up to 30 September 2026, and ₹60,999 after that.
A third adult in the same room, on an extra bed₹29,999.
ChildrenUnder 2, no charge. Two to six, ₹6,000. Seven to eleven, ₹15,000. Twelve and above pay the full adult price, or ₹29,999 on an extra bed in their parents’ room.
Every price above includes GSTNothing is added later.
What the price does not coverFlights to and from Chandigarh, the optional tours, and anything personal. Everything else on this page is included.
RoomsTwin sharing is the standard. A third adult may share the same room on an extra bed, subject to availability — Ekant has a limited number of roll-away beds, and beyond those an extra bed means a mattress on the floor. A family of three taking two rooms is charged as two adults and one single occupancy.
Room allotmentRooms are allotted by us, weighing every family’s comfort against the others. Room changes cannot be requested, and the allotment is final and at Aaroh’s discretion.
The terms
Paying, cancelling, and everything else
PayingThirty per cent of the total confirms your place. The balance is due by 18 October 2026. Bookings made on or after 19 October 2026 are paid in full at booking, and are non-refundable. Payment is made to Aaroh Escapes’ own account, and the invoice is issued by Aaroh Escapes.
If you have to cancelThe thirty per cent advance is not refundable at any stage. From 19 October 2026 the full amount becomes non-refundable, because by then the whole resort has been paid for on your behalf.
If we have to cancelIn the unlikely event that Aaroh has to call the journey off, every rupee you have paid is returned in full, the advance included, within seven working days.
AlcoholNo alcohol is served by Aaroh. What a guest chooses to bring is their own. Should it lead to any negligence or disturbance, Aaroh reserves full discretion to take whatever steps are necessary, keeping the experience, comfort and safety of every other guest first.
PhotographsIf you would rather not be photographed or filmed, tell us and we will keep you out of it.
जुगनू
Jugnu
इस दिवाली कहीं घूमकर ठहरकर आते हैं
Chail, Himachal12 – 15 November 2026
Ekant Retreat Resort, booked privately. Three evenings, and four days that belong only to us.
Rooms are held in the order they are confirmed. Message us to hold yours.
+91 97270 27061enquiry@aarohescapes.comaarohescapes.comaarohescapes
