Seventy-four-year-old Steve Lall sits on his porch every morning with filter coffee and stories — of flying jets for the Indian Air Force in the Northeast, of camping with his dog in Nameri National Park, of dancing with beautiful dames in the late 1960s. His daughter Nandini refused to leave this estate for school in a bigger city and was home-schooled here instead. His son Karthik left corporate law in Delhi to be here. Jilling Estate is the kind of place that does that to people.
There is a two-kilometre walk from the road at Matial village up to Jilling Estate. Steve Lall has kept it this way deliberately. Not because he lacks the means to build a road — but because the walk is the transition, and the transition is the point. The noise and pace of the world below falls away with each step through the oak and rhododendron forest. By the time the first cottage comes into view, the body has already adjusted to a different rhythm. The deliberate inaccessibility of Jilling Estate is not a limitation. It is the policy of someone who understands what he has.
What Steve Lall has is 120 acres of densely forested Kumaon hillside at between 6,000 and 7,200 feet above sea level, with a clear and unobstructed view of Nanda Devi on days when the sky cooperates. He has had it for over half a century — nurtured it, let the forests spread back into areas that were previously cleared, banned pesticides and chemical fertilisers from the soil, watched the wildlife return and stay. Jilling Estate is one of the longest-running family homestays in the Kumaon hills, and it is also one of the best. The two facts are directly related.
Steve Lall and the Lall Family
Steve Lall is the kind of man who collects stories the way other people collect things. He flew jets for the Indian Air Force — a fighter pilot in the northeast, the kind of career that produces a certain confidence in one’s relationship with altitude and difficulty. He rode motorcycles across the country. He camped with his dog in the Nameri National Park in Assam. He danced, by his own account, with very beautiful dames in the late 1960s and 1970s. And then he came to Jilling, and he stayed.
Parvati, his wife, is the steadier half of the partnership — the person whose presence at Jilling Estate has given it the warmth of a home rather than simply the interest of a property.
Their daughter Nandini Lall grew up at Jilling with the kind of attachment to a place that occasionally leads to extraordinary decisions. When the time came to go to school in a bigger city, as her brother eventually did (he now lives in Australia), Nandini refused. She chose to be home-schooled at Jilling instead. It is probably this attachment, her friends note, that has ensured the estate thrived through its most difficult periods. She is now the person who manages the bookings, answers the emails, and keeps Jilling running with the energy of someone whose relationship to this place is not professional but personal.
Karthik, the other family member at Jilling, came from a different direction. He had a corporate law career in Delhi — the kind of career that urban professionals build with considerable effort and then, occasionally, walk away from when they understand what they have traded for it. His Kumaoni-style cheese omelette, flavoured with local spices and served at breakfast, is one of the things guests are told emphatically not to miss. At first bite, the reason he left corporate law becomes entirely comprehensible. The simple joys of Jilling, as guests who have spent time with Karthik consistently observe, are irresistible.
Richard — Richu — completes the family picture that Steve, Parvati, Nandini, and Karthik present to the arriving guest: a household that has made a deliberate choice to be here, to build this particular life in this particular forest, and to open it to a small number of people at a time who understand what they are being offered.
The Estate
Jilling Estate spreads across 120 acres of north-facing hillside in the South Gola range of the Kumaon Himalayas, 300 kilometres from Delhi and 38 kilometres from the railhead at Kathgodam. The height ranges from 6,000 to 7,200 feet, which means the estate catches the full sweep of mountain weather: snow in winter, rhododendron bloom in spring, the extraordinary green of monsoon, the crisp clear days of October and November when the Himalayan peaks emerge with the clarity that only the post-monsoon sky can produce.
The north-facing orientation and the density of the forest ensure abundant spring water year-round. The Lall family grows vegetables, apples, plums, apricots, and chestnuts — shared generously with the estate’s wildlife, which includes jungle cats, mountain deer, wild boar, bear, leopard, and a diversity of Himalayan birds that has brought the Royal Pheasant Society of Great Britain to conduct studies on the endangered Cheer Pheasant. Pesticides and chemical fertilisers are not used. Areas that were previously cleared have been allowed to return to forest. The estate has been consciously rewilded over decades, and the results are visible to any guest who walks the woods with attention.
Over the years, Jilling has not accepted more than four or five couples at a time. This is not a commercial decision. It is a philosophical one: the estate is their home, and the accommodation is dispersed across the 120 acres so that guests can be alone with the forest rather than bumping into each other at breakfast.
The Cottages
There are four cottages, each built well apart from the others and elegantly furnished. The Lall family’s approach to the cottages is consistent with everything else at Jilling: not to compete with the landscape but to provide the comfort that allows guests to be present in it fully.
Cottage 1 is a two-bedroom accommodation with a sitting room and a kitchen — ideal for families or groups who want more space and the ability to self-cater if the mood takes them. Cottage 2 is a cosy log cabin with two bedrooms — the warmest of the four in winter, when the wood crackling in the fireplace provides the kind of comfort that cold Kumaon nights make genuinely necessary. Cottage 3 is the mountain eyrie — a bedroom and living room perched high up with easy access to the woods and the ridge, the most dramatic position on the estate and the one most likely to make guests extend their stay by a day or two simply because leaving requires voluntarily abandoning the view. A fourth cottage rounds out the accommodation, and the adventurous can be accommodated in tents on the ridge.
Each cottage is looked after by a dedicated member of staff — a practice that guests consistently describe as one of the things that most distinguishes Jilling from any other property in the Kumaon hills. Pankaj, who has accompanied guests on treks spotting barking deer and pheasants, has become a specific and warmly mentioned fixture in reviews over the years. Ramesh-ji, who cooks the meals, is described with a simplicity that says everything: outstanding simple meals. Hemu and Bobby — Vivek — are part of the team that makes the experience of being at Jilling the experience of being cared for rather than merely accommodated.
The Food
The meals at Jilling Estate are home-cooked, served at whatever location suits the evening — around a bonfire under the stars in the warmer months, beside a crackling log fire in the room in winter. The food is the food of the Kumaon hills, prepared by people who live in them: pahadi dals, seasonal vegetables from the kitchen garden, mutton prepared in the local style that guests describe with the specific enthusiasm of people who were not expecting this quality and found it anyway.
Karthik’s Kumaoni cheese omelette — made from local cheese, seasoned with local spices, served at breakfast as a statement of what this particular corner of the Himalayas tastes like — is, in the consistent and enthusiastic testimony of guests who have eaten it, a specific reason to come. The plums and pears picked straight from the estate orchard, available in season, arrive at the table with the particular quality of fruit that has not been separated from its tree for longer than it takes to carry it to the kitchen.
Tea and coffee are available at the room throughout the day. The estate’s spring water, mineral and cold, is available at all times from the kitchen.
The Walk to the Ridge
The signature experience of a Jilling Estate stay is the walk to the ridge — through 120 acres of privately held oak and rhododendron forest, up through the different altitude bands of the hillside, to the high point from which the panorama of the Kumaon ranges and the Himalayan peaks, with Nanda Devi dominant, reveals itself with the full force of a landscape that has been building to this moment. The walk takes as long as the guest wants it to take. There is no one else in the forest. The trees are not decorated or signed. The birds — sunbirds, russet sparrows, flycatchers, green-backed tits, hill partridges, magpies, white-crested laughing thrushes, the occasional glimpse of the Cheer Pheasant — are there because the forest is healthy, not because anyone has arranged for them to be.
Camping on the ridge, with a bonfire under the open sky and the peaks visible through the night air, is available for those who want the complete version of this experience.
Beyond the estate, the Lall family arranges trips further north: trekking, fishing, birdwatching, and wildlife viewing in the high altitude areas of the Kumaon. Small groups of eight to fifteen people are taken to the border areas for six to twelve day trekking tours. Motor trips with camping gear, combining historic temples, caves, and scenic locations away from crowded rest houses, are an alternative for those who want a broader Kumaon circuit.
Why It Stays With You
The reviews of Jilling Estate, spanning many years and many guests, return to the same things with a consistency that is not the result of coordinated praise but of people independently encountering the same truth: the views, the birds, the food, Karthik’s cheese omelette, and above all the hosts. Steve on the porch with his coffee and stories. Parvati’s warmth. Nandini, who refused to leave even for school. Karthik, who left everything else to be here.
Jilling Estate works because the family that runs it made the most difficult possible decision about it: to stay. Steve built a life here across more than half a century. His daughter chose home-schooling here over a city education. His son chose Jilling over corporate law. These are not casual commitments. They are the complete investment of lives in a specific piece of forest on a specific ridge in the Kumaon hills. What guests receive — the walk up from Matial, the view of Nanda Devi, Pankaj guiding through the forest, Ramesh-ji’s simple meals, the bonfire under the stars — is the hospitality of people who have given everything to this place, made available to those who find their way to it.
The two-kilometre walk from the road is the beginning of the story. The rest follows from there.
Plan Your Visit
Address: Jilling Estate, P.O. Padampuri, District Nainital, Uttarakhand — 263136 Steve’s mobile: +91 97587 55704 / +91 94123 83348 Nandini’s mobile: +91 97192 77537 Nandini’s email: jillingnandini@yahoo.com Website: jilling.net Booking: Direct via email or phone — advance booking essential (limited capacity)
Family: Steve Lall (former IAF fighter pilot, founder) · Parvati Lall · Nandini Lall (manages bookings and estate) · Karthik Lall (estate management, cooking) · Richard (Richu) Staff: Pankaj (guide and caretaker) · Ramesh-ji (cook) · Hemu and Bobby (Vivek)
Property: 120 acres · 6,000–7,200 feet altitude · Oak and rhododendron forest · North-facing · Nanda Devi views · Spring water throughout · No pesticides or chemical fertilisers
Accommodation: 4 cottages — Cottage 1: 2 bedrooms, sitting room, kitchen — Cottage 2: Log cabin, 2 bedrooms (warmest in winter) — Cottage 3: Mountain eyrie — bedroom and living room, high up with ridge access — Cottage 4: (details via direct enquiry) — Tents: Available for adventurous guests on the ridge
Tariff: ₹4,200 per person per night (adults) · ₹3,500 (children 13–17) · ₹2,400 (children 5–12) · Free (under 5). Inclusive of accommodation, all meals, tea/coffee, and guiding within estate. GST extra.
Meals: Home-cooked Kumaoni food · Karthik’s Kumaoni cheese omelette (breakfast, unmissable) · Ramesh-ji’s pahadi dal and mutton preparations · Bonfire dinners (summer/autumn) · Log fire room meals (winter) · Estate orchard produce in season
Porters and ponies: Porters available at ₹400–500 per one-way trip from Matial · Ponies available at ₹500 per one-way trip
Getting There — The estate is a 2 km walk uphill from Matial village — approximately 45 minutes. This walk is deliberately maintained; no road access to the estate. — Kathgodam Railway Station: approximately 38 km from Matial — around 1.5 hours by road. Regular trains from Delhi Anand Vihar (6–7 hours on Ranikhet Express and other services). — Pantnagar Airport: approximately 65 km — around 2 hours. — From Delhi: approximately 300 km — around 9 hours by road via Moradabad and Haldwani to Kathgodam, then to Matial via Bhimtal. — Route from Kathgodam: Kathgodam → Bhimtal → Matial → 2 km uphill trek to Jilling. — Coordinate exact arrival timing with Nandini before setting out — porters and ponies can be arranged at Matial with advance notice.
Nearby (from the estate) — Matial village: 2 km (road head) · Bhimtal: 20 km · Nainital: 30 km · Kathgodam: 38 km · High altitude trekking areas (arranged by Steve): various
Best Time to Visit: October to November for the clearest Himalayan views — Nanda Devi most visible, crisp air, the estate at its most photogenic · December to February for snow at the estate and the mountain views in their sharpest winter clarity · March to May for rhododendron bloom and spring birding · September to October (autumn) for post-monsoon freshness · Monsoon (June–August) for the forest at its most lush and the spring water at its most generous — but the walk up can be slippery · Winter visits require warm clothing; the estate has snow and temperatures drop significantly
