Who We Are

  • The Setting

    Set amidst breathtaking surroundings and home to a wide variety of birds, mammals, and other wildlife, Vanghat is aesthetically designed to perfectly align with nature. The lodge is composed of 9 cottages, 4 mud and thatched cottages, and 5 stone cottages. Each one is dedicated to a different group of wildlife, named and painted accordingly to give them unique identities. The mud cottages serve as natural air-conditioners, and the stone cottages are artistically made by local experts and set at a height that allows watching birds from your balcony.

    Read More
  • The Setting

    We have planted primarily native fruit trees and flowering plants to attract more birds and butterflies. Native grass species are cultivated that function as a carbon sponge and to provide good food for herbivorous mammals and birds. When harvested, the grasses are also used to renew the thatch roofs of our cottages.

     
     
     
     
     
     

Our Vision

The name Vanghat is made of 2 Hindi words: ‘van’ (jungle) and ‘ghat’ (valley), and the name describes the surroundings very well. To keep this area in its natural form and protected from ‘development disease,’ the lodge was created in 2006 with the aim of inviting nature lovers, wildlife enthusiasts, conservationists, and sustainable-life practitioners.

Our Story

Modest, traditional, and in many ways ahead of its time, in true Corbett fashion.

Today returned to wilderness, Vanghat was once the site of a thriving village. Its history dates back to the turn of the twentieth century when early settlers were brought in by the British for employment in the timber industry, evidence of which can still be seen up-valley above Marchula. Thankfully, the forest from Vanghat and beyond for around 60km to Kalagarh fell under strict protection even then as it was the grounds for the Viceroy and Governor General of India's grand annual hunt.

By this time however, the settlement, once a typical small Brahmin village whose inhabitants largely depended on agriculture and forest produce, fertile land, and proximity to the Ramganga River, had been largely abandoned due to monsoon flooding, with its youth moving to more promising urban prospects.

Initial efforts to regenerate the river were rapid and remarkable. By setting up a scheme that shared revenue from game fishing with the local communities thus making it in everyone's interest to protect the river, within a year our stretch of the Ramganga boasted some of the finest Mahseer fishing beats anywhere. Concentrated efforts were also made to restore the land and the wildlife returned. With every year of growth that passes, it becomes ever more indistinguishable from the tiger reserve that surrounds us.

Today Vanghat stands humbly at the forefront of sustainable tourism within the subcontinent, one of few lodges enthusiastically welcoming the Government of India's strict guidelines for ecotourism enacted to curb rampant tiger tourism which, as Sumantha had foreseen, has proved untenable. Of course there is still work to be done and we will continue to strive to make our operation as environment friendly and socially responsible whilst providing our guests with an unparalleled time in the Indian wilderness.

WhatsApp chat