Bhumi Pednekar is officially winning the vacation game. After starting her journey with some soul-searching at the Parmarth Niketan Ashram in Rishikesh, the actress has moved her “reset” mission higher
into the hills of Himachal Pradesh.
Her latest stop is Amaya, a stunningly minimalist eco-resort tucked away near the village of Darwa in Kasauli, a two-hour ride from Chandigarh. If you’re thinking “just another luxury hotel,” think again. This place is as much an architectural statement as it is a holiday spot.
The Amaya Life
What makes Bhumi’s stay so special? For starters, the entire property—designed by the legendary Bijoy Jain of Studio Mumbai—was built entirely by hand. No cement was used in the construction, which makes this the pinnacle of sustainability too. As per the website: Bijoy looked at the villages around Kasauli, studying the materials and techniques employed to make its oldest structures. The idea, he says, was to “take a mountain typology that has existed for time immemorial and bring it up to speed. It’s not a nostalgic representation of the past, but a way of distilling it to fit into the now.” Amaya’s every element, from its dry-stack stone walls to its copper roofing, embodies the spirit of these mountains and people, and yet, it is unlike anything that has been built before.
Set at 4,800 feet amidst 20 acres of terraced forests, the villas truly look like something out of a fairy tale but with a deep-rooted Himalayan soul. It’s a “ryokan-style” experience where ancient craftsmanship meets modern luxury, and the views of the pine forests are, quite frankly, ridiculous.
Bhumi’s Instagram dump, captioned “Moments of pure joy,” gave us a peek into her daily routine. From a “forest-to-table” breakfast featuring granola with pomegranate, fresh fruit bowls, smoothies, to walks amidst wild yellow flowers along stone-paved trails, and catching those legendary Himalayan sunsets by an outdoor pool.
Bhumi was also seen trying her hand at ancient cooking techniques before tucking into some seriously good traditional Himachali cuisine. But beware readers, because living like Bhumi doesn’t come cheap, even if it’s totally worth it. While the resort offers several types of stays, if you want the full “Bhumi experience” in a Private Three-Bedroom Villa, you’re looking at Rs 1,50,000 per night.
