The global fashion magazine May 5, 2024
The factory has a new café and tea-tasting room.
VOLANTE Stanley Moss heads to Himachal Pradesh by the western Himalayas for a unique, local experience at the Wah Tea Estate
Photographed by the author and by Satya Bhushan Sharma
Satya Bhushan Sharma
Stanley Moss
Above, from top: An embarrassment of choice in the tea boutique. New terrace seating. Your rustic table overlooks acres of rolling tea fields.
Himachal Pradesh, a northern Indian state tucked in against the scenic western Himalayas bordering Tibet, isn’t widely known to the everyday tourist. Yet the location is convenient to Chandigarh, Amritsar, Dehradun and Shimla, not to mention Dharamshala, where the Dalai Lama resides. Himachal Pradesh’s strong Tibetan presence is reflected in its Buddhist temples and monasteries, as well as for ornate Tibetan New Year pageantry. It’s set among scenic gorges, thickly forested valleys, among quaint mountain towns, broad lakes, with terraced fields, and plentiful streams. Indians go there to trek, climb, ski. It also borders Pakistan, where you can witness a fascinating daily ceremony which occurs at the international border gate, where both sides compete in military marching, rousing music and colourful uniforms.
The Wah Tea Estate was established by the British in 1857. The estate remains the largest working tea plantation in the Palampur and Kangra area, spread across 526 acres at 4,000 ft elevation. The Lodge at Wah, set within the plantation, is family-operated, a 100 per cent eco-friendly home stay. This year the Estate opened a new café and tea-tasting room in their tea factory. You will find a visit an outstanding experience in every way.
Your very comfortable room night at the Lodge includes breakfast and dinner, a guided tour of the factory and a tea tasting session. The all-organic, all-vegetarian bill of fare served is varied and delicious, rich with local flavours. You have access to a comfortable outdoor patio where—weather permitting—evening campfires blaze. Excellent value, super location, beautiful vistas, peace and quiet, great food—not the commodified experience by a long shot. •
Stanley Moss is travel editor of Lucire.
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