2 weeks ago
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September 22, 2025 — 10:44am
The extraordinary diversity of India means it’s possible to be in some of the most populous metropolises on Earth one day, and pristine wilderness the next.
Such is the life of Jamshyd Sethna, one of India’s luxury travel leading lights. Sethna is based in New Delhi, but has long travelled to the Himalayas to restore and reset.
He has been passionately sharing India with travellers and presenting it in its best light through his private tours company, Banyan Tours, since 1996. In 2006, he also founded Shakti Himalaya, spurred on by his love of the mountains which began during his school days in Darjeeling.
Shakti Himalaya comprises a series of village homes transformed into upmarket stays in remote Himalayan regions.
The Shakti experience combines luxury comforts and special experiences with local culture and life.
In March 2024, Shakti Himalaya’s crowning glory, a lodge called 360 Leti, closed after 16 years when the local government built a road nearby, in Sethna’s view, ruining its magical allure.
He had it removed stone by stone and has now replaced it with the new Shakti Prana which opens in October an hour’s drive south of Leti, in the remote Kumaon region of the north Indian hill state, Uttarakhand.
It offers seven luxury cabins, built with local stone carried by mule trains more than 800 metres up a steep goat path to reach the remote location.
The focuses here are walking, yoga, local culture and food. The latter is prepared by expert guest chefs across two kitchens, designed around regionally authentic cuisine.
Guests are invited to take daily walks on various tracks, to see spectacular sunrises from their beds, enjoy the evenings and stargazing around a fire pit, and to engage with yoga and meditation practices at the property’s yoga pavilion.
There’s also the option to do little but enjoy the views, hospitality and cuisine.
Shakti Prana has also recently opened the new Panchachuli in the Nanda Devi range. It comprises three small cottages and a 150-year-old building converted into a lounge and dining area. Shakti Himalaya promises Panchachuli has some of the most spectacular mountain views to be seen in the Himalayas. It’s under a four- hour, 45 minute drive from Prana. Guests can book five or seven-night packages with nights spread across both properties.
These packages come with high tariffs – about $2000 a night, twin share. But there is a growing market for high-end experiential travel, with those who can afford it seeking to reward themselves with the scarcest of luxuries: time, space and seclusion.
These go hand in hand with the kind of spiritual, cultural, sustainable and community-empowering travel that Shakti Himalaya offers.
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