Kumaon's quiet hill towns: Kausani, Chaukori and Binsar

Every April the big hill stations fill up. Nainital's lake road, Mussoorie's Mall and Manali's approach roads see traffic jams long before the school holidays begin. Kumaon, in eastern Uttarakhand, has quieter options, and three towns work well in combination: Kausani, Chaukori and Binsar.

Kausani, in Bageshwar district, is known for its long view of the Himalayan snow peaks and for its tea gardens. Two places give it a human story. The Anasakti Ashram is associated with Mahatma Gandhi's stay in the area in 1929, when he wrote on the Gita. And the town is the birthplace of the Hindi poet Sumitranandan Pant, whose childhood home is preserved as a museum. These are small, quiet sites, best seen at an unhurried pace.

Chaukori, in Pithoragarh district, sits at about 2,010 m and is regarded as a quieter alternative, with long views at sunrise and sunset. Local guides recommend March to June and September to November as the best months. It is a place for walking among pines, rhododendron and orchards, not for ticking off sights.

Binsar, near Almora, is a wildlife sanctuary rather than a town: oak and rhododendron forest, a viewpoint from which the high Himalayan range can be seen on clear days, and a few forest-department and private stays. Entry rules and fees are set by the Uttarakhand Forest Department; confirm them before travelling.

April is a good month for the Kumaon hills, with rhododendron flowers (called burans locally, and Uttarakhand's state tree) in bloom at middle altitudes. Weather is changeable, and haze can hide the snow peaks by the afternoon; plan early-morning viewpoints. The roads are winding and the distances look short on a map but are slow on the ground, so allow generous time between towns.

How to go well: choose homestays and small locally-run guesthouses, which are plentiful in all three places; carry your waste out with you; and avoid hiring noisy vehicles for viewpoints that are within walking distance. The mountains of Kumaon are living landscapes, with terraced villages above the roads, and a polite greeting goes a long way.