Featured coverage
Six Himalayan stays worth the drive from Shimla
“The most interesting thing about Usshmaa is what it declines to sell — no five-day cures, no theatre, and a kitchen that treats vegetarian food as the point rather than the constraint.”
In the press
Press releases
Usshmaa opens the 21-night Habit Reset to public booking
The estate's longest programme, built around sleep, dinner hour and light exposure, with clinical follow-up at three and six months.
Estate reaches 100% rainwater harvesting across both roofs
Three collection tanks now cover the retreat's non-potable demand through the dry months, with no groundwater drawn in an average year.
Eighth organic harvest confirms yield ceiling and price premium
Yield has settled fifteen per cent below the conventional baseline; direct-sale pricing closed the gap and then some.
Tree adoption funds the village school's solar array
Three hundred and forty adopted trees paid for lights and computers that survive the winter outages.
Dr. Latika Rao appointed resident vaidya
Jamnagar-trained, in practice since 2004, now leading the Ayurvedic programme and every guest consultation.
Orchard receives NPOP organic certification
Certification confirms three years of transition across all four acres and the kitchen garden.
Usshmaa Wellness Retreat opens at Shilon Bagh with 42 keys
A 42-key wellness retreat on four acres of organic apple orchard, 40 minutes from Shimla, opens to guests.
Media kit & downloads
Cleared for editorial use with the credit line Usshmaa Wellness Retreat, Shilon Bagh. Photography by the estate unless a photographer is named in the file metadata.
High-resolution imagery
Broadcast footage
Newsroom
Habit Reset opens for winter dates
The 21-night programme now runs through February, with fewer places per cohort so consultations stay unhurried.
Rainwater harvesting at full coverage
Both roofs now feed the collection tanks — tanker draw down to zero in an average year.
Village school gets its solar array
Funded from the tree-adoption programme; the school now runs lights and computers through the winter outages.
Kinnaur red-rice growers on direct supply
Four farming families now supply the kitchen directly at pre-agreed prices, contracted a season ahead.
Who to speak to
Devi Ram Thakur
Has pruned these rows for thirty-one years. Knows every tree by its habit, not its number.
Anika Rathore
Runs every wedding and offsite on the estate, handles press and site visits, and lives four hundred metres down the road.
Awards & recognition
We opened in 2022, so this page is still short and will stay honest. Listed below is what has actually been awarded, what is under assessment, and every certification with its validity date.
Emerging Wellness Retreat of the Year
Awarded September 2026 for the wellness programme, four years after opening. Certificate available on request.
Travellers' Choice
Awarded on a 4.8 average across 214 reviews.
Responsible Tourism Certification
Audit filed August 2026 covering energy, water, waste and local employment. Outcome expected mid-2027.
Green Hotel Certification
Application lodged for the rainwater, solar-thermal and waste-segregation systems already in operation.
Licences & certifications
What guests score us
Pulled from each platform's public rating; we do not solicit reviews in exchange for anything.
Milestones
- Sep 2021 Structural work completes on both blocks and the pavilion.
- Apr 2022 Opens to guests with 42 keys on four acres of organic orchard.
- Sep 2022 NPOP organic certification confirmed across all four acres.
- Apr 2025 Dr. Latika Rao joins as resident vaidya; therapy protocols rewritten.
- Oct 2025 Tree adoption funds the village school's solar array.
- Jul 2026 Rainwater harvesting reaches full coverage of non-potable demand.
- Aug 2026 5,000th guest; 1,500 trees planted, 340 of them adopted.
Partners & affiliations
Kinnaur red-rice growers
Direct purchase at prices agreed a season ahead, no intermediary.
Shilon Bagh village council
Local employment commitment and the school's solar array.
Jamnagar-trained practitioner network
Peer review of therapy protocols and contraindication policy.
HP Horticulture Department
Organic transition trials on two blocks of the orchard.
Himalayan Bird Foundation
Quarterly counts on the estate; the trail avoids two nesting sites.
Indian Association of Tour Operators
Member property for inbound wellness travel.
Recognition gallery
Come and see it
We host accredited media on the estate through the year — including harvest fortnight in September and the first snow in January. No conditions on what you write.
