One Earth Retreat | Mulshi | Maharashtra

Visited : March 2021. Stayed for 1 day.

It was exactly a year since the first lockdown was imposed in the country. COVID situation in the state was then a teeny-weeny better and following our decade old tradition of celebrating our birthday in a unique way, we decided to head to One Earth Retreat. It was the perfect place to social distance from people, office and heat 🙂

This was also Jiraiya’s first roadtrip, his first outdoor trip (excluding the vet visits!) in his 3 months of life.

From Mumbai, we took the route via Baner. Although Tamhini ghat route is beautiful the route (except the ghat) is broken and bumpy.

Check the location here.

The smiles of the welcoming staff made us feel right at home. The bohemian-casual chic décor is comforting and looking at the greens inside and outside, right away we understood the close connection the owners have with the earth.

Yes, this place is gift wrapped in the glitter of a successful homestay but inside is a very different story. This is actually a product of hard work done by Mr Hasan (co-owner) to create a sustainable holiday home by containing and utilising rain water in man made dams/embankments. This has resulted in a green space around the farm with private scenic treks, trails, lagoons and waterfalls. Night sky is clear (for star trails!) and wind full off night buzzez making this retreat is every nature lover’s dream.

One Earth is also a popular venue for many interesting activities including self-development retreats, music gigs and community learning workshops.

Food was vegetarian (only) and cooked home style. The chef is a magician no less. He was serving too with lot of love 🙂 . All of them were so SO welcoming towards Jiraiya.

The trees surrounding the farm stay are very wildlife friendly with lots of fruits and flowers. It was a pleasure walking around in the whole property doing birdwatching, spotting unusual flowers and enjoying the vistas.

We stayed in the Serenity room which had a long balcony with lots and lots of ferns and palms (with young Jiraiya around, an avid gardener – it was a continuous marathon for me and Sunny). The amenities in the room were first class and almost luxurious.

The balcony of the room also gives a unique vantage point of the tree canopies as well as the ground below where the birds of the valley can be viewed easily (think, Vigor sunbird peeping into the bathroom while you are in the shower or a partridge calling out early in the morning and you mistakenly think your alarm has gone off!)

Just something to note! The weather was pleasant when we visited. Our room did not have air conditioner (there was a cooler – almost as effective!) and afternoons were very hot. I think monsoon and winters might be ideal if that’s a problem.

For Jiraiya, it was overwhelming. His first outdoor trip, in the forest was a feast for his nose and curiosity tiring him out.

One Earth Retreat – Bookings and cost

One Earth Retreat is a 4 bedroom villa nestled in a planned forest. Guests can book the whole villa by paying for all the rooms or book per room. Best way to book is to whatsap or call on 755-869-6651. If packed with requests, they sometimes might miss Instagram DM queries. Check out their Instagram account for more property photos, amenities and tariff information.

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Update / July2022 – As per their communication over Instagram, they have started charging separately for pets. Irresponsible pet parenting has been stated as the reason.

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