The daily grind of city life is quite exhausting with a little bit of boredom too. That is what leads these city people to leave their homes and seek adventures now and then. If one really thinks about it, there is hardly any person from the rural parts of the country seeking adventure as the city folk does. Every city dweller in the country wishes to get out of this mess and settle in the woods for a few days at least, areas where they have fresh water to drink, fresh air to breathe, paths to trek and above all, what a city dweller needs ~ privacy, where no one can disturb with new day-to-day problems. This term, privacy, has been gaining weight and value on a daily basis and now everyone demands their own space wherein they can indulge in their own activities. And this concept has led to a shift in trend, a shift from the hotels to an old concept of home-stays.
Unlike hotels, homestays provide a much more indulging and interactive platform. These homestays give a platform wherein one could live with the community as part of the community. One gets a chance to be part of their culture and customs and spend time as one of them. And these are the things which people want from their vacations and that is what led me to have a first-hand experience of all these things in the land of Mukteshwar.
To the hills!
The hills of Mukteshwar were very much unknown to me until recently when I got to visit this heavenly place to know and write about the home-stay projects being run out here. For starters this place lies in the district of Nainital in Uttrakhand and is around 331 km from the Capital, making it an ideal place for the people in Delhi. Being about 2,200 meters above sea level, it promises to provide a breathtaking experience of the beauty of the mountains. Mukteshwar is also known for its beautiful clear sky both during the day and night. It is quite famous among the sky gazers and is host to Asia’s biggest telescope.
Village resort
My journey there was to a resort called Parwada Bungalows in the village of Parwada.
Parwada, a small village near Mukteshwar, is quite a beautiful place in its own rights as it provides you with a lifestyle, which is worth experiencing. It is an ideal place to visit and enjoy the rural essence of the hills. Parwada Bungalows provide the best in class services in terms of accommodation and hospitality. It is a resort with no more than 14 beds. It includes two independent cottages ~ Oak and Pine cottages ~ which can accommodate up to two people each, and a Wild Fig Villa, which has three different suites, all accommodating up to four people each.
The food served here is great and the way the staff treats the guests is quite commendable. All the employees in the resort are people from the village itself, so get ready to be served with local delights on your plate. I recommend you to sneak out to this place if you consider a chilled relaxed place to spend your vacations.
But that is not all that Parwada Bungalows does for you. The resort owners have taken upon themselves to help out the villagers by upgrading their skills. With the help of an NGO called Aarohi, they train the locals about the concept of homestay and help them to start their own venture in this industry. The people of the village are trained in terms of hospitality and communication and also a few managerial skills, like how to arrange for a guest’s needs like taxis and sightseeing. They also have helped out the villagers from all the legal hurdles. Attending one of these training sessions, I came to know about how happy and delighted the people are about their future after Parwada Bungalows came along to help them out. If one gets a chance to visit Mukteshwar then one will have plenty of options in terms of home stays. Whether you choose Parwada Bungalows or you prefer to stay with the villagers in their homes, they are quite happy to welcome you and provide you with best in class hospitality, which is no less than any of the star hotels in the cities.