Tag: soultravel

Experiential Himalayan Farm Stays in India – PaliGhar

Origin

The ideals of community service and a deep-seated regard for family tradition stirred early in the mind of this young boy, while still at school. It was no big surprise that the need to safeguard and promote local heritage came embedded in his DNA as we trace a lineage back to an erstwhile ancestor bestowed with the illustrious title of ‘Rai Sahib’ by the British Government back in 1941 for his generosity during dire times.

What was a searing spark gradually bloomed into a flickering flame as Kabir traversed remote regions and lesser known cities across the country through 2007 while in the employ of a reputed travel company.  What struck him most during his travels was a stark realisation that the appeal rested in the fact that the local cultures were always given precedence to. These rural areas held on to their ethnic traditions in every facet of their daily lives giving the overall authentic character to the place itself.

That summer, Kabir returned to his hometown, Kalimpong a little wiser.

PaliGhar was thus borne out of an inherent need to preserve a family’s history, pay respect to the rich cultural flavours of their Nepali heritage while aiming to promote rural livelihood, protect local wildlife & provide education for the less privileged. With acres of ancestral lands to work with, the PaliGhar venture officially commenced in October 2015 and by January 2017 they opened their gates with a flourish.

Location

Approximately 3 hours of uphill drive from Bagdogra Airport along typical winding narrow roads will bring you to the hill-town of Kalimpong in the Eastern Himalayan foothills of West Bengal. Once a critical part of the famous ’Silk Route’, Kalimpong is now another bustling town perched on a ridge above the river Teesta. If you push just a little further and brave an additional 30 mins drive beyond main Kalimpong town you will notice the terrain blending into verdant terraced paddy fields surrounded by dark blue hills. Gradually the fields open into a village called ‘Echhey’ – a panoramic open countryside stuck in time.

PaliGhar – An Experiential Farmstay beautifully merges into the picturesque backdrop, awaiting with its bounty of natural offerings from this side of the Himalayas.

Hawa Ghar overlooking the cottage at PaliGhar

 

About

A holistic experience in its purest form, PaliGhar offers a buffet of experiential travelling like no other with its range of authentic farm-life activities, quaint trekking trails along the Relli River and remote villages. Amusing sights & sounds greet you at every nook and corner with friendly villagers eager to share a cup of tea or a familiar tale.

Set against the scenic backdrop of a rural Himalayan countryside, this place celebrates local craftsmanship and the abundance of unique horticulture and floriculture found only in these parts of the region. Rustic and rural lifestyle merges in this world to occasionally spring up contemporary surprises like a hidden picnic spot, renowned floral nurseries and a glimpse into the nearby Himalayan Trust for Natural History of Art Institute.

PaliGhar offers travellers 02 guest cottages inspired by the traditional indigenous style of Himalayan architecture. Designed to complement the surroundings, the building style involves the use of all familiar natural materials available in the area and is constructed by workers from the community. While one of the cottages comprises 02 guest rooms, the second one comes along with an in-house kitchen and a common dining cum living space.

In keeping with the feel of a genuine Farm-life experience the PaliGhar kitchen dishes out authentic local Nepali cuisines sourced from their own organic kitchen garden.

Be prepared for your senses to be assailed with a heady mix of fragrant homegrown rice and a plethora of fresh seasonal produce lovingly prepared with traditional combinations of local spices.

While their Lunch and Dinner are simple set-menu-affairs offering homely Nepali food, they maintain a comfortable continental theme for Breakfast with few thoughtful options of local fare for the occasional guest request. For the eager culinary enthusiast, the PaliGhar kitchen is happy to demonstrate a detailed ethnic Nepali cooking routine and share a secret tip or two to take home.

General Response

The PaliGhar team have been pleasantly surprised with the turn-over of guests so far. It has been established that age is no bar when it comes to experiential adventures for the discerning traveller in search of unadulterated outdoors and nature. From single woman traveller to families & friends and elderly people, the guest list boasts of a delightfully mixed clientele stream. It is also interesting to note that many of these guests have arrived at the region and zeroed in on PaliGhar as a destination itself. The average stay for a guest at PaliGhar appears to be 04-05 nights, during which every activity in the farm is curated to suit the mood of the traveller. Guests leave PaliGhar with rejuvenated minds, wholesome bodies and refreshed souls to dive back directly into their busy lives.

It is heartwarming and a common sight here to find parents familiarising their children with the goodness of farm-life and encouraging them to participate in outdoor activities during their stay.

While a few local travel agents support this homegrown venture, it has mainly been ‘by word of mouth’ and traveller recommendations that have made PaliGhar the Farmstay Destination of choice in recent times.

Connect with PaliGhar

You can log into the PaliGhar Website for more details or tune into their Instagram handle @palighar and Facebook page for regular updates & enquiries. PaliGhar reservations may be reached via Air BNB, Booking.com or TripAdvisor.

In the recent past PaliGhar has also had its fair share of social coverage and has featured in a few prominent travel journos, each brimming with their own version of the delight in store at this place. Take a look :

Outlook Traveller
Roots & Leisure
Imagine Travel

Tripadvisor has been abuzz with positive traveller feedback for quite a while and you can tap into the link below to read more:

TripAdvisor for PaliGhar

Thank you for reading!
Stay tuned to Sketchywanderer for more vignettes of hidden places and spaces. I would love to hear your thoughts and feedback on this blog.

Holistic Himalayan Farmstays of India – Petrichor Farm

Can you recall the musky, earthy fragrance that fills the air instantaneously after the first rains of the season? Or perhaps remember that fleeting sense of deep bonding of the soul with the surroundings as you see the first drops of rain touch the soil?   Well, ‘Petrichor’ defines just that and now promises even more.

Location

For the world-weary traveller in search of a deeper connection or a meaningful reprieve, Petrichor is the inexcusable next stop if your trails lead you towards this part of your next Himalayan adventure. Nestled in the forest of Gorubathan, just an hour’s drive from Siliguri (additional 30 mins Bagdogra airport) in West Bengal there awaits a rural experience like none other.

Origin

Borne out of an inherently shared desire ‘to care for the planet’,  it was sometime back in 2013 that the founding members, Siddharth & Sweta found themselves in possession of a vacant plot of land at Sweta’s mother’s ancestral property.

Drawn inexplicably to the unused site they immediately recognised the dire need to nurture, maintain and develop what they had in hand. So began a  rambling journey as they tried to make sense of the land and its resources, armed only with a familiar dose of reasonable doubt, worldly logic, childlike curiosity and the random tutorials on Youtube. They soon realised that just playing with the soil and observing the natural rhythm was not enough. What they needed was a formal plan and this is exactly what they set about doing to qualify for a certification as Permaculture Designers.

With the certification now in place, Petrichor gradually came into being as a community starting with small-scale local farmers who were invited to collaborate and work,  encouraging them to share resources and their best practices. The resultant produce and eventually the profits were enough to motivate this already existing agrarian locality.

About

Petrichor now stands as a vibrant testimony to a deeply driven desire to restore, nurture and establish a self-sustaining eco-system.  The ‘Petrichor’ experience begins with its exclusive accommodation options :
Sadhana – The endearingly restored Nepali Heritage home.
Abundance –  A lovingly constructed ‘Natural Hut’
Simplicity – A unique Hut made exclusively with reclaimed materials.
Sattva – The Volunteer’s Dormitory.
The Old Granary –  A picturesque old storage space now fitted into a low budget accommodation for a frequently visiting volunteer or an independent traveller.
There are Tents available on request should you prefer a custom-made rustic campsite affair.
It is interesting to note that while the content of this blog was being collated, the Petrichor community along with few volunteers was busy building a unique ‘Cob House’ as yet another accommodation option in the near future.
The ‘Sunset Terrace’ deserves a special mention here. While this is yet another typical structure built with natural local resources, this space was specially designed to capture the breathtaking view of the sunset. The open-air arena is the perfect inspiration for small yoga sessions during the divine hours of dusk & dawn and also serves as a lounge or an outdoor movie theatre. A cosy Reading room with a Library section and a finely tuned Guitar awaits for a quiet afternoon.
Meals at Petrichor’s Cafe Glow is organically Vegan, Vegetarian and Raw. Cafe Glow itself is not confined to any singular space and guests can celebrate the blessing of food in its purest form anywhere in this property.  A regular meal which is a form of indigenous wholesome cooking of the native plants with local spices in a traditional Nepalese style is prepared here. This style is now termed as Slow Food and comprises what we call The Petrichor Plate – a truly authentic Farm-To-Table experience.

You can also pre-order a special 4-course meal for a unique Plant-Based Cuisine experience that is patented by the Petrichor Kitchen as being stylised and contemporary while being greatly inspired by nature.

Not just your regular Homestay or a Farm-stay in an authentic rural landscape, Petrichor extends much more beyond the concept of food and lodging for a traveller with its underlying relentless campaign to promote itself as a sustainability education centre or a working permaculture farm.
Your Himalayan adventure is guaranteed to enter a parallel dimension if not the next level as you become a part of a community working in harmony with local farmers of the region to build a healthy alternative lifestyle as they strive to live sustainably and responsibly with each other.
Petrichor offers a personal opportunity to rediscover nature’s bounty and unravel the secrets of the earth in its vast splendour. An ideal way to experience a slice of unadulterated rustic bliss as you learn and get a hands-on experience about building sustainable structures with natural resources or delve into the hidden rural recipes of food fermentation, herbalism, soap-making, bee-farming or simply enrich your stay by learning a little more about permaculture designing. The ‘slow food’ cooking process in the rustic wood fire kitchens is an experience that stands apart by itself.
Both Sweta & Siddharth modestly refrain from taking ownership of the idea behind Petrichor and are quick to point out that they are but stakeholders of the community.  They claim that all workers, volunteers and even guests are ultimately the ones who benefit from the returns of the Petrichor experience.

General Reviews

This alternate destination has been receiving encouraging reviews so far. Having hosted quite a fair number of international tourists who have been smitten by the simple beauty of the hospitable community and have stayed on as volunteers.  Petrichor Farms – A Sustainable Living Education Centre (as they prefer to be known as) looks forward to opening their doors to share the joy of simple living with even more travellers and adventure seekers.

Contact

Visit Petrichor as they regularly keep their followers abreast with their latest programmes and events through their Facebook page   https://www.facebook.com/PetrichorFarms/  and their Instagram Handle @petrichorfarmkitchenstudio
While their website is currently under construction there has been considerable coverage and traveller’s talk all over the internet especially on Tripadvisor about this hidden destination. Petrichor is also listed on Airbnb for Bookings and can be looked up in Volunteer World as well.

Thank you for reading! Stay tuned to Sketchywanderer for more vignettes of hidden places and spaces. I would love to hear your thoughts & feedback on this blog.