Nestled among the many lovely and picturesque landscapes, surrounded by thick deodar forests, fruit orchards and the majestic Himalayan peaks, is the Doi Homestay. A serene little abode within the quaint mountain village of Nathuakhan of Uttarakhand, it is a perfect place for nature lovers and people in search of an escape from the hustle of metropolis life.

This homestay exudes the texture of a pure retreat than a homestay and gives all of the comforts of a house away from dwelling.

“We met in Delhi by means of a typical buddy nearly 5 years in the past when Disha had give up her job as a journey author,” says Sambit who used to work as a contract filmmaker and photographer. “We each slot in one another’s lives simply, as we shared related pursuits in travelling, meals, exploring new locations, and assembly new folks. But it surely was Disha’s dream to arrange a responsibly-run homestay in Uttarakhand,” he provides.

Disha says, “My work concerned quite a lot of journey, the place I used to go and keep at completely different locations and assessment them. This helped me perceive the journey business higher and led me on this path. Apart from, I’m from Uttarakhand and it turned out to be an apparent selection for me. Fortunately, Sambit’s pursuits aligned with my dream.”

The couple arrange their homestay in 2020 after taking an outdated home for lease in Nathuakhan. Although it wasn’t simple amidst the pandemic, they are saying, they managed to open it in July providing solely long-term stays by strictly abiding by the COVID guidelines.

Ever since they’ve been internet hosting company from throughout the nation. Now they’ve opened their doorways to these in search of shorter stays as effectively.

The Doi Host

In 2017, they determined to pursue their dream challenge of beginning a responsibly-run homestay within the hills. However additionally they realised that it wasn’t one thing that they may construct in a day. So, as a primary step in direction of fulfilling their dream, in the identical yr, they launched a journey firm — The Doi Host — selling sustainable highway journeys providing immersive journey experiences.

“Although we had a transparent imaginative and prescient of what we needed to construct, we realised that it might require quite a lot of funds, which wasn’t instantly attainable at that time. So, we launched the Doi Host, the place we each grew to become journey guides taking folks on curated journeys to distant places within the Himalayas; to Sikkim, Meghalaya, Himachal, Kashmir and so forth,” says Sambit, including that they carried out journeys from 2017 to 2020.

Requested in regards to the identify ‘Doi’, Disha says, “It’s a Kumaoni phrase which suggests an individual who doesn’t like to come back again dwelling/ a wanderer. It has caught with me for thus lengthy. Lots of people used to name me a ‘doi’.”

“Additionally, the Kumaoni language is likely one of the dying languages. So, I assumed if we use a phrase from the language it could possibly be a dialog starter,” provides the 30-year-old, who’s a local of Haldwani within the Kumaon area.

After travelling collectively for round three years, Sambit says, they realised that they labored effectively collectively. “Throughout our journeys, which prolonged for seven to eight days, we largely stayed in native homestays that helped our company expertise the native tradition and lifestyle. Apart from, it additionally helped us perceive the enterprise higher. Alongside, we stored in search of an ideal place to arrange our homestay till we discovered one in November 2019,” explains the 32-year-old.

They began the work in February 2020 however when the pandemic hit, it introduced quite a lot of challenges. “I used to be stranded in Delhi and Disha took care of all of the work of organising the homestay. However lastly, we had been capable of get married and host our first company in July 2020,” he provides.

A homestay amidst a fruit orchard

Of the only a few homestays in Nathuakhan within the Kumaon area, the Doi Homestay, set at round 2000 metres above sea degree, is exclusive for a lot of causes. The home is slightly away from the village, into the oak-pine forests, surrounded by flourishing fruit orchards and tea gardens.

“On one facet of the homestay, now we have orchards of apricots, peaches, plums, apples, pears, and so forth. Moreover, now we have a small backyard of Uttarakhand Tea in our yard. We additionally develop a number of greens, herbs, pulses, and many others. as we’re aiming in direction of changing into self-sufficient and sustainable,” Sambit says.

In addition they develop a number of sorts of tomatoes, completely different sorts of radishes, strawberries, chamomiles, and so forth across the homestay. “We each prepare dinner at occasions and now we have a particular love for Italian and middle-eastern meals,” he gushes.

As Disha and Sambit are gastronomes, they’re all the time up for good meals. Subsequently, they be sure that they serve scrumptious home-cooked meals for his or her company.

“We do have an in-house chef who cooks native meals and every kind of Indian dishes. Apart from, now we have an elaborate menu for continental, the place we use solely these elements which can be grown round our homestay. So, we set the menu in accordance with the provision of the elements,” elaborates Sambit, including that it’s an effort in direction of attaining self-sustainability.

“The place is rather like a retreat, as it’s set in a village the place there aren’t so many issues to do round. It’s a distant village and there aren’t any cafes or eating places round. You want to journey no less than 15 km to discover a restaurant in Mukteshwar,” he says, including, “Therefore all our packages are inclusive of all three meals all through the day.”

The homestay gives packages for long-term stays starting from Rs 33,000 to Rs 39,000 for 30 days for single occupancy and Rs 39,000 to Rs 51,000 for double occupancy. For shorter stays, the worth begins from Rs 2,100 per individual per day and Rs 3,000 for 2 folks per day.

Whereas speaking to a few of the repeat company at The Doi Homestay, Riyanka Roy from Gurgaon says, “My first go to to the homestay was in October 2020, it was simply after the pandemic lockdown and it felt like one of the best factor that occurred to me that yr. I need to say, one of the best half in regards to the homestay is their meals. Ranging from breakfast to dinner all of the meals they served had been delicious. Apart from, Sambit cooks and bakes so effectively. He used to make us pasta, pizza, sandwiches and yummy desserts.”

One other spotlight of the homestay is the magnificent view of the Himalayan ranges, the place one can get up to the view of snow-clad peaks like Trishul, Nanda Ghunti, Chaukhamba, and Neelkanth.

There are a number of lovely trails across the homestay the place one can stroll across the oak forests or hike all the way down to the villages of Delkuna and Baret or take a stroll to hidden waterfalls and streams.

One other loyal buyer, Kanak Singh from Aligarh says, “I visited them twice, the primary time in February 2022 once I stayed there for over a month. Later, I visited them in June for over per week. It’s a lovely homestay that makes you’re feeling secure and at dwelling. Apart from, Disha and Sambit had been such nice hosts.”

She provides, “Throughout my keep, I used to go for solo hikes close to the homestay which has so many lovely trails round it. I even made a buddy within the village, a 14-year-old woman, who generally accompanies me for the hikes and we nonetheless communicate.”

“There are 5 rooms in complete which can be named after completely different fruits accessible within the orchard — Malta, kiwi, plum, apple, apricot are our rooms,” says Disha. The rooms accommodate one to 2 folks.

Disha says one of many main challenges that they’ve been going through because the launch of the homestay is plastic waste administration.

“Since it’s a village, there is no such thing as a facility the place they might come and acquire the plastic waste. So, we determined to gather the plastic waste in our homestay and ship it for upcycling at a plant in Haldwani,” she explains, including, “We needed our homestay to be as eco-friendly as attainable. We wouldn’t say that we haven’t achieved it utterly however we’re undoubtedly within the course of.”

Speaking about their journey to this point, Disha says, “It was quite a lot of work and took quite a lot of time to get so far. However trying again we’re so grateful for a way issues have turned out. I really feel that issues labored out the best way it was presupposed to.”

“It was teamwork the place we each might take obligations and develop collectively,” she concludes.

Disha and Sambit are actually busy organising their soon-to-be-open pizzeria and bakery at Seetla, nearly 7 km from the homestay.

For bookings and extra info, you may go to their web site or contact them at +91-9871083849 / +91-9654485394.

(Edited by Yoshita Rao)