Authentic Himachali Stays With Himachal Heritage Village

Before I say anything else, have you noticed the title says “stays” and yes that is true. How is that true, you will get to know in sometime. Mt stay is Palampur was about a lot of things, mountains being the first and foremost. Mountains are like my first crush and I always seek ways to get close to them, to stare at them and to smile at them. It sounds a little crazy but I do all of them. One of the important traits of mountains is authenticity. No matter what it is you would always experience a hint genuineness and innocence. I would here take a moment and talk about my stay with Himachal Heritage Village. If I have to describe the experience in one word then it has to be “enriching“.

Also Read : Pretty Palampur : Straight From The Heart !

As the car stopped and I stepped out I had the first glance of the property. It looked like a resort with individual villas. We were then greeted by the host Mr. Dogra and after sometime he started explaining more about the cottages (which I earlier referred to as villas ). In no time I understood that these aren’t just a set of cottages, each and every unit has something special to offer. The property had four cottages with seven rooms. Mr. Dogra was very passionately explaining each and every thought that their team has put in in curating Himalayan heritage and thus properly justifying the name  Himachal Heritage Village. The idea is to give the guests the flavor of different types of Himachal village architecture. To achieve that every cottage is dedicated to a different place/area in Himachal.

To begin with the first cottage was called “Una”. It was a mud house and no cement was used in building that cottage. It is a two story cottage with one room on each floor. Each room had an attached bathroom. The floors of Una was also made of mud. I immediately asked if the water seeps in during the rains to which Mr. Dogra nodded in disagreement. He explained that the roofing is done by layering a special grass with bamboos. He also told us that there is a traditional wood fire cooking chullah as well.

Coming up next was “Kangra” style cottage which was also my abode. This one was the largest among all the cottages. It had three bedrooms with attached bathroom and a living room as well. The bedroom at the first floor has a traditional wood fire cooking chullah just like Una. The doors, windows, murals and the bright colors were typical Kangra style.

The next cottage which gave an earthy look and feel was “Barot”. This was a single bedroom cottage and had wood paneling inside and outside of the cottage. The cottage has a conventional making of bricks but it has been covered with genuine wood from inside and outside giving it a authentic wooden house look.

Last but not the least was “Khaniara” cottage. This was by far the most unique and creative cottage. It was completely made of stone called “Slate” which was found in Khaniara near Dharamshala. This was also a one bedroom cottage and the most surprising fact was that no cement was used in the construction.  I was wondering if water or air would go in during rains but Mr. Dogra confirmed that the stones are stacked so well that nothing would go in.

We checked into our cottages and our luggage was already there. After that we got freshen up and without wasting a single minute we left for Bir to join another set of bloggers who had arrived a day before. It took us around an hour to reach Bir. The rest of the day was spent exploring the monasteries in Bir. We later also went to see the Kangra toy train. While returning back to the cottages we dropped by the local market in Palampur and did a little shopping too.

By the time we got back it was already dark and cold. Our host Mr. Dogra was waiting for us with a perfectly gorgeous bonfire. We sat cozily around the bonfire and chatted for a long time. I had a good day and was pretty much content but little did I know. The dinner was also an surprise affair. We had an authentic “Kangra Dhaam” for dinner. I couldn’t have asked for a better ending of the day.

To know more about Himachal Heritage Village or to book a stay visit here.

I visited Palampur on an invitation from Himachal Heritage Village.

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