Travel style
Homestays and villages
Sleep in the hive itself
Homestays are the Himalaya's best value and its best way in: Ladakhi kitchens, Spiti mud houses, Kumaoni stone homes, Lepcha villages in Dzongu, Apatani homes in Ziro. Simple rooms, home food, money that stays in the valley.
Photo: KennyOMG · CC BY-SA 4.0 · CommonsA homestay is a room in a family home, with meals from the family kitchen. Expect clean, simple rooms, often a shared or outside bathroom in the high valleys, and food made from what the village grows.
Many Himalayan states register homestays and some run training schemes for owners. We use registered homes where they exist and pay the family directly.
Trips
Homestays and villages trips
Photo: Fulvio Spada from Torino, Italy · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Commons
Saver
Gurez Valley on a budget by shared Sumo
JKSRTC or private bus to Bandipora, shared Sumos, one shared car day
Photo: Anirvan Shukla · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Commons
Saver
Leh, Nubra and Pangong by bus and shared jeep
State bus over Khardung La, shared taxis to Nubra and Pangong, local buses in the Indus valley
Photo: Saurabh Lall · CC BY 2.0 · Commons
Saver
Srinagar road to Leh and Turtuk on a budget
Shared Sumo taxis, state buses and local shared cars
Photo: Unknown author · Public domain · Commons
Comfort
Tirthan, Naggar and Manali by private car
Private car with driver
Photo: Navneet Sharma · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Saver
Kinnaur by HRTC bus: Sangla, Chitkul, Kalpa
HRTC buses and local shared taxis
Photo: Neerajsinghazm · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
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Manali, Naggar and Kasol on a budget
HRTC local buses and short shared taxis
Photo: Navneet Sharma · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Signature
Shimla and Kinnaur with Oberoi stays
Private SUV with driver and guide; toy train from Kalka
Photo: Sumita Roy Dutta · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Saver
Spiti by HRTC bus, the slow Kinnaur way in
HRTC and local buses, with one shared taxi loop from Kaza
Photo: Sumita Roy Dutta · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Saver
Spiti village homestays: Dhankar to Langza
Shared car to Kaza, then local buses and short taxi transfers
Photo: Sumita Roy Dutta · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Signature
Slow Spiti and Lahaul with a private guide
Private SUV with driver, private guide
Photo: Paul Hamilton · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Commons
Comfort
Landour, Harsil apples and Gangotri
Private car with driver
Photo: McKay Savage from London, UK · CC BY 2.0 · Commons
Saver
Deoria Tal, Tungnath and Chandrashila
UTC and GMOU buses, shared jeeps and a shared taxi
Photo: Travelling Slacker · CC BY 2.0 · Commons
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Almora, Binsar and Jageshwar on a budget
Shared taxis and jeeps, with two shared private-cab legs
Photo: ParthaPratimNath · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
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Hostel trail: Mukteshwar and Kasar Devi
Shared taxis and jeeps
Photo: Travelling Slacker · CC BY 2.0 · Commons
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Munsiyari and the Johar valley by shared jeep
Shared jeeps and buses via Almora, Chaukori, Thal and Bageshwar
Photo: Gerd Eichmann · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Saver
Pokhara, Poon Hill and Ghandruk on a budget
Tourist bus and shared jeep; three days on foot
Photo: Auli Raha (অলি রাহা) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Comfort
Sittong, Takdah and Kalimpong villages
Private car with driver
Photo: Arne Hückelheim 2010-09-21 12:41:53 This is a … · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Saver
Darjeeling, Kalimpong and Lava by shared jeep
Shared jeeps, one short reserved car
Photo: IamBumba · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Saver
North Sikkim on a budget, 5 nights
Seats on shared permit-tour vehicles
Photo: IamBumba · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Saver
Sikkim west by shared jeep, 6 nights
Shared jeeps and local taxis
Photo: Christopher J. Fynn · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Commons
Comfort
Central Bhutan to Bumthang, 12 nights
Private car with driver
Photo: Afifa Afrin · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Commons
Saver
Bhutan saver with Phobjikha farmhouse, 7 nights
Shared jeep or bus to Jaigaon, then shared vehicle with licensed guide
Photo: Bhavikji · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Comfort
The Siang valley and Mechuka
Private SUV with driver
Photo: Itrajib · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Saver
Tawang circuit by shared Sumo
Shared Sumos, with one shared taxi day in Tawang
Photo: Arunachal2007 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Saver
Ziro Apatani homestay on a budget
Shared Sumos, with a shared taxi day in the valley
Photo: Itrajib · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Signature
Monpa and Apatani: Tawang to Ziro
Private SUV with driver and private guide
50 places
Where to go
Photo: KennyOMG · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Aru Valley
Trailhead village for Lidderwat, Kolahoi and Tarsar
Photo: Ankur P from Pune, India · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Commons
Doodhpathri
The valley of milk, 42 km from Srinagar
Photo: Aniketchoudhary87 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Gurez Valley
Log villages on the Kishanganga below Habba Khatoon peak
Photo: Umarsami · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Pampore
Saffron town on the karewas, 15 km from Srinagar
Photo: Suhail Skindar Sofi · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Yusmarg
Pine meadows on the Doodh Ganga, a walk from Nilnag lake
Photo: Bernard Gagnon · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Alchi and the Sham Valley
Kashmiri-style murals and apricot orchards on the lower Indus
Photo: Addy6697 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Nubra Valley
The old caravan valley over Khardung La, with dunes and orchards
Photo: KennyOMG · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Pangong Tso
A 134 km brackish lake at about 4,250 m, best at first light
Photo: John Hill · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Tso Moriri
A Ramsar lake at 4,522 m, home of the Changpa herders
Photo: Suryadasika · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Turtuk
A Balti village of apricots on the Shyok, open to visitors since 2010
Photo: This Photo was taken by Timothy A. Gonsalves. … · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Zanskar (Padum)
Ladakh's remotest valley, reached over Pensi La
Photo: Fredi Bach from Switzerland · CC BY 2.0 · Commons
Bir and Billing
Paragliding over tea gardens and Tibetan monasteries in Kangra
Experiences
Days that fit the style
Photo: Mike Prince from Bangalore, India · CC BY 2.0 · Commons
Aru to Lidderwat along the stream
A long but steady walk of about 10 km each way leads from Aru village through fir forest and meadow to Lidderwat, where…
Photo: Irfanaru · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Commons
Tarsar and Marsar lakes trek from Aru
From Aru, this trek climbs via Lidderwat and Shekwas to Tarsar, a deep blue lake below steep peaks at about 3,800 m, th…
Photo: Oliver139 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Meet the herders' camps above Aru
From June to September, Gujjar and Bakarwal families camp in the meadows above Aru with goats, sheep and horses. A slow…
Photo: Ankur P from Pune, India · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Commons
Riverbank and meadow walk on the Shaliganga
Walk along the Shaliganga from the main meadow, cross on log bridges, and climb gently to open grassland with views of …
Photo: Ankur P from Pune, India · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Commons
Pony ride from Doodhpathri to Mujpathri
Mujpathri is a small hamlet on the bank of the Shaliganga beyond the main Doodhpathri meadow. A pony ride there and bac…
Photo: MateenSalimBhat · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
The milk legend and Budgam's herders
Doodhpathri's name ties it to Sheikh Noor-ud-din Noorani, the Kashmiri saint known as Nund Rishi. A slow morning among …
Photo: Zahid samoon · CC BY 3.0 · Commons
Walk Dawar's log-house villages
A slow walk through Dawar and the villages along the Kishanganga shows how Gurez lives: log houses built for long winte…
Photo: Abhirup Paul · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Day drive into the Tulail valley
East of Dawar, the Tulail valley climbs past small villages, fields and broad meadows on a rough road. It is the most r…
Where to sleep
Stays in these places
Photo: Aniketchoudhary87 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Budget
JKTDC Tourist Bungalow and Huts, Dawar
JKTDC's accommodation at Dawar, the main township of Gurez, includes a tourist bungalow with rooms and log huts ne…
Photo: Suryadasika · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Budget
Turtuk Balti homestays
Turtuk is a homestay village: dozens of Balti families in Youl and Farol, the two halves of the village, rent simp…
Photo: Biplav Arya, 3rd July 2009 · CC BY 3.0 · Commons
Budget
Spangmik and Man homestays, Pangong
The villages of Spangmik, Man and Merak on Pangong's southern shore have family homestays where you sleep in Chang…
Photo: Unbiased Contributors · CC BY 4.0 · Commons
Luxury
Nimmu House
A restored early 20th-century manor in Nimmoo village, about 35 km west of Leh near the Indus–Zanskar confluence, …
Photo: Addy6697 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Luxury
Lchang Nang Retreat, Nubra
A cottage retreat in the poplar and willow groves of Tegar village, near Sumur on the Nubra arm of the valley. Ope…
Photo: Fredi Bach from Switzerland · CC BY 2.0 · Commons
Budget
Zostel Bir
A Zostel hostel in Bir, close to the paragliding landing fields and the Tibetan colony, with dorms, private rooms …
Hive by hive