Want to really experience village life in India? Then try getting away from it all with an India homestay where you stay with locals in their own home. That’s right, be a house guest in an Indian village. This concept has become so popular that now even regular hotel search sites offer rural homestays in India. There are a few companies that offer what has come to be known as India “Homestays“. However long your Indian holiday is, I don’t think there is any need to stay more than about 3-7 days at an Indian homestay.
Samthar India Homestays
Try the Samthar homestays and heritage hotels. At an altitude of 1400 meters, in the green mid-range of the Himalayas, lies the village of Samthar spread over 12 km, it has a backdrop of snow-capped mountains and on the edge of the terraced farmlands, the hill-side plunges down towards the Samthar River. The guests are housed in one of two homesteads which have been upgraded to make it more comfortable for foreigners. There is running water and electricity, but in some places, a bath consists of a bucket of water brought up from the river.
Samthar Farm House is part of a project run by retired General Jimmy Singh. By staying here tourists have the opportunity to help Indian villages supplement their income, and contribute to improving conditions and education in the villages. 20% of the profits go to the Awake and Shine projects.
Why Choose a Homestay?
Nothing beats the village hospitality, home-made food, and an up-close glimpse of village life in India. The people are of mixed ethnic groups – Nepali and Lepcha. At a homestay India ou will have the opportunity to help with the village chores, plow fields, collect firewood and herd cows. You and your host can pick the daily activities that you do, including visiting other villagers, of various religions, seeing them working at their crafts, and even have a go at harvesting rice.
Stay in a Local India Homestay in Samthar Village
The real estate is one sector that features as one of the most badly hit sectors following the global economic meltdown. Especially in developing countries like India, where real estate was going great guns, so to say, faced a steep downfall following the recession and inflation. Especially in the metros and the developing cities like Bangalore, real estate suffered dearly as the demand for the residential units, though increasing became a pent up demand. The badly hit economy particularly the IT sector that has a strong foothold in Bangalore, and the high rates of interest in home loans made the demand for residential units go down or at best become a pent up demand. It is believed that once the situation stabilizes the demands would start surfacing. Another very problematic issue that the real estate dealers are facing is that patrons of the currently booked flats are not willing to pay the original price that they had agreed on but the current price that is less than the original amount owing to the current economic condition. Not only the residential units but the commercial properties have also naturally seen a drop in their occupancy. The hotels that registered the highest occupancy, as high as 83%, have been forced to cut down on their tariffs by almost 20% as the occupancy has also gone down by 20%. On the contrary, the business hotels in Bangalore are surviving the tough times as the number of business travelers has not been affected as hard as the umber of leisure hotels.