Approx reading time - 1 minutes - 1.5 minutes.
Let me ask you one thing - Have you ever stayed with a local tribal community and experience their way of living in a village far away from the roads, secluded and hidden among the meadows where the only thing you can hear is the sound of the flowing river while you close your eyes during the night and the jungle noise during day?
Well, after my recent trip to Chamba, I can say that I did experience all the above things I mentioned. I got an opportunity to experience the way of living with a tribal Gurjar family at Rafi's house which I booked through a firm named "NotOnMap".
It had been 4-5 months since I got any chance to travel to a new destination. I was badly craving to go somewhere where I can just sit and relax near the river far away from the city crowd, amidst nature where my soul can rest in peace. And this one day stay at the Rafi's house turned out exactly the way I wanted it to be.
In this blog, I will take you with me on the journey to this beautiful village called "Chaminoo" which is located 12 KMs from Chamba City, hidden amongst the dense forest and far away from civilisation.
My journey to the Paradise -
1. I booked a seat in Chamba bound HRTC bus from Delhi. The journey was smooth and the travel duration was 15 hours. The bus dropped me off at the Chamba bus stand at 8'30 AM.
2. After that, I called Mr Rafi to ask directions, he told to board a bus which is going to Saho operated by Shiva Travels and ask him to drop at Rafi's shop in Chaminoo. I found the bus standing near platform 1. I asked the conductor to drop me at the Rafi's shop in Chaminoo village. The ticket cost was Rs. 20.
- Arrival at the Paradise -
After half an hour journey through the winding roads with some great views, I heard a voice, " aa jao Bhai Chaminoo wale" and I took my bag and got down from the bus. Mr Rafi was at his shop. After a few moments, his son came and he told his son will take you to the house. He took one of my bags and we started walking through the fields. After crossing beautiful fields, a bridge over the Sal river and a bit of hiking for 10 minutes, I reached his house.
And the first word I uttered was "wow, it's beautiful". His house is located 900m or a KM away from the main road, hidden in the forest with the view of the whole valley right in front of me where I was able to hear the sound of the gushing river. I exactly wanted to stay at a place like this.
- Welcome to the Paradise -
The family welcomed me warm-heartedly. I greeted everyone and his son showed me the room. It was a nice little room to bump. I was dead tired after a long 16 hours of journey, so I threw my bags aside and got fresh quickly. The breakfast was also ready, chapati with desi Makhan, tea and honey, which they made in their field.
- Let's go out and explore -
After having breakfast, I didn't know when I fell asleep and woke up at lunchtime was lunchtime. I had rice, chapati, aloo sabzi, dal in my lunch. After having lunch, I decided to go out and explore. I went down to the same direction from which I reached the house. There was literally no one except nature. All I was able to hear was the jungle noise and the sound of the flowing river. I walked all the way down to the bridge and found out a way to reach the river bed. I sat on a stone. It was magical, I closed my eyes and let the mesmerising sound of the jungle and the river flow through my ears. It felt soothing, relaxed and calm. I wished the time to stop.
After having a wonderful time at the river, I decided to go back to the house as the sun was about to set. This time I went on the roof of the house where they use to keep the cattle. The kids were studying and Rafi's mom was feeding the cattle.
I exclaimed, what a good quality of life these people are living here in the mountains. I took a chair and saw the kids studying and aunty feeding the cattle with a great view of the valley. Later on, Mr Rafi returned from his shop and we had a great conversation where he introduced with each and every member of his family. And he also told, all the vegetables, masalas, rice etc, they grow up all these in their own fields.
He invited me for a tour of his house. He took me to the kitchen. I was amazed to see their kitchen the way it was designed and all the utensils too. Later on, he took me to the dormitory as well. There were 4 beds with a study table and a common sitting table in it. He invited me for dinner with his family and who would like to refuse such an opportunity to have dinner with a local family, so I nodded in yes.
It was a once in a lifetime opportunity for me to have dinner with local Gurjar family. The dinner was delicious and mouth-watering and as a result, I ended up overeating.
- Farewell -
Although I was 600 KMs away from my home in a small village, it never felt even for a second that I was away from food. From food, location and to the hospitality of the family, it was worth to stay at this paradise with a traditional local gurjar family.
- My Recommendation -
If you are the one who enjoys being into nature to the fullest and likes to experience the authenticity of culture, then I will definitely recommend you to come here for once and stay here for a minimum of 2-3 days. And it's a great place to come with family as well. And one more thing I would like to say if you are coming in a group of friends, then try to maintain the basic hygiene as you will be staying with a family who has kids, ladies and older ones as well. And as the name says, its really "Not on Map", trust me whatever location it tells on Google Maps is wrong.
Unfortunately, I stayed here for a day as I had to carry on my journey to the next destination.
I booked my stay via Hostelworld and the cost was RS. 400 excluding food. For further contacts and queries, you can comment down below or DM.
