A dream for those who travel on shoestring budget, here's India’s first hiking hostel.
Hostels have always beckoned backpackers and travellers from faraway lands; especially those who are traveling on a shoestring budget.
Keeping this in mind, a few hoteliers have come together to provide travellers with a safe haven in the valleys of Uttarakhand.
They have opened the Heart Of Travellers (HOTs) hostel in Patwa Dunga region. Claimed to be India’s first ever hiking hostel, travellers can bunk in here at charges as cheap as ₹399 a night!
Pretty cool, right? And that’s not even the best part.
To reach this hostel, which is inside a 150-year-old colonial era building, one needs to trek a distance close to 800m.
Harshit Kandpal, who was previously working with the Oberoi Group, came up with this idea early this year. He then partnered with Devendra Singh Digari, who owns the hostel property in Uttarakhand and they were open for business within a few months.
“It is not just about providing backpackers with really cheap accommodation. Many people opt for places like Manali and Kasol because they can find more budget-friendly options there. So I wanted to start this as a first in Uttarakhand”, says Harshit.
And if you think that it’s a new place that probably hasn’t seen the light of the day, think again!
“It’s been only 2-3 months since we started, but we are completely booked out for weeks together”, laughs Harshit.
Not just a bed to bunk, HOTs also provides guests with open spaces where they can chill or jam with fellow backpackers, or just meditate. In addition to a kitchen, the hostel also has a cafe.
Moreover, HOTs has been employing staff from the Uttarakhand region itself. “Over the years, many youngsters have left the state for better prospects. Through this venture, nobody will need to go off anywhere”, adds Harshit.
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Currently the hostel has a core team of three members including fellow hoteliers Vivek Dhanik and Amit Attri along with Priyanka Chanana. Harshit mentions that they have plans of taking up more projects in the state and probably expand to other states as well.
Heart Of Travellers hostel is bound to become the heart of travellers soon, and that too without burning a hole in people’s pockets.
You can check their website here.
To get in touch with Harshit, click here.
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