Deepak replies within a few hours, usually within one. This is by far the fastest route.
Forty questions,
answered properly.
Including the ones where the answer is no. If what you need is not here, message Deepak and he will reply within a few hours — usually with more detail than you wanted.
Getting here
Arrival, roads and timing
The most-asked category by a wide margin, and the one where a wrong assumption costs you a day.
No question matches that yet. Ask us directly on WhatsApp.
The nearest railhead is Kathgodam, 160 km away — roughly six to seven hours by road. Tanakpur is 169 km. The nearest airport is Pantnagar, 195 km, with limited flights from Delhi. Driving from Delhi is about 465 km via Moradabad, Rudrapur, Haldwani and Almora, and takes twelve to fourteen hours including stops. We can arrange a car and driver from any of these points — tell us your arrival time and we will quote.
Yes. Berinag sits at 1,740 m, which is high enough for cool nights and clear views but well below the altitude where sickness becomes a concern. There is no acclimatisation requirement. The village paths are uneven, so bring shoes with grip, but nothing here demands fitness beyond a comfortable walk.
Yes — from Kathgodam, Tanakpur, Pantnagar, Almora, Bageshwar or Pithoragarh. We use two local drivers we have known for years and we charge what they charge us. Ask on WhatsApp for a current quote.
Any time before dark, which between November and February means before half past five. We do not have a check-in time because there is nobody at a desk, but arriving in daylight matters on this road.
After breakfast, so around ten. If your car is coming later, stay. Nobody is waiting for the room unless somebody is arriving that afternoon, and we will tell you if they are.
It has happened four times in ten years. You stay, at no charge for the extra night, and we help you rebook whatever needs rebooking. Always build a spare day before a flight.
Occasionally, if a room is free, but you will have driven eleven kilometres of bad road on a guess. Send a message from Almora and we will tell you before you commit.
The one everybody asks
“Is the road
really that bad?”
The last eleven kilometres from Berinag bazaar are broken tarmac and, in two places, no tarmac at all. A hatchback will manage it slowly. An SUV will manage it comfortably. Nobody has ever failed to arrive. About one guest a year tells us we undersold how rough it was, and every single one of them has also said the road is the reason the valley is still like this.
The stay
Rooms, family, and who it suits
Very. There are cows, a dog called Bhalu, four other children in the lane, and a courtyard with nothing breakable in it. We do not have cots, high chairs or a children's menu — Kamla simply cooks something milder. Parents of under-fives should know the stairs to the upper rooms are steep.
The Heritage Room is on the ground floor with a step-free bathroom and no stairs between it and the dining table. Tell us in advance about mobility, diet or medication and we will plan around it. The nearest hospital is in Pithoragarh, 55 km and about an hour and forty-five minutes away.
Four rooms, maximum eleven guests, and there is no reception desk. If all four are taken you will still be able to find a terrace with nobody on it.
This is a family home with the family living in it, and roughly a third of our guests are women travelling alone. Deepak or Kamla will walk with you anywhere you want to go after dark, without being asked, and without making a performance of it.
You do not have to do anything. Most people end up at the long table because that is where the conversation is, but if you would rather eat alone on your terrace, say so and nobody will think anything of it.
Yes, with notice, and provided they are comfortable around Bhalu, who is territorial for about an hour and then delighted. There is no extra charge. Please do not let them into the cow shed.
Practical
Power, signal, health and the small stuff
There is fibre broadband delivering 40–60 Mbps on a good day, plus a 4G backup on a second provider. Video calls hold up. Heavy thunderstorms can knock it out for an hour or two, and we will not pretend otherwise. See the Workation page for real speed logs.
It goes. Usually for twenty minutes, occasionally for four hours in a storm. We run a 1.5 kVA inverter that carries lights, fans, the router and your laptop charger through any normal cut. Geysers and the water pump do not run on it, so a long cut means a slightly later shower.
Jio and Airtel both work in the courtyard and in three of the four rooms. BSNL works everywhere. On the forest walks you will lose signal entirely for two to three hours, which several guests have described as the best part.
No, an inverter — 1.5 kVA, which carries lights, fans, the router and laptop charging. It does not run the geyser or the water pump, so a long cut means a slightly later shower.
No, no and no. There is a waterfall in April that is about eight degrees, if that helps.
Almost none at this altitude. Some in the evening during monsoon. There has never been a malaria or dengue case in this village to our knowledge.
Yes, a proper one, and Kamla did a first aid course in Pithoragarh in 2023. For anything serious the hospital is fifty-five kilometres away and we will drive you.
Yes on mains, no on the inverter. If the power is out, high-draw appliances will not run. Standard Indian 230 V, Type C and D sockets.
Yes to the battery. Drones need permission in Uttarakhand and are not welcome over the village regardless of what the law says. Please ask before you unpack one.
Food
Diet, the kitchen, and the table
Vegetarian is the default — the kitchen is vegetarian by tradition and most meals contain no meat at all. Vegan is harder because milk and ghee are central to Kumaoni cooking, but Kamla manages it well with notice. Gluten-free is straightforward: mandua and jhangora are naturally gluten-free grains. Tell us at booking, not on arrival.
We do not serve it and do not stock it. You are welcome to bring your own and drink it on your terrace or at the bonfire. We ask that you do not drink in the courtyard during the day, as the neighbours' children are usually in it.
No. This is a house, and Kamla cooks for the number of people staying in it. The tea stall in the bazaar is genuinely good and we will point you at it.
Almost none of them. Walks, farm work, cooking, the bonfire, the telescope and the sunrise trip are all included in the room rate. Only the long drives — Munsiyari, Patal Bhuvaneshwar — cost extra, and only because we pay the driver. There is no activity menu with prices on it.
Money and booking
Rates, advances, cancellation and calendars
UPI works and is easiest. Bank transfer for the advance. Cards, no — the nearest machine that would accept one is fifty-five kilometres away. Cash is fine. There is an ATM in Berinag bazaar that works most of the time.
Full refund fourteen days out, half refund seven days out, none inside seven days — with real exceptions for illness, bereavement, landslide and blocked roads. The full text is on the cancellation page and it is short.
Ten weeks for October to December. Eight for May and June. Two or three for anything else, and in monsoon you can often write on a Tuesday and arrive on a Friday.
Because we would forget to update it, and an out-of-date calendar is worse than no calendar. Instead there is a person who answers within a few hours.
Occasionally, if a room is free, but you will have driven eleven kilometres of bad road on a guess. Send a message from Almora and we will tell you before you commit.
Two couples have. It involves the whole lane and a great deal of marigold and we would need three months' notice. Ask, and we will tell you honestly whether your idea will work.
Still stuck
Four ways to ask
In descending order of how quickly you will get an answer.
Phone
Between eight in the morning and nine at night. Signal in the courtyard is reliable.
Answered daily, though occasionally the day after in peak season.
The form
On the contact page. Goes to the same inbox as the email, with a tick box for a callback.
Forty answers and none of them fits?
Then it is a good question and Deepak will enjoy it. Message him.