Vayu Kutir - IAF Veteran's Cottage

Me and my wife, Shubha , stayed with Vijainder , Anita and family in the last week of Oct 2018. The entire stay was very enjoyable for us. Needless to say that this ranks as one of the best homestay experiences we ever had.

First, the place itself is on a small hill with a clear view of the Pong lake. While being close to the Chandigarh highway, it is far enough to not let the traffic noise get to you. You experience the silence that you expect from a "far away" place.

The house can be accessed from the Diyara village bus stop ( across the bridge from Hanuman Chowk, Dehra ) by one of
a) a 300mt hike through a walkway , though a bit steep
b) a 700mt walk though a walkway with gentler incline
c) a 2.5Km driveway which loops around the hillock. A stretch on this gives the feeling of
driving in a jungle safari ( the road is a dirt road but good, lots of trees around )

The first two are ok when there is sunlight. Post that, it is better to take the third option.
Vijainder was kind enough to pick us up on 3 consecutive nights at the Diyara village bus top in his own car.

The house itself is a 2 storey structure. Vijiander and his family stay in the ground floor. The entire first floor is given to the guests. The space has a large bedroom and and even larger living cum kitchen. The bathroom is well equipped and really clean. The access to the first floor is independent. The first floor is equipped with a kitchen with all the modern appliances needed for cooking. The kitchen is also stocked with essentials like tea, coffee , sugar , flakes etc.
The house also has an organic garden around it. Anita ji uses the produce from there in the kitchen.

The terrace offers a spectacular view of the Pong lake, the Dauladhar range and the surrounding areas. We also spotted a lot of birds from the terrace. And a few stars too ( we were there on the full moon day, hence couldnt see many stars).

Not just the physical infrastructure, the hosts themselves are very friendly and accommodative. Anita ji made us some wonderful breakfasts and dinners. Local delicacies like Madra, Pathrod , Kadi etc were very delicious apart from the Parathas and rotis. Not to mention the hot tea and coffee when we returned tired from the days outings. The discussions with Vijainder Ji on the birds that migrate there, general politics, general defence related topics, software and hardware etc ( you get the range of topics :) ) were nice.

The place is close to a lot of local attractions. Of course, if you are a birder, the Pong lake is next to you. The temple and fort of Kangra is about 20Kms, Jwalamukhiji temple is around 20Kms,
The Masroor rock cut temple about 30Kms . You could also ride the Kangra Toy train from the Jwalamukhi Road station which is about 20Kms. You could also just explore the local mountain and valleys if you wish.

We had used the public transport to get to all these places. The bus connections are generally good and safe.

Our stay was so enjoyable that we extended our stay by a day more. It is one of those places which we really can call home away from home.

On the list for a repeat visit. Both for the exceptional place and the hosts.