Nestled just a kilometer from Munsiyari, Uttarakhand, Sarmoli Village sits against the stunning backdrop of the Panchachuli Range, overlooking the untamed Gori Ganga River. This picturesque locale has garnered attention in recent years as a hub for rural tourism, thanks to the dedicated efforts of Malika Virdi and her husband Theo. Leaving behind urban life, they settled in Sarmoli with a vision to foster ecological and financial sustainability in the village. Today, Sarmoli boasts 14 unique homestays, each seamlessly integrated into its natural surroundings, making it an idyllic hotspot for rural tourism.
At Sarmoli, you simply immerse yourself in its unhurried rhythm, breathtaking mountain vistas, and the warm hospitality of its local communities.
Read more about the Founder of Maati Sangathan
Malika Virdi stands as the driving force behind the development of Sarmoli in recent years. Through her tireless efforts, Malika has empowered village women, educating them about their rights and facilitating access to diverse livelihood opportunities beyond traditional farming and daily chores. With an M.Phil in Social Work from Delhi University, Malika is arguably one of the most highly qualified sarpanches in the country.
Notably, Malika was part of the groundbreaking Trans-Himalayan expedition, embarking on a challenging journey with a team of eight women. Launched on January 26, 1997, as part of India’s Golden Jubilee year of Independence, their expedition spanned thousands of kilometers across India, Bhutan, and Nepal, scaling numerous mountain passes en route to their final destination in the Karakoram region of Ladakh on August 15, 1997. Her remarkable contributions earned her a nomination for the 2005 Nobel Peace Prize as one of the “1000 Women for Peace.
‘Matti Sangathan’ was Malika’s dream and is a local community foundation for women that encourages them to address their day-to-day life struggles related to earning a livelihood, food security and giving them the confidence to fight back to lead a life free of domestic violence. Malika’s efforts have helped women of Sarmoli fight against domestic violence, and alcoholism, adopt higher education and become economic and socially independent by improving agricultural practices. While Malika heads the Homestay Program at Sarmoli village along with Van Panchayat, Mr Ram Narayan joined them a few years back and is actively working together towards Sarmoli’s development.
Under Malika’s guidance, the women of Sarmoli engage in producing local goods, with the proceeds contributing to the village’s development. The introduction of homestays allows them to rent out parts of their homes to tourists, providing an opportunity to supplement their income. This sustainable approach to rural tourism not only supports the local economy but also prevents the construction of hotels and commercial establishments that could disrupt the area’s natural beauty and ecological equilibrium. Additionally, some women are undergoing training to become travel partners or tourist guides, offering their expertise for nearby treks, further enhancing the community’s involvement in tourism while preserving the essence of Sarmoli.
Munsiyari offers numerous trek options along with some really nice & easy short treks.
- Mesar Kund (old and new): is also called Maheshwari Kund or Meshar Kund
- Dhanadhar ridge from where you can get a 360-degree view of the mountains, the Gori River and the valley.
- Thamari Kund – 3-4 hour trek
Visit my travel blog on Munsiyari for details on treks & other adventure activities during your stay at Sarmoli.
Thanks to the efforts of Shivya Nath, an incredible traveller and writer, the village locals learnt the art of posting pictures for the world to see and now run their own Instagram account @VoicesofMunsiari that share pictures, videos and local stories about their daily mountain life!
A stay in Sarmoli offers more than just accommodation; it invites you to immerse yourself in the local culture and become a part of the community. Indulge in the delectable flavors of Kumaoni cuisine, from the rustic Manduva Chapatti to the hearty Gahat daal, the flavorful Lingoda Saag, and the comforting Jhingora Kheer. Experience the simplicity and warmth of village life as you enjoy homemade meals, receive the loving care of the villagers, and cherish the precious personal stories shared around the hearth.
But remember, the Homestays here are not like the typical ones that cater to your whims and fancies. Please be prepared to clean the rooms and wash the dishes yourself including the laundry. Consider it your home away from home and respect the locals.
Staying at Sarmoli
Sarmoli Homestay Tariffs: Starts at 1350 per person per day (includes meals).
Contact Person for Booking: Malika Virdi +91-9411194041 (M) 05961-222367 (O) Email: malika.virdi@gmail.com
Mr. Ram Narayan +91-9411194042 Email: ramnarayan.k@gmail.com
Other Stay Options: Forest Rest House (FRH) & KMVN at Munsiyari along with a variety of low – to medium budget hotels in and around Munsiyari are available. For details on Hotels at Munsiyari, click here.
For Other Hotels at Munsiyari CLICK HERE
Directions to Reach Sarmoli Village from Munsiyari: After visiting the Women’s Cooperative Bazaar on Madkot Road, take the left-uphill dirt road. As you journey, you’ll encounter a picturesque stream with gentle waterfalls, leading you to a magnificent old deodar tree that stands as the landmark for Sarmoli. With prior bookings, a member of the village will be awaiting your arrival to guide you further to your chosen place of stay.
Please consider these before you travel
- In the hills, the roads are narrow and the travelling time depends on the weather conditions. Remember to carry adequate food and water for the journey.
- While travelling to the Himalaya’s it is advisable to carry salt as there are blood-sucking leeches!
- Sarmoli homestays offer you a chance to ‘live like a local’ for the time you are there. These people open their humble homes for you so please respect their living style and try to understand what is expected of you as a guest. There are limited food options and frequent power cuts. Solar lamps are provided, but remember to charge them.
- There are no washing machines and fresh sheets will be available every 3rd day! Prepare to wash your clothes and clean your utensils.
- Try and spend time learning and experiencing their daily life and follow their routine during your stay.
- If you are travelling for a longer duration, it is good to connect with the local and volunteer for their conservation projects.
- Spend your time here interacting with the locals, experience the love of a village community. Read the book you have in your backpack, write a journal and just take a break. BREATHE WELL.
- Plan your trip only if you are prepared to live like them, understand their culture and happy to let go of the comfort luxury all of us are so used to.
Blogs to Read Before You Go:
Videos on Maati Sangathan helps you understand how the Maati Foundation helped empower women and went beyond conservation of forests to responsible eco-tourism platform.
Distance Chart to Munsiyari
New Delhi to Munsiyari: 624 km
Nainital to Munsiyari: 300 Kms
Almora to Munsiyari: 192 km
Kathgodam to Pithoragarh: 200 km
Kathgodam to Munsyari: 280 km
Pithoragarh to Munsiyari: 150 km
Road Route Options from Delhi:
Route 1: Delhi – Hapur – Gajrola – Moradabad Bypass – Haldwani – Kathgodam – Bhimtal – Bhowali – Khairna – Almora – Chitai Temple – Barechina – Dhaulchina – Sheraghat – Udiyari Bend – Thal – Birthi Fall – Kalamuni Top – Munsiyari
Route 2: Delhi – Hapur – Gajrola – Moradabad Bypass – Kashipur – Kaladhungi – Nainital – Bhowali – Khairna – Almora – Chitai Temple – Barechina – Dhaulchina – Sheraghat – Udiyari Bend – Thal – Birthi Fall – Kalamuni Top – Munsiyari
Route 3: Delhi – Hapur – Gajrola – Moradabad Bypass – Kashipur – Kaladhungi – Nainital – Bhowali – Khairna – Almora – Kosi – Someshwar – Kausani – Baijnath – Garur – Bageshwar – Vijaypur – Chaukori – Udiyari Bend – Thal – Birthi Fall – Kalamuni Top – Munsiyari
By Rail: Nearest railheads to Munsiyari are Kathgodam (275 km) and Tanakpur (286 km). One can easily hire taxis and take frequent buses to Munsiyari from here.
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You have painted an extremely rosy picture of Malika Virdi and her homestay. She doesn’t care shit about her guests and doesn’t even bother to respond to messages, emails nor find out if the guests are comfortable. The food served at the same homestay you have mentioned pics of, serves the most inedible food anyone could have eaten and I have stayed at some beautiful homes with even more lovely people in Uttarakhand and eaten some of the finest kumaoni food.
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Hi Smriti,
I am indeed surprised to find that your visit to Sarmoli wasn’t what you envisioned it to be. Travel brings with it different experiences and perhaps you would understand that the homestays at Sarmoli are not there merely to attract tourists but offer meaningful eco-tourism and interaction with the local community. Food definitely is not as per the food served at most of the attractive homestays that you must have stayed, but at Sarmoli, they serve what is ideally the simple and rustic daily diet of the people there. I don’t know Malika Virdi personally but she is doing a remarkable job in terms of providing the people of Sarmoli livelihood and reasons to smile and that is what matters in the end.
I may sound upfront, but next time you visit a homestay please ask the locals on what really do they eat. You will be surprised how different it will be from the food the exotic homestay serves!
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I totally agree with Smriti Agarwal on the above comment! Indeed Malavika cares shit of her guests! She asks you to pay the complete amount for the stay in advance which is non refundable. The stay has no basic necessities for the amount you pay. You don’t even have a room heater when the temperature is around 0 deg and the guests are expected to manage with hot water bags! She gives a very rosy picture of the stays! Make sure you don’t fall for this trap. We have been a avid travelers and have traveled across the length and breadth of India – even to places where you don even have electricity and this has been the worst experience! I am sorry to tell you that Malavika is one of the pathetic hosts! The moment you give the feedback about the stay, you will feel the heat of her atrocity! She stops receiving the calls stating her phone was on silent. Calls you back later just to abuse you!
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Hi Neha, First of its sad to learn about your experience at Sarmoli. For what I know Sarmoli homestays are an ideal destination for the intrepid traveller who seeks to explore the destination at their own pace and stay mindful of the local community.
Sarmoli is a unique stay option and is definitely unlike other homestays that go beyond to cater to the basic necessities (I mean which real traveller needs the luxury of the house or a hotel while staying in homestays? its the rustic feel that everyone looks out, right?). Its a home away from home and the locals expect you to clean the rooms, wash the utensils and consider taking part in other usual household chores on a daily basis. They even offer clean linen once every 3 days which I think is quite nice.
Its difficult to forget your earlier experience, but I’ll request you to travel again to Sarmoli and this time please consider staying at Kamla Pandey’s beautiful home to enjoy the surreal essence of this place. Welcome the community and be part of the local chores even if you are there for a short time.
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Hi
Nice Pictures and nice article
A friend sent me this link because I am a very frequent visitor to the Sarmoli (Himalayan Ark ) homestays. Infact since 2006. I visit for both work and holidaying. I have seen the growth in the homestays and marvel each time at new things and also how somethings remains the same – the warm people and the incredible place
Any programme will have its share of disgruntled guests / clients and I guess Sarmoli is no exception but am a bit surprised at the harsh words used and the negative tone. Wow. However not knowing the exact situation that befell you let me tell you my experiences.
I work and travel to a lot of Himalayan locations, west to east – Ladakh, Spiti, Kaza, Kullu Valley (Tirthan), Chopta, Wan, Roopkund, Auli , Malari , Nepal (Annapoorna region), Sikkim and Arunachal (Eaglenest). And have been doing so for 15 plus years. Needless to say I stay in a lot of places and in many so called homestays . So called because they are hotels and lodges masquerading as homestays, with non resident families and caretaker cooks. Sarmoli is one of the few places where I actually stay with a family. And I enjoy it very much – clean rooms, decent toilets with running hotwater, great food, very warm people and when required a sigri or a hot water bottle and of course sitting around the kitchen fire spinning yarns of both kinds. The Sarmoli homestays are not hotels and hopefully will stay that way. Electricity is not in their hands maybe if people in cities used less they would not just get their share but it would also save the environment.
Wanted to point out a few things
@Refunds – Across the tourism sector 100% advances is the norm. As are the deductions on cancellations. Am surprised you say non-refundable. That is not true – in fact I think it is slander. In my years visiting Sarmoli I have met students hosted for free, an artist who couldn’t pay stayed for a few weeks and paid a year or so later (after he became the director of a small museum in Vizag) Sarmoli homestays are a commercial venture but they are not about money
@inedible food – Surely you are joking – In the 4 different homestays I have stayed (in Sankhdhoora and Sarmoli) the food has been nothing less than awesome – wholesome, fresh and incredibly tasty food – Poori’s with Bhang Chutney. the thick ragi rotis layered on with homemade ghee, red rice and the himalayan pepper (Teemur Saag), the sarson ka saag, kala jeera fried rice and then their tasty packed lunches. I wish more places made such inedible food
@Abuse and heat – frankly this is nonsense I have made critical observations and in turn have been communicated with in a professional and direct fashion. I suspect the frankness and directness is not to your liking. Maybe people who splash their money around prefer the fake fawning of the types who service shops in Malls and cities and hold their hands out for tips The homestay people aren’t servants, they are professionals, and must be respected as such, doesn’t matter what personal equation you leave with
I wonder if you actually spent time with any of the people – a walk in the forest with any of the senior guides is an exhilarating experience, like being in a real life Enid Blyton story, literally a thrill a minute, and after so many years I still can’t get enough and writing all this makes me realise I need to go back for more
Across the Himalaya I am yet to see a community that does so much together – the kids are already better citizens that many of us will ever be, the women who work so hard and let not their troubles spill over. For them money is not everything for them community is everything
May their food be inedible to the tasteless
May their warmth be cool to the senseless
It means more for people like me
For the quiet shall always we welcome
Hari
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Hello Ashima, I was randomly searching the net and found this well written article. However, I was surprised to see the pictures taken by me on this blog. And some people who have written negative views do not even know the first thing about rural tourism and homestays. So I think we need to educate them more. I now live in Vizag and invite you to come and explore the city.
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Hi Dipali,
Thank you for your kind words and I am happy you liked the post. Yes, the pictures have been picked randomly from @VoicesofMunsiari and Flickr accounts; however, due to some technical issues last year, most content including copyright texts has got deleted. I am currently updating each post and being a mom to an active 7-year-old doesn’t give me much time too.
Many travellers travel to seek luxury and comfort and are not open to adapt to rural or eco-friendly way to travel. Things are opening up in terms of people reconnecting and travelling to places to feel the real world and I am sure in time things will change.
Do Keep in touch…
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