The Making of Birdsong Cottage

The journey of Birdsong Cottage began on the internet, very fitting in this cyber-connected world. 

Starting out

I was obssessed with my dream home in the hills since early childhood, and in 2006-7, having moved to North India I felt it was high time to action this dream. So there were trips to hill stations to find out about land or homes for sale, there were other enquiries from people connected to the hills, but nothing seemd to be working out. Then on a travel forum on the internet I came across a thread about buying plots in the hills and making a home! The people in the conversation were all talking about places where we had already tried and failed to get a good deal. But there was one girl, now living abroad, who said these areas were getting crowded and would we care to look at her native village, far away and remote, pristine and pure, within  touching distance of the mighty Nanda Devi? Well, why not, I wondered, and got talking to her. One thing led to another and within a few months for first touching base, we were off to check out the tiny remote, unheard of and off the map village of Guniyala Khal, in Chamoli Dist. of the Garhwal region of Uttarakhand, India.

This is a photo essay of that journey from the first visit till the dream took shape and stood firm in front of in the summer of 2012.

The neighborhood

The first look

Reaching Guniyala and seeing the little plot for sale for the first time proved to an adventure in itself. We were caught in torrential rains, the last outpouring of a retreating monsoon, in full blast. The drive from the foothills of the Himalayas at Rishikesh 200 kms up to the high ridges of the Central Himalayas around Guniyala was an interestingly gripping one to say the least! Dense clouds that blocked all vision, hairpin bends, raging river gorges, crumbling landslides and washed away roads were just some of the adventurous encounters we faced. The overwehlming feeling after about an hour into the over 6 hours drive (supposedly) was one of utter remoteness and being in the back of beyond, in an unknown, lost corner of the world! It was a thrilling, exciting and sometimes bewildering time. 

With myriad breaks, change of transport modes, and the massive patience of explorers on an unknown journey we finally made it to our destination just as the sun was setting as against the estimated arrival at noon. A warm welcome by the owner of the little property and the beautiful, luch green serene surroundings refreshed us a fair bit and we were soon tucking into delicious home cooked rustic fare and feeling warm and rested. 

Next morning we woke up with the tinkling of cowbells to a crisp, clear day as the cattle were led out to the forests to graze by the village herders. Walking out we surveyed the land, the proposed plot of terraced fields for sale and the prettiness all around, and said a quick yes to the deal. And that is how we came to create our own little slice of mountain bliss which now we offer to share with the world.