Raju’s Cottage, Goshaini, Tirthan Valley – A Pioneer in Hospitality

If you are looking for peace, solitude, calmness, break from the hustle-bustle, chit-chats, bonfires, nature

walks midst green cover, musical river flowing besides, etc.. I can bet there is no better place

than Tirthan Valley for you, situated just besides the ever serene Tirthan River A short visit to this

tranquil place can do wonders to rejuvenate yourself and can help you refresh the magic present in you. I

just returned back from my yet another family visit to Tirthan Valley and believe me it always feels better

and better, feels like home there

Magical Views in Tirthan Valley

Like I have said, there are not many options of stay / accommodation in this secluded part of Himachal

PradeshnamedTirthan Valley. Hence, you need some planning before you hit the road especially if you

are with family. One of those scarce stay options is the pioneer of all guest houses / home stays of

Himachal Pradesh (in fact in entire India), quite famous by the name “Raju’s Cottage, Goshaini –

Tirthan Valley“… And today I will share my super lovely experience of at this amazing places to stay in

Himalayas

Despite being so popular among travelers & difficult to book, this fantastic home stay smoothly

continuous to offer better and better quality topped with hospitality it is famous for in many parts of the

world… Hats off to the dedication & efforts put in by Rajuji and his family to continue offering this

enriching experience to the travelers in Himalayas. All this comes at a great VFM price range of Rs

2500-3000 per couple / per day (includes all meals + juices + fruits + snacks + tea/coffee) and with

experience of staying at so many properties in Himalayas over last 5 years, I can easily say that it is quite

a deal in return of theenriching experience you live at Raju’s Cottage The only concern I see is the

limited bookings available especially in season time (May to July) and hence, to experience this lovely

stay, you need to pre-plan in advance or leave a note for cancellation notifications by keeping your plan

flexible…

Raju’s Cottage, Goshaini, Tirthan Valley

Different Shades in Tirthan Valley

I will start writing the detailed travel tale of my recent family trip to Tirthan Valley but before that let me

share the detailed review of Raju’s Cottage. Those who are not aware of Tirthan Valley can of course

check out My Travel Guide for Tirthan Valley

Complete review of Raju’s Cottage, Goshaini – Tirthan Valley

Pictures

First and foremost, as my trademark saying goes pictures are better than a thousand words…

Block 1 at Raju’s Cottage, Goshaini, Tirthan Valley

Tirthan River flowing besides Raju’s Cottage

Flora and Fauna at Raju’s Cottage

Price & Bookings

You can get in touch with Rajuji or Varun using the below contact details:

+91-9459833124 OR +91-9459227375 OR +91-9418149808 OR +91-9625211848 and +91-8894488122

(01903-225008 not sure of this one if it is working or not)

Here is the Facebook Profile where you can get connected with them: Raju’s Cottage – Goshaini | Tirthan

Valley

The price ranges from Rs 1400-1700 per person per day depending upon the choice of meals you make,

veg / non-veg. Please note that the price includes all meals + juices + fruits + snacks + tea/coffee The best

part is that food is served in common dinninghall which is beautifully placed and done at a fixed schedule

for all meals meals. For non-veggies, trout fish is served on alternative days …

Location

If you are coming from the Mandi/Manali/Aut – Larji side, you need to take a U-turn towards Goshaini –

Tirthan Valley or Great Himalayan National Park, instead of the straight road which leads to Banjar. Once

you take that road you need to cover around 8-9 KMs passing SaiRopa FRH, then pass by Nagini Village

to reach at the end of the road… Then a bridge will come and you take left on that bridge and after

crossing it you will see a sign board on right saying Goshaini – 1 KM. Just before that signboard, a path

goes down hill where the parking is present for Raju’s Cottage…

Parking

As stated above, after crossing the bridge at the end of the road to Goshaini you will see a sign board on

right saying Goshaini – 1 KM. Just before that, a path goes down hill where the parking is present for

Raju’s Cottage. There is a decent space to park about 4 cars. Couple of cars can also be parked just

aside the road where space is available.

Then you need to take the luggage and passengers so that they can cross the Tirthan River on a pulley

trolley (which is completely safe) to reach the guest house on the other side of the river.

Personal Experience at Raju’s Cottage

There are couple of blocks in which the guest house is divided. One is sitting at the hill where you need to

hike from the base block for about 5 minutes to reach up there. It has a very nice, open common

place/sitting area with nice views. However, you need to comedown for food and river … There is

one block at the base near the river, where generally only families are allowed with kids. The dining is

there in this block only.

Exterior view of block 2 at Raju’s Cottage

Rooms in the guest house are basic YET quite comfortable, nice, cosy and of course, very clean. The

best thing was at such a remote location you are getting such kind of homely experience, which is a kind

of luxury in itself for a person like me. Rooms were spacious enough with attached bathroom having hot

water supply but no room heater, though couple of rooms had fire place in it. There is one single room on

first floor of base block which actually caught the attention. Highly recommended for someone going to

stay there alone…aperfect room to stay in solitude. Our rooms had two single beds and one double bed

good enough to accommodate a family of 4 adults too.

Rooms at Raju’s Cottage

Quality of food/juices was extremely good and everything was cooked to our familiar taste buds.

Breakfast was quite good with variety of options… The food is served in fixed time slots for breakfast,

lunch and dinner along with Tea/Coffees which also have fixed timings in general but you can always ask

for personal preference on tea/coffee…

You can catch your own fish but they have catch and release policy … Don’t worry they serve Trout

Fish every alternate day in dinner ;)… The dining hall was very nicely done and kept. Plus you need to

arrange or keep your finished food / utensils properly in organized manner yourself as per the marked

labels. The leftover food is properly taken care or disposed in the end, which is kind of an X-Factor of this

place and good to know that they are conscious about their surrounding nature and disposal system…

Dining Room at Raju’s Cottage

Cherries on the house at Raju’s Cottage

Delicious food at Raju’s Cottage

An ample garden space was there just in front of the first block at the base along with a lot of greenery

which is quite refreshing… They have the cherry trees in the garden and those cherries were sweet to

taste too. My son thoroughly loved them … There are few games which are kept and you can try

your hands at Badminton too. Numerous nature trails can be explored around the guest house as well or

besides the river which is just few steps down from the base block or a walk to the small market of

Goshaini Village to mingle with locals… Apart from that you can always enjoy the bonfire in the evening

as well. There are couple of places where bonfire can be made available, one in front open and one is

under a covered shed. The Popcorns served with bonfire just proved icing on the cake for Vodka lovers

like us, Thank you Varun for it !!

Outside sitting area at Raju’s Cottage

Bonfire Place 1

Well for booze lovers, Liquor shop is just at the start of one hanging bridge near a village named Deori as

you take a U-Turn towards Tirthan Valley while coming from Mandi side. You may get some decent

brands on that shop but beer is Palone 8 which is served there… Just few 200 odd Meters ahead at

another shop, you can get the cigarettes for yourself as well.

Hospitality we received from Varun was super good and he took care of most of our on the fly requests

too… Vishal was too soft spoken and they served whatever we requested… Thanks to them and I am

sure I will find a bigger time window next summers to enjoy a wonderful holiday again with my family.

Varun also guided us by pointing the primary school at the Gahidhar village for executing the DoW

Causes, a step towards Responsible Travel by DoW…

Greenery around Raju’s Cottage

Medical Help

For any medical assistance you will have to approach the Banjar town approximately 12-13 KMs from the

guest house. Next major medical assistance can be sought at Kullu or Mandi about 2-2.5 Hrs away from

Goshaini.

ATM

Nearest ATM is at Banjar, approximately 12-13 KMs from the guest house.

Petrol Pump

Nearest Petrol Pump is at Larji, approximately 25-30 KMs from the guest house.

Activities and Attraction In-Around Raju’s Cottage

There is a lovely waterfall nearby the guest house. You need to drive back towards Banjar about 2-3 KMs

from the guest house, you will reach a village by the name Gahidhar village after crossing 2 up-hills from

the guest house. The hiking trail to waterfall starts from that village and can be covered in about 35-40

minutes. You need to be careful at some stretches on the hiking trail though, especially if it rains. The

water was damn cold when we reached there but we braved to get right into the middle of waterfall and

get our feet all numb …

Conclusion

In the end, personally our stay at Raju’s Cottage felt more of a home to us rather than any hotel or guest

house, so kudos to Rajuji and his family for maintaining such an environment around which is really hard

to beat… Like I say for Tirthan Valley that its very near to civilization yet very secluded and midst pure

mother nature. The place is truly magical and has got all that one can ask for a perfect offbeat holiday

destination in Himchal or Himalayas to be very frank… Offering such an enriching experience at such

reasonable rates is commendable in itself

I just hope that as more and more people flood in to Tirthan Valley, Raju’s Cottage continues to provide

this excellence in hospitality and amazing services to the people traveling to this part of Himalayas.

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