PaliGhar (homestay/farmstay) Kalimpong - Home Stay in Kalimpong, Icha Khasmahal - Kalimpong, India

We were received with great hospitality and warmth. All our needs were taken care of. If you are visiting the place for the 1st time and have no idea about the surroundings, don't worry. The host will guide you through so that your stay is organised, comfortable and enjoyable. Kabir & Ahana are very kind, warm hosts who will cater to all your need to the optimal. There are other helping hands available in the property whi thorough tries to help their guests and looks after the hygiene of your room & other requests (if any). Looking forward to visit the place again soon. P.S: It is not just the responsibility of the host to cater the need of their guests. Tourists should also respect their culture & own up the place as their own.

Palighar Homestay is a wonderful rural retreat near Kalimpong in the heart of West Bengal. Our hosts, Kabir and Ahana, made us welcome from the moment we arrived until we departed. Our room was very comfortable with a king-sized bed and had a veranda with lovely garden and valley views on which we could sit and sip homemade lemonade. Ahana prepared delicious and varied meals with fresh ingredients served outside in the garden under sunshades and fairy lights after dark. During our stay Kabir showed us around their small-holding pointing out the different vegetables and plants they were growing. He led us on a walk from the homestay into the surrounding country to experience the local way of life. We can fully recommend Palighar as a restful and relaxing place to recharge. John and Helen (UK) May 2023

Our stay at Palighar was more than what we had wished for. We were looking for a quiet place nested in the nature and this was exactly that. Ahana and Kabir have very thoughtfully put together the place and created a beautiful experience. The thought out meals, freshly cooked with a lot of home grown produce. Special little spots to enjoy the meals from and the view. Both of them are so warm and hospitable. The rooms were a good size, very clean and spacious and well lit. With a comfortable porch outside to enjoy the endless chai sessions. I would absolutely recommend Pali ghar for anyone looking to have a quiet time with nature (And ofcourse yum food). Ahana and Kabir were very hospitable, and made sure we were good.

Our stay at PaliGhar was awesomely relaxing and full of memorable little events. We stayed here for 6 nights but every day brought some new experience for us. The rooms are built in a traditional style using traditional materials. The bamboo and mud walls structure is cool during the day and warm during the nights. The hosts are very particular about not using any chemicals like pesticides so the whole environment around this place is really eco friendly. Yet the amenities and toiletries and the bathroom setup is very neatly done and maintained. You get to see a variety of birds on the property. There are two cute local breed dogs that are very friendly with the visitors. On our last day they were there to see us off right till the end of the road. The hosts, Kabir and Ahana together cover the two pillars of hospitality very well - Great Food and Personalized Attention. The food has both, the local Nepali Newari cuisine and also Continental, Tibetan cuisine. We appreciated their PaliGhar Khana on multiple occasions, which was a healthy mix of local veggies greens and black dal served with rice. On one occasion we had the Tibetan bread Tingmo which was something new for us. The continental spread with baked veggies in cheese sauce, mashed potatoes, baked chicken, and a tossed salad with home baked herb bread was my personal favourite. All meals invariably and informally included a short engaging conversation with Kabir over Ahana's special secret mix herbal tea, which gave us nice tips on the next activities we planned to do. While staying at PaliGhar, the recommendation is to explore the surroundings of this farm stay rather than try to go for far off site seeing. The place is in the middle of lots of village trails that go through the wilderness, through farms and backyards of the locals. One gets to see the livestock pens and cow sheds belonging to the locals that stay in the neighbourhood. Kabir takes the visitors around on these pretty walks and shares trivial details about the things that one gets to see. There is a short hike that goes through these village trails, down to the Relli river bed, and that is a location not to miss, with a small natural pool for a cool afternoon splash. Another short hike takes one to Pudung Farms nearby, which has some adventure activities like ATV rides, a bird aviary for visitors, and a restaurant that they call PFC (Pudung Fried Chicken). This place also houses a local Lepcha School, which is an interesting concept school in itself to explore. PaliGhar is the best place to engage in healthy activities and be treated to awesome lovely food and personalized attention.

Peaceful and beautiful with stunning mountain views. The place is impeccable, well thought out and perfect for relaxing. Rooms are cozy, clean and have the rustic mountain charm. The patio sit out was our most favorite spot to curl up with a book, have endless family conversations or just to sip coffee and enjoy the mountain views. We loved our outdoor times hiking the nearby villages and always looked forward to the sumptuous Nepali meals prepared by Sanjay. Will surely miss the early morning tail wags by Scruffy and Brownie,(the in-house dogs who adopted Pali ghar and never left). They are the most adorable furry companions who just add more fun and warmth to the place. Kabir is a superb and attentive host whose recommendations helped us in exploring Kalimpong and making our stay perfect! All kudos to team Pali Ghar for their hospitality and all the hard work they put in to make the stay special and not lose the idyllic,slow life charm of the mountains. Can't highly recommend enough to anyone we know. We will be back for sure!!

Highly Recommended!!! We went to Palighar from Delhi in the December of 2022. Such a wonderful way to explore the country-side! The property is well kept, well stocked; the rooms are rustic and yet comfortable. We were worried about spending peak winters in mud-houses, but one heater was more than enough to get us through. The beds are ultra-comfortable. Property owners Kabir and Ahana will make sure you will not want for anything when it comes to comfort. They stay on the property and are extremely approachable. Our first day Kabir asked us about our interests; he is always ready with an itinerary to suit your mood of the day. And even if it is to laze in the sun, they have a well-placed hammock that gives you a view of the farm and nearby hills. The highlight for us was a walk through the Haat Bazaar (ask Kabir and Ahana to take you to local eats, you won't regret it!), the hike down to river Relli (we never realised we'd be hungry by the time we reach the river, but Kabir came packed with the best sandwiches) and the village walk (Ahana might as well be the Yellow Pages of Kalimpong!). The food was excellent (give the local food a try--its made at home under Ahana's supervision), and Kabir will give you small nuggets of information regarding local food preferences, influences and traditional versions. For me and my husband the biggest takeaway was Kabir and Ahana's hospitality; they are warm, perceptive and eager to make you comfortable (within reason--its a farmstay, after all!). Would we go again? Definitely! Are we recommending it? Without a doubt!

My partner and I had a lovely stay at PaliGhar's homestay/farm. We wanted and were looking for a quiet place in nature to spend many days with a bit of a feeling of isolation but at the same time close enough to the city of Kalimpong. In this way we could choose when to be connected and when not. We enjoyed pleasant walks in the surroundings, the river, shopping in Kalimpong for gifts for the family... and we had some very pleasant cultural visits (temples, musical events...). The PaliGhar team was in charge of keeping us happy with our needs at all levels (room service, food, where to go, personalized taxi service, what to visit, what events were taking place, internet service, everything). .everything was so lovely we asked to stay 5 more days and they changed their plans to make it happen. They also do elaborate hikes and activities, but we didn't focus on doing too much because we also had to work on our business during our stay. Next time we hope we can also enjoy your hiking experiences and bring friends too. It is nice to see how they combine their business with respect for the environment, calling for quality tourism.

If I have to sum up our experience at PaliGhar its "ecstatic". The organic food, clean surroundings, type of birds I have never seen before and the pin drop silence which you never experience in your daily city life. The extra caring and polite behaviour of the staff, chats with Kabir is something I will always remember. I would strongly recommend getting a taste of PaliGhar experience atleast once a year to recharge your batteries.