Tandi village · above Jibhi · Himachal

Mandukya

A hillside home eight kilometres — and one whole world — above Jibhi.

Chapter one · How it began

Two friends, and a village that wouldn’t let us leave

We didn’t set out to build anything. Jagriti and I first climbed the eight kilometres from Jibhi as travellers, following a rumour of a quiet village called Tandi. The road wound up through deodar forest, the valley opened below us, and the mountains stood there the way they always have — enormous, patient, completely unbothered by our plans.

We kept coming back. For the views first, if we’re honest. Then for the people — farmers and shepherds who still live the old way, who waved us into their kitchens and poured tea we never asked for and never refused. Somewhere between visits, the question quietly changed from when do we return to how do we stay.

Mandukya is our answer. We built two villas on this hillside so others could feel what we felt — and we built them properly comfortable, on purpose. Cold rooms and hard beds have a way of shrinking even the largest view. Here, nothing stands between you and the valley. In a few places, not even a wall. You’ll see.

Everything is run by the two of us and our small team of humble, wonderful helpers from the village — the cooking, the fires, the little things. This is not a hotel. It is our home on the hill, and while you’re here, it is yours.

Riya & Jagritifounders

Evening light over the forested ridges of the Banjar valley seen from above Mandukya

“Peace, but never silence.”

The birds, the winds, the deodars — they have all been waiting for someone to stop and notice them. Tandi has plenty of quiet, and none of it is empty.

A curved deodar-wood balcony peeking through apple trees

Monsoon mist rolling over the green hillside path to Mandukya

Chapter two · Tandi

A village that still lives the old way

Tandi is a handful of homes stitched onto a mountainside — woodsmoke in the mornings, cattle bells in the afternoon, apple and apricot trees leaning between the houses. Life here follows the sun and the seasons, and nobody seems in a hurry to change that.

It sits close to everything this valley is loved for — Jibhi’s cafés and waterfall, the Jalori Pass, the rivers of Tirthan — yet belongs to none of the noise. You are eight kilometres above all of it, in a place most maps barely bother to name.

From Jibhi: 8 km, all uphill
The forest: Deodar, pine-nut, apple & apricot
The soundtrack: Birds, wind, running water
Alarm clock: Optional. The light does it better.

Chapter three · The build

Built from deodar, warmed like a home

Two duplex villas, raised from the same deodar wood that surrounds them — designed so that comfort never gets in the way of the view. Modern where it matters, Himachali where it counts.

A bed beneath a glass roof, deodar branches visible through the panes overhead

No. I

A glass roof, right above the bed

On the first floor, the ceiling over your bed is glass. Rain drumming, deodars swaying, and on clear nights more stars than you will manage to count before sleep wins.

No. II

A bathtub with the best seat in the valley

We put the tubs where most builders put a wall — against full-height glass, facing the mountains. Run it hot, sink in, and watch the clouds cross the ridgeline.

A guest soaking in a freestanding bathtub before a wall of glass, misty forest beyond

Marble bathroom with freestanding tub and a warm wooden sauna cabin glowing beside it

No. III

Steam, for the deeply tired

Each bathroom carries a steam-and-sauna corner. After a long day on the Jalori trails it stops being a luxury and starts being medicine.

No. IV

Warm in January, cool in June

Insulated walls keep the temperature kind in every season. An electric fireplace for the evenings, a mini kitchen for midnight chai — because discomfort should never be the thing you remember about the mountains.

Deodar-panelled bedroom glowing warm, with an electric fireplace set in a brick chimney

Breakfast table for two on the balcony, mountains framed by the A of the roof

No. V

A balcony and a terrace, each

Mornings happen on the balcony, framed by the A of the roof. Evenings drift to the open terrace. Both face the same mountains — which somehow never look the same twice.

Gallery

Have a proper look around

33 photographs

The two deodar A-frame villas standing side by side on the terraced hillside

One villa lit from within at dusk, the forest rising behind it

The gravel drive and stone gateposts seen from above, lights strung along the fence

The wooden Mandukya gate at dusk with a string of lights tracing the hillside

Monsoon mist rolling over the green path up to the villas

Evening light across the forested ridges of the Banjar valley

A curved deodar balcony glimpsed through the apple trees

The loft bed beneath its glass roof, deodar branches visible through the panes

Triangular skylights framing the treetops above the loft bed

Sunlit loft bedroom with the mountains through the A-frame glass

Loft bed made in white and green linen, facing the green hillside

The loft with its writing desk, woven rug and doors onto the balcony

Deodar-panelled bedroom glowing warm, electric fireplace set in a brick chimney

Ground-floor bedroom opening onto panoramic windows over the forest

Bedroom with the wooden staircase climbing to the loft and a mini kitchen beneath

Tea and biscuits set on the ottoman at the foot of the bed

The sitting corner wrapped in tall windows, forest on every side

Two soft chairs and a glass of wine at the window, valley beyond

Breakfast for two on the balcony, mountains framed by the A of the roof

Morning tea on the balcony above the deodar forest

The open terrace, laid out for a long evening

The freestanding bathtub set against full-height glass facing the mountains

A guest soaking in the tub before a wall of glass, misty forest beyond

Marble bathroom with the tub and a warm wooden sauna cabin beside it

Robes and towels hanging ready beside the bath

The firepit lit at dusk, benches drawn up and the whole valley ahead

Flames in the firepit with the villas glowing behind

Snacks and drinks laid out beside the fire

Breakfast carried out into the meadow on a clear morning

The picnic table on the grass, mountains all around

A book and a plate of cut fruit left out in the sun

The practical bits

Everything you’d want to ask, answered

Two villas: Twins on the hillside, each entirely private
Duplex layout: Two floors, a bedroom on each
Glass roof: Over the first-floor bed, open to the sky
Bathtub & steam bath: Facing the mountains, robes & slippers included
Temperature controlled: Insulated walls, warm floors of deodar
Electric fireplace: For the evenings that ask for one
Mini kitchen: In every villa, for midnight chai
In-house chef: Indian & international, cooked with love
Order from your villa: Automated food ordering, whenever hunger strikes
Balcony + open terrace: Private to each villa, views included
Wifi & parking: Both free, both dependable
Run by: Riya, Jagriti & our helpers from Tandi

Also on the hill · Homely Rooms

The rooms we lived in first

Before the villas went up, this is where we slept. Our own rooms, in our own house on the same hillside — now opened up for anyone who wants to wake to this valley.

The view from here is extraordinary, and that is no accident — we chose these windows for ourselves. The study table sits beneath one because that is where the afternoon light lands. The bed faces the mountains because we could not imagine it any other way.

You get a big pine-panelled room that holds its warmth through the coldest nights, a proper bed, a television for when the mist closes in, that study table — and, through their own doors beside the bed, a shower room and a separate toilet, both yours alone.

Everything outdoors is shared with the villas: the terraces, the firepit, the lawns, the same kitchen sending up the same food. The hill is exactly the same.

A spacious pine-panelled room with a low wooden bed, television, bench seat and mountain windows — Room enough to unpack properly and stay a while.

Bed made in white linen with Himachali cushions, dreamcatchers on the pine wall and mountains through the window — Mornings arrive through the window.

Study table set under a wide window with snow-covered deodars outside and a chair drawn up — The desk where we used to work.

Breakfast tray of parathas, fruit and drinks laid out on the bed with an open book and the valley beyond — Breakfast in bed, from the same kitchen.

Inside every room

A spacious roomPine walls and ceiling, warm wooden floors
A proper bedDeep quilts, and the mountains straight ahead
Study tableUnder the window, where the light lands
TelevisionFor the evenings the mist closes in
Shower roomAttached, its own door, hot water all day
Separate toiletIts own room again, right beside it
The same outdoorsFirepit, terraces and lawns, shared with the villas
The same kitchenRoom service from our in-house chef

Marble-lined shower area with rain shower head and a slim wash basin — The shower room.

Separate toilet room in marble with basin and mirror cabinet — And the toilet, next door to it.

Gallery

The rooms, corner to corner

39 photographs

The full room — low wooden bed, television, bench seat and coffee table under pine walls

The room from the doorway, a chess set waiting on the low table

The sitting side of the room — day bed, television and a painted mountain canvas

Wide view across the room to the bed, with dreamcatchers on the pine wall

The bed framed by windows on two sides, dreamcatcher and macramé hanging alongside

The room at dusk with candles set out on the bed

Television on the pine wall, seen from the foot of the bed

Bed made in white linen with Himachali cushions and mountains through the window

A carved wooden mask and macramé above the bed, snow peaks beyond the glass

Snow-covered ridges filling the window beside the bed

String lights along the window and falling snow outside the bedhead

The bed with fairy lights strung across the picture window and the desk beyond

Bare winter branches and snow through the corner windows

Bed and study table together, forest filling the window

The length of the room — bed at one end, desk at the other

Looking from the pillows across to the writing desk

Morning light on the bed, desk and chair in the far corner

The room with its wardrobe, desk and mountain painting

The study table under the window, chair drawn up, snow on the deodars outside

The desk beneath a green-curtained window looking into the forest

The desk laid with books and a cloth, valley filling the window

The desk corner, with the shower room and toilet doors alongside

A ukulele and books on the desk, snow falling past the window

The desk nook with its painted frog print and shelves of oddments

Water bottle, painted vases and a stack of books along the desk

Small painted figures, brushes and a ukulele gathered on the desk

Books and hand-painted dolls left out on the desk cloth

A carved mirror and hanging shelf of terracotta pots on the pine wall

The attached shower room, marble-lined with a slim wash basin

The separate toilet room with basin and mirror cabinet

Basin, mirror and toilet in their own room beside the shower

Breakfast tray and an open book on the bed, valley beyond

Fresh juice, omelette and parathas carried up to the bed

Breakfast in bed with the forested slope through the window

A tray of breakfast set against the big picture window

Fruit, parathas, curd and juice laid out across the tray

Lunch brought to the room, snow falling outside the glass

A book, cold drinks and a full tray on the bed

Momos, fried rice and gravy served in the room for dinner

Chapter four · A day on the hill

There is a rhythm here. It finds you.

Early mist over the green hillside around Mandukya — 6:47 am
The valley exhales
Mist climbs out of the gorge. The birds start their shift long before you start yours.

Breakfast laid out on a wooden picnic table above the valley — 9:30 am
Breakfast, view included
Hot breakfast on the meadow table while the sun works its way down the far ridge.

An open book, fresh fruit and juice on a wooden table — 1:00 pm
Do nothing, beautifully
A book, a bowl of something fresh, a chair you will not want to leave. This is the main event.

Tea tray on a balcony table overlooking the mountains — 4:30 pm
Chai o’clock
Tea on your balcony as the light turns to honey and the shadows climb out of the valley.

Bonfire burning in a stone firepit at dusk, mountains behind — 7:00 pm
The fire is lit
The valley goes blue, then gold, then quiet. Pull a bench closer; the sparks fly upward.

Cosy loft bedroom with skylight windows at night — 10:30 pm
Lights out, stars on
Upstairs, under the glass roof, the night sky takes over your ceiling. Sleep comes easy up here.

Evenings at Mandukya

Dinner by the fire, cooked with love

Our in-house chef cooks the way this valley eats — Himachali and Indian classics done properly, with international comfort food for the days you miss home. Order from your villa whenever hunger strikes; the ordering is automated, the cooking is anything but.

And on clear nights we light the bonfire, set skewers on the coals, and let dinner take exactly as long as it wants to.

Skewers roasting over glowing coals beside the bonfire at night

Chapter five · Wander out

Secluded, never stranded

Tandi keeps you above the bustle, but everything the Banjar valley is loved for sits within easy reach. Ask us — we have opinions.

Jibhi

8 km

The village below — little cafés, the waterfall walk, and old wooden bridges over cold, clear water.

Jalori Pass

Short drive

The high mountain pass where the valley’s best treks begin. Go early; sunrise up there is worth the alarm.

Raghupur Fort

Trek from Jalori

Ridge-top ruins with a full-circle sweep of the Himalaya — one of the highest forts in India.

Serolsar Lake

Forest trek

A still, sacred lake reached by a beautiful walk through oak forest from the pass.

Tirthan Valley

Day trip

Trout streams, riverside lunches, and the doorstep of the Great Himalayan National Park.

Come stay

The hill is waiting

Two duplex villas and our Homely Rooms, on one hillside. Book the villas on Airbnb, or write to us directly and we’ll help with dates, routes, seasons and everything in between.

The first twin

Villa One

Duplex in deodar — glass roof over the loft bed, bathtub and steam bath facing the valley, fireplace, mini kitchen, balcony and open terrace.

Book Villa One ↗

The second twin

Villa Two

The same soul with its own corner of the hillside — and its own sunset. Everything above, private to you.

Book Villa Two ↗

A Homely Room with pine walls, a bench seat, television and bed beneath a mountain painting

Our own rooms

Homely Rooms

The rooms we lived in ourselves — spacious and pine-panelled, with a proper bed, television, study table, an attached shower room and a separate toilet. The same hillside, the same views, the same kitchen.

Ask about the rooms

Getting here

Fly into Bhuntar (Kullu) and drive up in about two hours — or take the overnight Volvo from Delhi to Aut, then a taxi through Banjar and Jibhi. The last eight kilometres climb through deodar forest to Tandi.

Send us your plan and we’ll help you sort the final stretch — including where to stop for the best rajma on the way.

When to come

March to June for green meadows and long evenings. October for gold light and impossibly blue skies. December to February for snow, fires and steam baths.

The villas stay warm all winter — insulation was rule number one when we built them.