In India’s villages, travellers find quiet living, local food, rich stories and a simpler way, says SAKSHI PRIYA
In an age where travel often means curated experiences and crowded landmarks, a quieter shift is taking place. A growing number of travellers are heading into India’s villages, not for a getaway, but for something real. They’re choosing mud homes over boutique hotels, morning cowbells over alarm clocks, and home-cooked lentils over buffet spreads.
Across India, villages are opening their doors and hearts to people eager to live life as the locals do. Travellers from metros and even foreign countries are packing light and stepping into the shoes of rural families. They’re wearing what villagers wear, light cotton dhotis and lungis in the South, handwoven phaneks and innaphis in the North East or colourful ghagras and dupattas in Rajasthan. It’s a gesture of respect and often an attempt to understand life without filters.
Foreigners especially are showing deep interest in staying in one place for weeks, sometimes months. In states like Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Sikkim, it’s common to meet travellers from Europe or Japan helping with farming, learning to make roti on a chulha or walking with village women to collect firewood. They sit with elders under banyan trees, drink tea from steel tumblers and eat what the locals eat, rice with mustard oil chutney, bajra rotis with curd or fresh bamboo shoot curry depending on the region. Many simplify their daily routines.
They rise with the sun, sleep early and immerse themselves in village life. They learn how to milk cows by hand, spending gentle moments with the animals, discovering a connection often lost in city life. Watching a potter shape clay or joining women grinding spices by hand offers a grounding experience. For many, it is a revelation to see how happiness thrives without endless material needs. In the North East, places like Ziro in Arunachal Pradesh and Reiek in Mizoram have become popular among those who want to experience close-knit tribal culture.
In Ziro, travellers often stay in wooden houses on stilts, walk through rice fields and witness how the Apatani tribe practices sustainable living. They eat smoked meat, watch dances performed during seed-sowing ceremonies and often return home with a different sense of connection. In rural Thanjavur or Kumbakonam, guests take part in morning prayers at temples, eat off banana leaves and join the household in making rangolis. In Karnataka, travellers live with Lambani tribes, dress in their bright traditional clothes and attend local fairs. Even Kerala’s tribal hamlets are offering home stays where visitors learn to cook jackfruit dishes or tap toddy. For those tired of schedules and selfies, there’s something refreshing in letting go and letting the village show you how to live again.
Long Stays and Deep Bonds
Foreigners too are drawn to India’s rural charm. Many end up staying longer than planned, charmed by the pace of life and the openness of the people. Some find themselves living in Ladakhi villages, learning how to insulate homes with mud and straw, while others join cultural immersion programmes in Karnataka’s tribal hamlets. It is common to see them waking up at dawn to join morning chores the kitchen.
