We have opened our first GreenCabin in a small village called Shanag (about 6 kms from Manali) in Himachal Pradesh. On the outside our cabin previously looked like a ancient brick structure and we decided to make alterations there in a way that we maintain the love and effort of our lovely neighbors who built it, wile at the same time giving it an artistic look. That is when we got in touch with Shawn, an artist and now all the four walls are four distinct murals that shows the changing patterns of weather in Himachal. He has done incredible work. With a lot of love and effort he has greatly enhanced the value and essence of this place. The magic of the place is equally on the inside which is made using spare wooden blocks, branches of trees, dreamcatchers and lots of warm fairy lights.
The set up is completely natural using all chopped logs that would be burnt to ashes as well as plywood made from refurbished wood. Everything inside is made from recycled materials or up-cycled processing. To make you feel warm in the snow capped winters of Himachal, this cabin is fully carpeted and has a high-powered heater that runs both on gas and electricity.
The cabin has a Duplex where there is a bed for three and a flat cupboard, downstairs a standing kitchen with basic kitchen appliances (utensils, induction cook stove, crockeries, steel storage containers, electric kettle etc.,), a study, cupboard and a seating arrangement. The upper part (your bedroom) has a large queen size bed with a warm carpeted bed sheet and two table tops. The look of the bedroom is sure to remind you of the camping nights in snow.
We have to mention that we have made a Bottlebrick toilet for you to use and feel good about being a part of dead plastic tapping waste that would otherwise be burnt, dumped or sent to the landfill. The toilet is 10 steps away from the Cabin to save consumption of additional space and make it sustainable. The bottlebrick has a layer of glass bottle to ensure natural lighting in the day time and is well equipped with running water, geyser and Western toilet seat.
How to get to our location?
As a community who believes in sustainability we recommend you use Public transports at all times like trains, ferry’s and shared vehicles. Your little adjusting will make a big step towards reducing carbon footprints
The nearest railway station to Shanag is either New Delhi Railway station or Chandigarh Railway station. Once you hit the stations you can get busses from Kasmire Gate to Manali which will cost anything between INR 1000 to INR 1500. Your journey will be an overnight one of about 12 hours. From our experiences, we suggest taking HRTC Government busses. They maintain good timing and the drivers have immense experience to tackle any rough terrain.
Once you reach Manali Bus stand at Mall Road you can either avail for an Autorickshaw at INR 300 that will bring you straight to Shanag (Karma House) where our GreenCabin is located. If you are into shared vehicles you will have to walk down to the shared taxi stand and get a shared vehicle at INR 30/person to Nehru Kund. From Nehru Kund it is a walk of 15 minutes to our location. Your nearest landmark will be the Shanag Bridge crossing Highland Park (the local market).
Or use the Google Maps. (https://maps.app.goo.gl/FjQiVhhnkctwwSwR8)
So what makes our location special?
The specialty of Shanag is that you will enjoy its natural beauty all around the year. In winters you will be jumping around in the snow right at your doorstep and make snowman. You can see Rotang Pass right from the bedside. In spring you will see the flowering of apple, apricot, walnut and peace trees on top and yellow mustard flowers at the bottom. In autumn you will witness the falling of leaves while the orchards becomes a canvas of golden brown pallet. In summers you will enjoy the much needed warmth of the sun and go skinny dipping.
If you wish to witness how paradise looks like, just take a 20 minutes walk and you will reach Barapatthar through the apple orchards that spans across wide acres of land. Barapatthar also gives you the chance to learn mountain climbing or just sitting near the river bed and enjoying the breeze. For hikers, the village Majaj is just 1.5 hours of walk from the Barapatthar Bridge. It is a quaint village perfect for your “alone” time.
For travelers who wish to camp and pitch their tent, while Shanag has one too many options to do so, we do have our own secret spot where you can put your tent right beside the river side, completely isolated and in hot summer days you can even take a dip at your privacy. Best part? It is just 10 minutes from the cabin.
Our cabin provides you with all the basic kitchen amenities where you can cook and prepare your own meals. The vegetable car comes right at the doorstep. However, for those lazy days when you wish to be pampered right after 5 minutes of walk towards Highland Park you will get plenty of options for both budget and grand meals. While heading back, you can always pack your grocery for the week from Highland Park itself. Do not forget to carry your own cloth bags!
For any official work, or a weekend party if you desire to go to Manali it is just a cost of INR 30 on a shared vehicle from Nehru Kund and takes barely 20 minutes. On the other end, you can also walk down to Old Manali. Take it from us, the walk is worth every bit of your energy. It is a plain land and you will come across many tiny villages along the way. You will observe children laughing and playing, women making Pattus and men discussing life slithering over their fields. Get to know your people, a kind “Namaste” does no harm!
We believe in the clarity of your costs while you make our wooden cabin your home… what you spend, will be used for a subsequent project!
| Term period | Rate (INR) |
| 1 day | 1500/- |
| 7 days | 8500/- |
| 15 days | 15000/- |
| 30 days | 29,000/- |