Himachal is always full of tourists, people love to visit the hill stations and beautiful tourist spots located in the state. But many places in the state are unexplored and one such place is Jibhi Valley located in Banjar. This was observed by a Jibhi-based ex-army man and later he decided to convert Jibhi into a tourist spot.
Bhagwant Singh Rana, the owner of Jibhi Valley’s first guesthouse pleaded to his dad to convert one of their two houses into a beautiful guest house. When his family agreed to do so he wholeheartedly renovated the house, added a few more windows for sunlight and attached washrooms. He officially opened his guest house in the year 1992.
This journey came with some difficulties and challenges as the village residents were sceptical and often laughed at him and gossiped, “These army men are crazy. Who will come to this place and think of staying here?”
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He told about his first guest which stayed in his guest house for six months and wrote in a travel magazine, “My first guests stayed with us for six months! They enjoyed the dense forest, peaceful atmosphere, simple village life and innocent village folk. I was happy to host them – it allowed me to improve my English and culinary skills. I knew how to cook traditional Himachali food, but my guests taught me to make pancakes and spaghetti, and bake bread and cake! We bonded well during those six months.”
He further told, “During the first year, I received only about ten guests, but by the second year, this number increased to 40! I began to explore new trekking routes in the surrounding areas, including the Great Himalayan National Park. In 1993, I started guided treks with no special equipment. We would find caves along the trekking route for overnight stays – one cave each for the staff and guests, where we would lay blankets to keep warm. I was pleasantly surprised to see a favorable response to these treks, so I eventually bought tents and sleeping bags.”
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He also told that his guesthouse became his university because he learned about many new things because of his guesthouse. He wrote, “For me, tourism has been my greatest teacher. It brought people from as many as 88 countries and all states of India to my guesthouse. It gave me exposure to different cultures and countless opportunities to learn new things. Most people who stayed at my guesthouse became my repeat clients and good friends. I even got a chance to travel to Europe in 2003 on a minimal budget because I already had friends waiting to host me there!”