To reach ‘The Clay Muse’ you need to trek for 2.5 km’s, which takes around an hour to reach the property. The hike is a mix of average and off road paths. But trust us the journey to the property is worth walking for so long.
‘The Clay Muse’ has an old styled two rooms with a kitchen, the washroom being outside. As the house is an ancestral property, therefore the architecture of the house is like a typical local village sort mostly constructed using clay and forest woods. The house can easily accommodate 8-10 people where they have cozy and comfortable bedding on the floor instead of beds which is perfect to laze around after a hectic trek.
Hence living in such village setting and in a house made of clay and wood is in every one of us once in a lifetime kind of wish. And if you have decided to give yourself completely to the nature why not sleep under the sky?
Yes they also provide camping facility in case you want to indulge in stargazing all night in the midst of mountains of Dalhousie. But, here’s a caution- don’t dare to camp in winters as the temperature drops downs too low in winters.
The outside area is dedicated to step organic farming where they grow all the vegetables like carrots, reddish, mustard, cucumber etc. The village is also famous for the production of potatoes. Interestingly, the potatoes of the town are sold throughout Himachal Pradesh.
They also have a meadow nearby perfect for camping and bonfire.
Hence, a picture of surreal beauty and tranquility all around makes you realize that how a very little is needed to live a happy life.

‘The Clay Muse’ has completely embraced the organic way of life. From avoiding the use of plastic to growing their own organic vegetables like carrots, reddish, mustard, cucumber etc they have made the best use of their land and what makes Himachal a loyal traveler’s paradise is its authentic Himachali food and its simplicity.
So, when you are at ‘The Clay Muse’, you get a chance to taste those typical Himachali dishes that you might not get at any restaurant or five stars anywhere in Himachal.
To begin with, in the breakfast they serve traditional Himachali dishes like Theplu- a local delight, Babru which is flat bread prepared with the stuffing of black gram paste which is added to the kneaded dough and sometimes paranthe of different stuffing like potatoes and reddish etc.
Remember the potatoes and reddish are from their own farm?
The lunch menu is simple containing dal, rice, Khatta (a cuisine made of tamarind)which an authentic Himachali cuisine etc and the dinner contains Babru, madra (an original delicacy of Chamba district of Himachal Pradesh). Madra mainly consists of chickpeas cooked in curd and Madra is what they call every Himachali’s first love when it comes to food.
Along with all this they also prepare non vegetarian dishes on demand and what adds to the scrumptious taste to the food is that it is simple and cooked with love and care. Most importantly the food is cooked in traditional wooden stove with firewood. The smoke from the firewood is what adds to the delicious flavor to the food.

Well, trekking 2-3 km’s to reach the the ‘Clay Muse’ is an experience in itself. But remember not everyone can do this. If you are a traveler or habitual of trek’s, then only we invite you to this nature’s bounty as there would be no availability of any vehicle on the way.
The activities at the ‘Clay Muse’ are divided day wise to keep you enthralled and calm at the same time. On the first day, before reaching the homestay, the hosts take you to a cultural walk in Chamba’s main square where you get a chance to know the history of Chamba and its role in struggle of India’s Independence by Librarian of Chamba library which is at Gandhi chowk, Dalhousie. The library has a lot of books which reveals rich history of Chamba. After the cultural walk you are taken to homestay. After reaching you are served with lunch and after taking rest you are taken to the witness the picturesque sunset point where you can witness the surreal and tranquil sunset.
Known as the best sunset point of Dalhousie, it is a perfect place to unwind the grind. The seemingly unending rays of setting sun falling in your eyes are definitely a sight to the sore eyes making ‘Clay Muse’ one of the best Homestays in Chamba. And what would be a better end to a day, having dinner with bonfire and sleeping under the clear sky full of stars?
The next day you are taken for a one day trek from Ganji Pahari , Dainkund valley to Jot. Don’t worry a guide is there with you to guide you through those treacherous roads of Dalhousie.
Going for a trek is optional and if you want to laze around disconnect from your digital world and society for a while then the ‘Clay Muse’ is a perfect place for you to get lost in serenity.
You can go for a village walk, or just soak in the sun and read the book you were longing to read, or just laze around doing nothing.
Well, while spending few days at the ‘Clay Muse’, it will make you feel the nature’s peace. The wind will blow their own freshness into you, the thought of heading back to your city life and leaving the mountains of Dalhousie will make you feel sad and you’ll realize the true value of nature and what part it plays to keep us united and rejuvenate with our own self.

The ‘Clay Muse’ requires a 2.5 km trek from Panchpula and around 5 km’s from Gandhi chowk, Dalhousie. As it is a NotOnMap destination, therefore, GPS won’t be of any help in finding the homestay.
Once you reach Dalhousie, NotonMap helps you to reach the best homestay of Chamba.

Situated after a 2.5Km trek from Dalhousie, the Clay Muse used to be a school run by Mr. Tamang. He turned it into a home stay out of fund crunches, and yet managed an innovative way to keep the children educated. With the money generated by the stunning view from Clay Muse, Mr. Tamang sponsors the education of those children. A noble place run by a noble man, NotOnMaps is proud to have him and Clay Muse on board.