The place itself

Photographs, not renderings

All of these are the two houses as they actually are, taken on ordinary days. Nothing here is a stock photograph.

Outside

The house and the forest

Eevolve's three-storey building framed by conifers, its stone terrace and awning below — The house

The paved road curving uphill through tall conifers in low afternoon sun — The road up

The house seen from the front, benches set out on the paved terrace beneath it — From the front

The hostel lit up among the trees after dark — After dark

The covered walkway with its painted mandala mural, potted plants and prayer flags — The walkway

A painted mural on the balcony wall, the railing opening onto conifers — Painted walls

A corridor looking through to the garden beyond — Through to the garden

Inside

Where everyone ends up

The glass-roofed terrace, prayer flags and snow on the Dhauladhar beyond — The terrace

The glass-roofed common room with low tables and floor seating — Common room

Guests reading and working on the floor cushions in the common room — An afternoon

A guest working on a laptop at the low table in the common room — Getting things done

The stone courtyard with picnic benches under strings of prayer flags — The café

A quiet corridor opening onto the forest at the far end — Upstairs

The kitchenette counter with sink and kettle — The kitchenette

The rooms

Bunks, doubles and studios

The studio apartment with its bed, two rugs, balcony door and a window seat — The studio

Two metal bunk units at right angles in the eight-bed dorm, with a round jute rug — Eight-bed dorm

The four-bed dorm, two bunks facing each other across a lettered locker unit — Four-bed dorm

The eight-bed mixed dorm, lettered lockers along one wall and bunks along the other — The eight-bed, other side

A king room with a log headboard, a desk and rugs on the wooden floor — King room

A queen room with the bed between two curtained windows onto dense conifers — Queen room

A twin room with two single beds, a window onto the trees and a desk with a kettle — Twin room

A low table and two floor cushions at the studio's tall windows, trees and a ridge beyond — The studio, window seat

The full width of the superior king room, desk by the window and rug across the floor — Evolve Home superior king

An Evolve Home deluxe queen room with a mirrored wardrobe and a desk with a tea tray — Evolve Home deluxe queen

An Evolve Home deluxe twin room, two single beds either side of a lit bedside lamp — Evolve Home deluxe twin

Soma House

The quieter house, up the hill

Soma House's three-storey white building with railed balconies above a grassy slope — The house

The tiled balcony running along its railing, dense green trees and a distant ridge — The balcony

The superior studio with a red rug, luggage rack and glass doors onto the balcony — Superior studio

A superior king room with a framed elephant textile, red rug and doors onto the balcony — Superior king

Dusk over the wooded valley, village buildings below and a forested ridge behind — Dusk over the valley

A large blue leaf mural spanning the stairwell wall above dark stone steps — The stairwell

A sunlit studio with a wide bed, ceiling fan and full-height glazing onto the balcony — Studio room

A king room with a coat rack and rug, an open door onto the railed balcony — King room

A white-linen bed with pink cushions beside full-height glass doors onto a railed balcony — The superior studio, from the door

The studio balcony in low sun, two chairs above a forested ridge and terraced slope — The studio balcony, evening

Painted folk motifs framing a bay window on Soma House's white wall, flowering plants below — Painted walls