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Picture yourself in a cosy homestay, waking up to the splendid views of the great Himalayan range. How would you respond to life if it offered you the freedom of making it to your work desk from your bed within a few seconds Imagine being free from the mundane daily household chores that have been taking a toll on your wellbeing for more than six months now. Don&rsquot you find having to attend important business calls irritating when your kids and family members are in the same room Well, you could get rid of that now, thanks to the rather handy trend of workcations that have taken over the pandemic-hit world by storm.
Workcation have become a buzzword ever since professionals and digital nomads began moving to the mountains in search of a change of pace, space and environment. Work from home has basically become work from anywhere. You can take your kids along who can log into their online classes from anywhere too. All you need is a good internet connection. Professionals across the country have experienced a surge in their productivity while working amidst picturesque landscapes.
When the concept of work from home was introduced to most of us during the first week of the first phase of the nationwide lockdown, we were elated at not having to take that long metro or local train ride to our offices. But soon, everyone realised that work from home could also get monotonous after a point of time. If you too have had enough of working from the same four walls of your room, Uttarakhand Tourism has something great in store for you.
The state is encouraging the growing trend of working from the mountains. The scenic state wants you to leave the boring confines of your home and head to a picturesque hillstation, preferably an offbeat one, for a socially-distanced and productive workcation. You could select from a range of well-sanitised homestays set amidst lofty hills, lush greenery and stunning landscapes. You can enjoy the pleasantly cool weather while savouring freshly cooked pahaadi food, made from locally grown organic produce.
This may well be your best chance to soothe your drained eyes, nourish your soul and improve your work efficiency. Several homestays, hotels and resorts in Uttarakhand are offering pocket-friendly workcation packages. The best part is that you could customise your stay as per your requirements.
What makes workcations such a fad among city dwellers is the way they blend work and travel together. While you can enjoy better focus at work, you can also feel the magic of the great outdoors. And after work, engage in activities such as trekking, biking, birdwatching and stargazing.
Dilip Jawalkar, Secretary, Uttarakhand Tourism believes that workcations have become one of the most trending vacation concepts in the post-COVID world. &ldquoWith people working from home during the COVID-19 pandemic, this concept has become a much-needed escape and great opportunity to take your work on a holiday break,&rdquo he says.
Jawalkar says that Uttarakhand's tourism department is offering workcation packages at a number of scenic hotels, resorts and homestays located in destinations such as Jim Corbett, Lansdowne, Mussoorie, Kausani, Dehradun, Nainital, Almora, among others. &ldquoAll the workcation spots in Uttarakhand are located at heavenly locations with panoramic view of mountains all around, providing a boundless therapy for the body, mind and soul."
What makes workcation at these picturesque hamlets unique are the essential facilities being offered, such as high-speed internet connectivity, power back-up, comfort stay, medical and first aid facilities, healthy and fresh food, room service and other facilities.
And of course, visitors need to make sure is that they follow all the important safety guidelines and norms and abide by the mandatory COVID-19 protocols. &ldquoAlso, now all the inter-state tourists can seamlessly visit Uttarakhand without any restrictions. They just need to register themselves on the smart city portal and can enter Uttarakhand without a COVID-19 negative report,&rdquo Jawalkar says.
The Uttarakhand Tourism Development Board has  also made an addition to the new normal of working from home. Apart from offering stunning workcation locations, the board will soon be rolling out the well thought out &lsquoTourist Incentive Coupon&rsquo scheme, wherein tourists visiting Uttarakhand for a minimum of three days will be provided with a discount of up to Rs 3,000 on booking their stay in hotels/homestays.
Rishi Sanwal of Faraway Renz Resort in Jakh has hosted as many as six families from the National Capital Region at his property. All of them had come for a workcation. He also played host to five families from Uttarakhand, who had come for the same reason mixing work with a holiday. &ldquoOffice-goers have been attending calls, while kids do their online classes. One family liked the concept so much that they extended their one-week plan and stayed with us for 24 nights. All this has led to a 44 percent average occupancy in August. That&rsquos higher than what we did in May last year,&rdquo Sanwal says.
Vicky Manral, who runs the Eco Harryman&rsquos Homestay in Nainital&rsquos Pawalgarh village has received enquiry calls from over twenty professionals. &ldquoAmid the COVID-19 pandemic, workcations have become a new trend among office-goers who are stuck in the work-from-home cycle and desperately want to travel to experience a change in scenario. Lately a lot of people have shown interest in booking our homestay and making our place their workstation for the next couple of months."
 For workcation tours and itineraries in Uttarakhand, you can visit
