Raja Guest House, Shoja – Hotel Review

Shoja is a small village near Jalori Pass (5 KM) having very less population. Basically, there is nothing much to do at Shoja but it is famous for its postcard style vistas covering thick forests of Oak trees everywhere. Main highlight of the place is its calmness and chill topped with snow in winters. People visit Jalori Pass (3125 Meters in altitude) to witness Snow and this small village acts as the base for the same. As I said the population is very less so are the options for accommodation. There aren’t many hotels or guest houses in this village, which serve as base camp of snow vistas and offer beautiful views to tourists. If I remember correctly there is ever famous and ever costly Banjara Retreat, a never reliable and disgusting PWD Guest House, few home stay options and Raja Guest House where we stayed on our trip to Tirthan Valley. If interested kindly check the trip log at this link  Delhi to Kinnaur & Tirthan Valley

Overall, Raja Guest house is economic considering the remote conditions and cost incurred to keep it running with man and material. The owner along with his family run the guest house and I feel they do a pretty good job.

Bookings:

You can book the rooms at Raja Guest House by calling at the below numbers of its owners.

Contact Person: Thakur Elu Ram

Contact Numbers: +919418550549, +919459017592

Overall there are only 5-6 rooms and sometimes they allow you to have two extra beds in a single big room as well, but consider it an off season discount only 🙂 I feel going to a place like Shoja, requires that you book the rooms in advance. At least I would suggest intimate the owner that you are coming, so that at the very least food products can well be prepared for you. Of course in peak season you will have to pre-book else due to tourist rush and less accommodation options you will find yourself in wanderer’s position.

Price:

The price is around Rs 600 – Rs 1000 per room depending on the size of the room and your bargaining power. The bigger room cost Rs 1000 and smaller Rs 800 to us but overall the three rooms (2 small and one big) costed Rs 2400 and we landed right at night (9.00 PM) with nowhere else to leave or explore.

Location:

The guest house is located right on the road connecting Banjar Town to Jalori pass at Shoja Village. It’s approximately 5 KMs before Jalori Pass, if you are coming from Aut/Banjar/Tirthan side.

Parking:

Parking is done at the terrace of rooms where the family running the guest house stays and there isn’t much space for too many vehicles. I believe 4 cars could only be parked. See the picture below to be a judge.

ATM:

The nearest ATM is downhill drive to Banjar town, approximately 22 KMs from Shoja.

Petrol Pump:

The nearest Petrol Pump is at Larji, approximately 32 KMs from Shoja

Pictures:

Views from Raja Guest House, Shoja

Experience:

Our experience here was pretty average although we stayed for just a night. We reached at around 9.00 PM and luckily for us rooms were available. After 10-15 minutes of bargain we got the rooms which were pretty average types but with clean bathrooms. Bathrooms had geysers to get hot water but volume was pretty low. Only one bath can be served at a time. They also had running power supply with the help of generator, I believe, because power was getting cut frequently but they turned it on pretty quickly. The hospitality was nice and after long hours of travel that day we had a nice warm sleep at this place. Rooms were not quite big but I think sufficient for two.

The only drawback I felt, restaurant was on outside block, just on the side of the road. In cold conditions with chilling winds at night, reaching there and getting back to room can get a toll of you in such cold.

Food:

When we reached, the milk as well as bread was not available so it’s very important that you intimate them in advance. Overall the food quality was average with mashed egg omelet being exceptionally tasty. So, if you are staying at Raja Guest  House, Shoja never miss the omelet or egg bhurji (or it was only our luck). I never had such an omelet and egg bhurji in my life. The tea/milk/coffee was below average mark but in that chill or cold conditions you will never say no to them. I can give 2.5 on the scale of 5 for all food items we had with exception being omelet and egg bhurji. The milk was mostly in powdered format.

Dining hall…

Delicious Egg Bhurji…

Conclusion:

Nice economic place to stay at Shoja for a day although nothing special in the hotel. All you will get is a place to stay if you are visitng Jalori Pass.