feel like home
Through slow, community-rooted journeys in the Himalayas
Choose your dates
Join an existing group, or start your own.
Note: Transport to and from Yuksom is shared among guests on the same journey. If you're joining a group, the cost will be split. If you’re travelling solo or on custom dates without others, you’ll bear the full cost of transport. More info here.
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You are looking for a retreat that speaks to the soul.
You prefer culture that is participative, not performative.
You’re curious about a slower, more grounded way of life.
You are on a journey to discover different ways of living through deep local immersion.
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Yuksom is a remote village in West Sikkim.
Electricity: While we do our best to ensure a comfortable stay, please know that there is no central heating. Room heaters are available, but in limited supply.
Terrain: You should be comfortable walking on uneven, rocky terrain. Expect inclines and declines, similar to climbing stairs, as you navigate through village roads and forested paths. Some prior hiking experience is helpful, but not necessary.
Yuksom is my first love and my forever home.
Yuksom has forever changed the way I see the world, which has led to the birth of Feels Like Om, to share the love and wisdom that I have been so generously given by the Yuksom land and community.
This 11-day Feels Like Home journey is the brainchild of me and Elan, my first friend in Yuksom. We designed this journey to offer you a raw, unfiltered experience of Yuksom life, just as the locals live it.
How Feels Like Home started
We are not in Sikkim to follow a schedule or check off an itinerary, which takes away the fun and adventure of spontaneity.
Embrace spontaneity and go with the flow.
Rest assured that the program was intentionally designed for you to step into the lives of the locals authentically, and yet still leave room for the spontaneous moments of adventure or connection to happen.
Be like a river; go with the flow
Step into hidden trails that don’t appear on tourist maps, known only by their local names. These trails offer you splendid views of the mountains, but far away from the crowds.
Used by villagers for their daily commute and spiritual practices, these paths have connected and guided past generations. Enjoy privileged access to a living heritage few outsiders ever know about.
Venture into ancient, local-only trails
Culture here isn’t a performance — it’s everyday life, and you have been invited to be a part of it.
We will live a slower pace of life, be connected to nature, and understand our roots of what makes us human.
You will not be doing the standard “drop-off and pick-up at a sightseeing place”. You will be experiencing the raw, everyday moments of local life that goes beyond sightseeing.
Live and breathe like a local
With over 20 years of experience hosting guests, Ejam Residency is widely known among the locals as the best homestay in Yuksom.
You will be hosted by Doma and her family, whose warmth and hospitality cannot be found anywhere else.
Doma embodies the belief that “when you empower women, you empower the entire community”. As an active member of Yuksom’s women’s Self-Help Group, Doma ensures that the benefits of tourism are shared, supporting and uplifting other women and their families.
Come as guest, but return as family
Taste local food that can’t be found commercially
Restaurants and travel guides tell you about momo and thukpa, but they don’t show you the rich food culture that is rooted in the land and the locals’ daily lives.
You will eat what the locals eat, exclusively prepared only in home kitchens, cooked by the very hands that grew it, right in Ejam Residency’s backyard garden.
Let’s go camping! The clear winter night skies offer you the best, unblocked view of the stars, so plentiful that you won’t even know where to look.
We will cook dinner over a campfire, share stories under the stars, and wake up to sunrise over endless mountain views.
Camp under a sky full of stars
Directly support families and conservation efforts
It takes a village to design this journey. Every part of this journey was intentionally curated to empower more families and communities.
When you choose a Feels Like Om experience, you are directly supporting the families that open their doors and hearts to us.
It can’t get more local than this because these experiences are designed with the locals, led by the locals, and shared from their hearts to yours.
What your money goes towards
Cultural access built on years of relationship, not commercially available
Direct support for locals through community-led activities
Guided trekking & camping experience
For trek, meals, porters, guides, cooks, and camping equipment
10 nights of heartfelt hospitality at Ejam Residency
Breakfast and dinner at Ejam Residency
Supporting children’s education, reforestation efforts, and community-uplifting initiatives
Personalised guidance as you prepare for your journey, including a briefing/meeting and direct access for all your queries
What else you have to pay for
Visa and insurance
Round-trip air tickets
Lunch (a meal costs around S$3)
Personal expenses, e.g. laundry, souvenirs, alcohol
Tips for homestay hosts, guides, porters, cooks, and drivers (recommended)