Saur is a 400 year old mountain village situated at an altitude of 1700m in Garhwal, Uttarakhand. The village is said to have been established by Rajasthani Rajputs and boasted of a population of more than 2000 people living in 250 homes until the 1960s. The absence of a road and electricity resulted in migration to villages closer to road head and cities like Dehradun. In the 1980s, around 150 families were still living in Saur Mountain Village. Currently we have 12 families who inhabit the village, the migration has hit hard.
In 2009, Sushil Ramola, took the first step towards restoring their joint family home with a vision of a heritage guest house – Saur Cottages. The home was restored by an Italian architect, Marco keeping in mind the traditional architecture. The restoration used locally available stone and pinewood as well as mud plaster and traditional construction techniques. This initiative was the beginning of a larger endeavour to rebuild, restore old and abandoned heritage houses in pahari architecture style. A few families have moved back to Saur Mountain Village and we eagerly look forward to more coming back.
Saur Mountain Village has an idyllic setting; it is set amidst green fields in a valley, surrounded on all sides by pine forests and is flanked by mountains. The primary source of livelihood for the locals is agriculture; crops like potatoes, peas, garlic are grown here. The village has electricity, water and mobile network connectivity. There’s a beautiful stream flowing through the village. Saur is also perhaps India’s first village which has life stories of the locals painted as colourful murals on its walls.