While cities offer dancing until 2am, med spas on every block, and countless pigeons (obviously the best part), living in them can also feel exhausting and even suffocating.
Now, a village deep in the Himalayas is hoping to lure those workers who are ready to connect with nature and other digital nomads.
Yakten lies in India’s least populated Sikkim state, near Bhutan and Nepal. It claims to be the country’s first digital nomad village, India Today reported. The Nomad Sikkim project is being rolled out to bring more people to the remote area, and is in partnership with Sarvahitey, an NGO that wants to create destinations where remote workers can enjoy nature.
There are roughly 1.7 million Indian digital nomads, and the program hopes that encouraging them to move to Yakten will help the local economy.
The village has eight “homestays,” 18 rooms, and coworking space. Nomad Sikkim also boasts high-speed internet with backup generators, and organic meals. But in a country where many workers aged 25–34 don’t make more than 11,000 Indian rupees a year (USD $125), the 6,000 rupees a week price tag isn’t exactly affordable.
“What Nomad Sikkim is doing is connecting that cultural strength with the global digital economy,” the state’s member of parliament told India Today. “This is tourism with purpose, where visitors don’t just come and go, but become part of the local story, supporting livelihoods and preserving heritage.”
Some research suggests that the digital nomad lifestyle isn’t as prevalent among US workers today as it was during the Covid-19 pandemic, when there were plenty of remote roles, Business Insider reported. But in India, where more than one-in-four jobs are still hybrid or remote, the mountains may just be calling loudly enough for people to co-work in paradise.
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