Thanks to remote jobs and businesses, any place on earth with Wifi is a potential office and a new term has been birthed: ‘digital nomad’ – basically a traveler, but better.
But some places are better than the others when it comes to setting up a workspace and put down roots at, even for a short time. I mean if one has an option to work from anywhere really, it doesn’t have to be your ancestral village or the concrete jungle of the city you’ve gone to office in, does it?
Why India as a digital nomad hub?
India is a good, if lesser-known, digital nomad hub for many reasons. The internet is fast and among the cheapest in the world (about $2 for a 30GB data pack and under $10 for a 300GB broadband connection). Living is cheap, too, while you explore a country with over 45 UNESCO World Heritage Sites, the world’s highest mountain ranges, stunning beaches, vast rivers, lush forests and deep cultural and spiritual roots, all while doing your day job.
While India doesn’t have an official digital nomad visa (yet), a 3-month or 6-month (for Americans) tourist e-visa is easy to get and one can work in a foreign firm on the visa with no issues.
I’d go so far as to say: move over, hippie trail. We now have an updated version in the digital nomad trail in India.
I’ve been working remotely for half my career. Initially that just meant staying home in a metropolis and not going to an office, mostly because of my two dogs. Everything changed when they both passed away and I finally swapped the big city for the foothills of the Himalayas.
In the last 2 years, I’ve worked by the emerald waters of the Ganga, in the lap of the Himalayas, and in the straw beach shacks in Goa, the OG hippie capital of the world. Based on my own experience, the best digital nomad hubs in India with a strong conscious community are Rishikesh, Dharamkot and Goa. I chose them based on these criteria:
- Affordable, short-term, no-commitment housing
- Abundance of international and conscious communities
- Plenty of cafes and activities
- Nature and scenic views
- Accessibility
Let’s go over each of these Digital Nomad hubs in India and cover what they’re all about, costs of living, and some pros and cons.
1. Best digital nomad hubs India: Rishikesh, Uttarakhand
This one might surprise you. Rishikesh is better known as the yoga capital of the world than as a digital nomad hub, but it’s where my own nomad journey began. I came for a 23-day Yoga Teacher Training Course (TTC), and between classes I realised it was a perfectly good place to work from.
There’s a reason even the Beatles couldn’t resist this then-obscure village by the Ganga, and spent weeks jamming at an ashram back in 1968. The ashrams have since been joined by a slew of guesthouses, homestays and Airbnbs, so housing isn’t a problem, whether you’re a saffron-clad baba or a laptop-wielding nomad.
Rishikesh has more yoga schools and related activities than almost anywhere (meditation, healing, tantra, breathwork, you name it), and its charming cafes make it easy to squat and work from. You’ll also find plenty of short-term stays with views of the Ganga or the lower Himalayas, so you get nature and modern amenities in equal measure.
Everyday essentials: There are plenty of supermarkets, fresh produce markets, hospitals and even big malls within reach. Western travellers will find enough imported goods to last months.
Getting there: Dehradun’s Jolly Grant airport (domestic) is about an hour’s drive away, and Delhi is a 5-hour long taxi ride or bus away. Most North Indian cities are a few hours’ bus ride away too.
Best areas to stay in Rishikesh:
Tapovan and Laxman Jhula: The parallel stretches of Tapovan and Laxman Jhula on either side of the Ganga river are thronging with yoga shalas, cafes, guesthouses, homestays, shops and temples. While Tapovan is more crowded, more touristy but also has more events, Laxman Jhula (at least until the new bridge starts) is the quieter side with beautiful ghats close to the river and almost all the cafes have a Ganga view.
Costs of living in Rishikesh:
- Housing: A simple studio in a building full of them, with a basic, chair and a small kitchenette would cost around $150-200/month. While a 1BHK (Bedroom Hall Kitchen) situation would be 50-60% more.
- Food: A one-dish meal in a cafe costs around $2, a full meal with a side, main and a drink would be around $5. A meal made at home would be 1/4th of that.
- Getting around: Most places one needs to go to are within walking distance (Hardly anything over 2kms) so internal transport options really ain’t needed but there are shared autorikshaws for about 25 cents a ride and a private taxi to say the railway/bus station would cost $5. One can also rent a scooty/bike for $6-8 a day.
What makes Rishikesh even more amazing to live in is that it is also the base for many Himalayan treks like the Gaurimukh Tapovan, Ali Bugyal, and Kuari Pass treks as well as India’s major pilgrimage centres like Kedarnath, Badrinath, Gangotri and Yamnotri. There are one-day sunrise and sunset hikes like Kunjapuri and Neelkanth temples, and multi-day treks to Chopta, Tungnath, Kedarkantha and more.
Rishikesh for digital nomads: pros and cons
Pros:
- Abundant yoga, meditation and spiritual activities
- In the middle of, or close to, nature
- Many hiking and trekking spots
- AMAZING cafes with vegan and healthy options
- High on spiritual and positive vibes
- Great internet
- Full of Western travellers
- Vegetarian and alcohol-free (depending on how you look at it)
Cons:
- Getting more commercial by the day
- Good houses are hard to get and expensive
- No Uber, so last-mile transport can be an issue
- Niche crowd (yoga and spiritual people)
- Crowded and noisy on weekends
- Vegetarian and alcohol-free (depending on how you look at it)
2. Best digital nomad hubs India: Dharamkot/Bhagsu, Himachal Pradesh
This tiny mountain village has become synonymous with three things: Israelis, Tibetans and digital nomads.
Dharamkot sits a few km above Dharamshala and a couple above McLeodganj, home of the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan government-in-exile. It has evolved from a sleepy, remote hippie outpost into a place full of mystery and charm.
I hear that during Covid, many Indians started heading to the hills and discovered Dharamkot. Soon there was a full-blown 25-room coworking and coliving space with a boardroom overlooking the Dhauladhar range, and hipster, boho cafes have been mushrooming ever since.
I first discovered Dharamkot a couple of years ago on a short weekend trip. I couldn’t believe such a place existed in India, and wrote a 1000-word guide on it. A year later I was back for a workation-in-the-hills of sorts, this time for a couple of months over the summer, drumming up most of this blog and my other freelance work at the many cafes of Dharamkot and at my lovely homestay perched on what seemed like the last bit of land on the ridge.
Unlike Rishikesh, there’s no Ganga and no overt spiritual vibe. But like Rishikesh, Dharamkot is small enough to have a real social scene, a conscious community full of Westerners (other than Israelis), enough yoga studios to keep every muscle and chakra moving, and almost every cafe, house and shop has a view to die for.
Beyond yoga, there’s a slew of workshops you can take over hours or days to rack up skills like shells on a beach: silver jewellery, macramé, T-shirt printing, wood sculpture and a lot more.
Best areas to stay in Dharamkot and Bhagsu
All of Dharamkot and most of Bhagsu is one giant traveller and conscious community spread over a small space, so it barely matters where you stay. You’re a 10-15 minute hike from anywhere. If you prefer scenic views away from the crowds, pick Upper Dharamkot or Upper Bhagsu.
Costs of living in Dharamkot:
- Housing: A simple studio with a basic chair and a small kitchenette costs around $200-300/month. One- or two-BHKs are hard to come by because of the limited flat land. (There are constant rumblings about how expensive good housing has become.)
- Food: A one-dish meal at a cafe is around $3-4, and a full meal around $7-8. A home-cooked meal costs about a quarter of that.
- Getting around: The village is spread across levels of a mountain with barely any room for vehicles, so your own two feet are your best bet. A private cab to nearby places like Dharamshala costs about $6.
Dharamkot for digital nomads: pros and cons
Pros:
- International crowd
- Mostly free of rowdy weekend crowds
- Scenic views
- Many hiking and trekking spots
- AMAZING cafes with vegan and healthy options
- Craft and skill-based workshops
- Great internet
- An amazing summer hideout
- Big on house, techno and trance music
Cons:
- Seasonal, and hard to stay through monsoon and extreme winter months of Jan & Feb
- Basic housing (hardly any fully furnished 1BHKs)
- Not great if you dislike walking or inclines
- Remote, with multiple modes of transport (or one expensive taxi ride) needed to reach the nearest airport
3. Best digital nomad hubs India: Goa
How could the OG hippie state not be part of India’s digital nomad movement?
In fact, Goa predates Covid in this respect. It has long been a retreat for Indians and foreigners alike, whether away from work or during it. I know many freelancers who’ve been happily coding, writing or taking online music classes from the beaches and green villages of this former Portuguese colony for years.
Post-Covid, Goa’s digital nomad potential has found new life, and nomad hubs within it have been blooming.
Best areas to stay in Goa:
Goa is India’s smallest state, but its nomad community is spread across pockets. Many bloggers, YouTubers, content creators and coders live in apartments in gated communities or shared villas and use them as coworking spaces. There are also many dedicated pay-per-desk coworking spaces if you want more reliable internet and an office-like setup.
Here are 3 areas to shortlist:
Siolim: A quieter, inland-leaning part of North Goa and a nomad hub of sorts, with more remote workers, Indian and Western.
Arambol & Mandrem: The coastal resort a thriving yoga and conscious community scene, with great beach shacks and beach clubs.
Palolem: One of the most stunning beaches in South Goa that’s largely free of weekend crowds. Beach shacks, live gigs and yoga scenes in season. (Oct-March)
Unlike Rishikesh, Goa is a no-holds-barred place. Alcohol, meat and other intoxicants of choice flow freely and happily. If that’s your scene, Goa is a perfectly good base.
Cost of living in Goa
Getting around: Goa is small, but getting around can be painful. Public transport is limited, last-mile connectivity needs a private vehicle, and taxis are dominated by a union, which means high prices. If you’re solo or a couple, the best option is a rented motorbike at $3-4 a day.
Housing: This depends on proximity to the beach, the views and the season. A one-room house near the beach or overlooking the sea in high season (October to March) can easily cost up to $500/month. In low season it’s usually half, and the same house further from the beach could be half again. There are plenty of 1BHKs and apartments in gated communities with swimming pools.
Food: A one-dish meal at a cafe is around $3, and a full meal around $5-7. A home-cooked meal costs about a quarter of that. Alcohol is cheap, and a mug of beer is usually $2.
Goa for digital nomads: pros and cons
Pros:
- International crowd (the OG hippie epicentre since the 60s)
- Amazing beaches with beach shacks
- Great cafes, from rustic to fancy, with beer, seafood and even vegan options
- Amazing in winter and spring
- Two international airports
- Big on house, techno and trance music
- Easy access to parties, workshops, conferences and networking events
- Easy to rent bikes and houses
- Everyone speaks English
- Great for practising Christians, with about a quarter of Goa Christian and ample churches
Cons:
- No Uber, and limited last-mile connectivity
- Expensive (a studio about 10 minutes from the beach averages around $350-500/month)
- Hot and humid summers
- Frequent power cuts
Other digital nomad hubs in India worth considering
I picked these three based on nature, housing, internet, cafes and access, but a few other places work if you prefer something less mainstream. Bir and Tirthan Valley, both in Himachal Pradesh, have been gaining a reputation as great nomad spaces. For big-city comforts, Kochi in Kerala and Bangalore offer most modern and Western conveniences for working remotely.
Pick the hub that matches the life you want after 6 pm. The Wi-Fi is the easy part.
