About
Heart In Himalaya
Heart in Himalaya is built from years of experience in outdoor education, mountain leadership, and meaningful time spent in the outdoors.
our story
How Heart in Himalaya Began
The idea was never simply to take people outdoors. It was to create experiences that stay with them.
Heart in Himalaya grew from a long relationship with the mountains and the outdoors. Over the years, walking through Himalayan landscapes, working with people outdoors, and learning through different journeys made one thing increasingly clear: some of the most valuable lessons do not come from being told what to do. They come from experiencing something for yourself.
A difficult trail teaches patience. A changing mountain teaches you to adapt. Working with a group teaches responsibility, communication, and trust. And spending enough time in nature changes the way you look at the world around you.
That understanding shaped Heart in Himalaya. Today, we create outdoor education programmes, guided mountain journeys, cycling expeditions, day hikes, and adventure trips that give people the opportunity to learn, explore, and experience the outdoors with greater awareness.
The outdoors isn’t simply where we conduct programmes. It’s where confidence grows. It’s where leadership becomes visible.
— Heart in Himalaya
Meet Our Founder
Shashank Rohilla
Shashank’s relationship with the outdoors has been shaped by years of actually being in it, learning from it, working within it, teaching through it and taking responsibility for others in challenging environments. His journey has developed across trekking, mountaineering, skiing, outdoor education, team programmes, high-altitude travel and cycling expeditions, with experience ranging from working with school groups and first-time participants to leading people through demanding Himalayan terrain. His outdoor roles have included trek leader, outdoor instructor, trip leader and cycling expedition leader, experiences that have given him a perspective very different from that of someone who simply organises outdoor trips. The responsibility is not only to know where to go, but to understand the people you are taking there, recognise changing conditions, make sound decisions and know when the mountains require patience rather than ambition.
His technical and professional preparation has developed alongside this field experience. He completed his Basic Mountaineering Course at the Nehru Institute of Mountaineering with Grade A (ALFA) and went on to undertake intermediate and advanced skiing training at ABVIMAS. His training also includes a 16-day Outdoor Leadership Course, wilderness advanced first aid and CPR, Wilderness First Responder training, Leave No Trace education and outdoor experiential facilitation. Together, these experiences have helped shape a practical approach to outdoor leadership in which technical ability is only one part of the responsibility. Preparation, group management, environmental awareness, communication and decision-making become equally important when working with people in the mountains.
Much of that understanding has come not from a classroom or certificate, but from repeated days in the field. Shashank’s documented experience includes 101 programmes and 613 field days, with 4,236 recorded participants, including work as a leader and instructor across trekking, outdoor education, cycling and other mountain experiences. His record includes 15 Himalayan treks and expeditions and 14 cycling tours, alongside programmes designed around outdoor learning and leadership. Every journey brings its own combination of weather, terrain, group dynamics and unexpected decisions, and that accumulated experience has taught him that a successful outdoor programme is not necessarily the one that pushes people the furthest. Often, it is the one that gives them the right challenge, the right guidance and enough confidence to discover what they are capable of themselves.
This is the perspective Shashank brings to Heart in Himalaya today. The organisation brings together the different sides of his outdoor experience, including Himalayan journeys, guided treks, cycling expeditions, school programmes and experiential outdoor learning, with the belief that being outdoors can be far more meaningful than simply reaching a destination. The mountains provide an unusual setting in which people have to slow down, pay attention, work together, take responsibility and respond to circumstances they cannot completely control. That is what makes the outdoors such a powerful teacher, and it is also what sits at the heart of the experiences Heart in Himalaya creates. The aim is not to make people feel like tourists in the mountains, but to help them become more attentive, capable and connected to the experience itself.
Founder & Outdoor Educator
TEAM
Shreen Kothiyal
Shreen’s work in the outdoors has been shaped by years of exploring the Garhwal Himalayas and developing a deeper understanding of mountain environments. Working in the outdoors since 2021, his interests span trekking, climbing, camping, and exploring new terrain, with a strong appreciation for responsible and meaningful experiences in the mountains.
His approach combines a love for adventure with curiosity and awareness of the environment around him. Whether discovering new trails, spending time in the mountains, or taking on a new outdoor challenge, he enjoys experiences that encourage people to connect more closely with nature.
At Heart in Himalaya, Shreen brings his outdoor experience and knowledge of the Garhwal Himalayas to the team, supporting programmes that are thoughtfully planned, responsible, and rooted in meaningful time outdoors.
Outdoor Leader
TEAM
Abhishek Gusain
Abhishek’s work brings together his interest in design, photography, videography and visual storytelling with a natural curiosity for travel, adventure and new experiences. From editing and social media to events, music videos and short films, he enjoys exploring different ways of turning ideas into something tangible.
His curiosity has taken him through travel, adventure sports and fitness, while his creative work has taught him to experiment, solve problems and stay involved throughout the process. He enjoys the challenge of figuring things out, getting stuck into the work, and creating something that feels meaningful.
At Heart in Himalaya, Abhishek brings this combination of creative thinking, visual experience and a passion for adventure, helping the team communicate and shape the experiences that happen outdoors.
Creative & Outdoor Team Member
OUR APPROACH
How We Design Every Experience
Every programme is built around a simple principle: the experience should have a purpose, while still leaving enough room for curiosity, discovery, and the unexpected.
Learning Before Adventure
Every experience begins with preparation. We want people to understand where they are going, what they may encounter, and how they can participate confidently. The aim is not to remove uncertainty, but to help people approach it with awareness.
Safety Without Compromise
Being outdoors always involves some uncertainty. Good planning means understanding the environment, preparing for changing conditions, and making responsible decisions throughout the journey. Safety is part of the experience, not something added afterwards.
Respect for Nature
The Himalaya is more than a setting for our programmes. It is a living environment shared by communities, wildlife, forests, rivers, and people who have depended on these landscapes for generations. We encourage responsible travel and expect everyone who joins us to leave these places with the same respect with which they found them.
Small Groups, Meaningful Experiences
We value participation over crowds. Smaller groups allow people to connect more easily, make decisions together, ask questions, and experience the outdoors without feeling like they are simply moving through an itinerary.
START A CONVERSATION
The Outdoors Has Something to Teach Us.
Whether you’re planning a school programme, a journey through the Himalaya, or an experience built around your own interests, we would like to understand what you are looking for and help shape it thoughtfully.