Group trips

You are alone or just 2 - 3 people and want the Himalayan experience but do not know how and where to go. You can simply join our pre planned group trips - there is atleast one every month. (And they are planned a year in advance.) Apart from the no planning hassle, these trips are also a perfect opportunity to meet like-minded travel enthusiasts.

I have a theory here. I feel that because of the kind of trips I organize and the way I promote them and conduct them, there are automatic filters at work, the end result being that I always (yes, luck is a factor, I must acknowledge) get the right kind of people for our group trips. They not only gel extremely well while on the trip but most of them continue to be friends long after the trip is over.

Trip calendar

Every October I sit down with my wishlist (made through the year) and select trips that I want to conduct in the coming year. (This process so exhausts me that I take a month long break in Jan. Just kidding.) No really, it is the only time of the year I actually work. This is how:

Step 1. The Indian Himalaya is easily divided into 7 distinct regions: Kashmir, Ladakh & Zanskar, Himachal Pradesh, Garhwal, Kumaon, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh. For our annual trip calendar, we decide, lets say, to have 4 trips in each of these regions.

Step 2: We have a dynamic database of destinations in each of these regions (from our own travels), which are listed along with their various attributes:

• Kind of activities possible. E.g. Trekking, Skiing, Rafting, etc.
• Duration of the trip
• Best time to travel
• If a trek, then its difficulty level
• Stay options available. E.g. Homestays, Family run guesthouses, Camps, etc.

Step 3: We then run an optimization algorithm to pick the best possible trips for the calendar year. No we don’t. (We might have to soon, considering that the database of destinations is increasing by the day). What we do at the moment is ensure that the trips selected provide the best mix of activities, duration, trek grades and stay options. Most importantly, we pick the best season to travel in all of these regions.

Note 1: CWH follows a rotation policy (and you thought only Aussies do that). 60% of our trips every year are to new places.

Note 2: We have divided our trips into 4 categories to further help you to make a choice: Treks, Theme holidays, Road trips and Retreats with Rujuta.

Who can join?

We believe that Himalaya is for everyone to experience and rarely plan a trip exclusively for a particular age group or fitness levels. Kids love being in the open surroundings that Himalaya has to offer and I always urge parents to bring their children along. Trekking is a glamorous name for walking and everyone is capable of that, right? So pick a trip that excites you and just come along.

Check out our latest trip calendar here

Customized trips

If you already have a group or know exactly what kind of Himalayan experience you are looking for, we can plan tailor-made trips for you. We play the role of advisors here and let you decide where you wanna go. This is how:

• Step 1: We will ask for your inputs on various parameters. E.g.
  • Group size (need minimum of 8 people)
  • Duration constraints
  • Fixed or flexible dates?
  • Activities you want
  • If a trek, then difficulty level
  • Region preference
  • Prior Himalayan experience
• Step 2: Based on the above, we will come up with some options (generally 3) and provide you all the info about them. We then leave it to you to decide amongst the options. Of course we will ensure you have the right info to make an informed decision and will always pitch in our thoughts.
• Step 3: Once you finalize the trip, we make all the arrangements as per your specifications and there you go.

On High grounds:

CWH also advices ‘On high grounds’, a company organizing customized trips for school kids and small corporate groups. Check out the details here.