Travel insiders

By Vacations & Travel

From the Himalayas to Bhutan’s remote valleys and India’s cultural heartlands, these travel specialists have spent decades exploring some of Asia’s most fascinating and remote destinations. Here, they share the places they believe deserve more attention, where they’re headed next and the travel philosophies that continue to shape their journeys.

01 A moment of peace in Varanasi 02 Shakti Panchachuli village houses 03 Traditional dress in Ladakh

“Our job is to remove the friction without removing the India.”

JAMSHYD SETHNA

Founder, Banyan Tours and Shakti Himalaya Long before experiential travel became an industry buzzword, Jamshyd Sethna was rewriting the way travellers experienced India. When he founded Banyan Tours in the mid-1990s, much of the country was still being sold as a whirlwind of monuments, coach tours and predictable itineraries. Sethna believed India deserved better. The country’s extraordinary diversity, layered history and regional cultures couldn’t be reduced to a checklist. Instead, he set out to create highly personalised journeys that revealed a deeper, more nuanced India, delivered with the sort of care and attention to detail that was then largely absent from the market.

Three decades on, Banyan remains one of India’s most respected travel companies, built on relationships that open doors across the subcontinent. “Our job is to remove the friction without removing the India,” says Sethna. That same philosophy led him to launch Shakti Himalaya more than 20 years ago, combining village-to-village walks through the Himalayas

with exceptional guiding, thoughtful hospitality and meaningful engagement with local communities. Whether in the mountains or the heart of India, his focus remains the same: helping travellers slow down, look deeper and experience a place with greater understanding.

banyantours.com shaktihimalaya.com

Most underrated destination

Kolkata, for its history, cuisine and vibrant cultural life. It’s also the perfect gateway to eastern India, from Kaziranga National Park and Darjeeling’s tea estates to the walking trails of Sikkim.

Next trip

Bhopal in central India, a city I’ve long wanted to explore.

Travel philosophy

“Great beauty – whether found in nature, art, music or literature – has a remarkable capacity to restore perspective. If guests leave feeling more present and more connected to both the region and themselves, then we have succeeded.”