Our Genesis:

Sunshine Himalayan Adventures was founded by the unlikely pair of Ankit Sood, a ‘fresh out of school' lanky youth of Kullu Valley (Himachal Pradesh, India) and his geography teacher, Kailash Nath Zadu, an ex Indian navy captain. The duo was divided by the wide chasm of age but connected well over a shared love for exploration and trekking culminating to the set-up of the adventure outfit that from its cradle aimed at covering regions never advertised before – a pioneer's mindset that led to the earliest recorded high altitude treks in the region of Ladakh in association with the Germany based nature group widely known as Nature De Freunde (or Friends of Nature).

An ardent admirer of the ecotourism philosophy that had made its way into the Himalayan hinterlands in those days, the outfit was quick to adopt its teachings and further streamlined it by incorporating a second philosophy of community based tourism, reflected in its present day company's modus operandi that incorporates its prime offering of adventure outings under a larger umbrella of ecotourism to benefit local denizens living in remote locales as well as the flora and fauna that makes up the sensitive Himalayan ecosystem. SHA felt an immediate and deep connect with the Great Himalayan National Park for its ecotourism concepts that was in line with its own belief of responsible ecotourism beginning its long association with the forest reserve, initially as a voluntary trek and tour operator then additionally as marketing and public relations consultant.

After the elderly Zadu, acknowledged as the mentor of the group and instrumental in preparing his younger counterpart in adventure tourism retired as co-founder, Ankit was assisted in operations and management of the outfit by his sibling Pankaj Sood. In the same period the outfit gradually enlarged its sphere of activities by involving itself in opening up avenues for growth of tourism, product and human resource development – and one that constitutes an important and large part of its overall activities in present times.