A few words about us...

WindingTrails is already a buzzing word in Rimbick - our base camp - since October when we decided to revive the oldest, hence historical trek route to Sandakphu from here. One of the other reasons for this is - we are associated with and supported by the local people (including the administration, trekking guides' association, and homestay owners). Our founders are also based in Darjeeling.

Amitava Chakraborty, Co-founder

"It is always the same with mountains. Once you have lived with them for any length of time, you belong to them. There is no escape.” - Ruskin Bond

Apart from being an avid trekker, Amitava - better known as Rohan, is also a published writer (Google 'Notes From The Himalayas by Rohan Chakraborty' - available on Amazon/Flipkart), and a fine art photographer specializing in mystic rivers of the Himalayas.

Studied to become a mechanical engineer Rohan got sidetracked somewhere along the course to work as a marketing writer and designer for a US-based engineering startup for more than a decade.
Mountains have always been in his veins, and adventure in mind - Rohan often go hiking into the unknown, untraversed trails, valleys, and wilderness of the Himalayas whenever an opportunity come his way.
It has been a long-time passion (since he was sixteen, to be precise) that helped him make an everlasting bond with the Himalayas which he has also expressed through his book and his photographs.

Long before social media made it a trend, Rohan found solace in the tiny, sleepy, far-flung villages of the Himalayas whenever he had had enough of the so-called pernicious urban atmosphere, and badly needed an escape.
Here's an excerpt from his book Notes From The Himalayas on the Singalila range of forests in the eastern Himalayas where Sandakphu Trek takes place - "I had been here several times before as I trekked, tramped, and traversed the narrow trails and stony pathways meandering across the ravines and valleys of these regions; stayed at the small, shaky village inns (sometimes I had to accept the generous hospitality of the unknown but friendly villagers and put up for the nights at their huts); sat out on the mossy rocks in the middle of burbling mountain streams; shared the warmth of log fire with the humble village folks; helped them cook meals, harvest vegetables (not crops - as that needed expertise); drank country wines (those were moderate for my gullet and stomach) and often attempted at long conversations with the elderly people."

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He first trekked to Sandakphu in 2014, and many times since then. Although he has a long and exciting trekking experience in various routes in Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, West Bengal, Meghalaya (especially in the monsoon), Sikkim and other parts of the eastern Himalayas he always came back to trek to Sandakphu and traverse the Singalila reserve forest over and over again for the unparalleled magnificence of that part of the Himalayas.

Rohan always wanted to live away from the towns and metropolises... in the smoky blue mountains, dusty and lonely trails, misty ravines, and sleepy villages tucked away in the verdant forests of the Himalayas (Ruskin Bond being his all-time favorite writer). So, when the time came in 2018 he decided to shift to Darjeeling from Kolkata.

Currently, he lives in a small, old-style cottage near Darjeeling (living in a cottage with smoke of the wood fire billowing out of a broken chimney has always been his dream) and looks after the marketing and business operations of WindingTrails (apart from writing, taking photographs, and scouting new trek routes).

Rohan co-founded WindingTrails because the last time he went to Sandakphu he wanted to avoid the usual route from Maney Bhanjayng, and took the oldest route - Rimbick-Sandakphu-Rimbick via the famous black forest trail of the Singalila range. He so fell in love with the stretch that on coming back from the trek he spent an entire rainy evening with his long-time associate Prabhu Pradhan and decided to reintroduce this oldest, historical, and pristine trek route to Sandakphu to the trekking community of the world. Thus WindingTrails was born... with the objective to share with you, fellow trekkers, the passion, warmth, and emotion that Rohan has always lived by being so close to the Himalayas.
 

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Prabhu Pradhan
Base Camp Manager

Prabhu Pradhan - a Gorkha by birth - has his roots in the Darjeeling Himalayas and has been living in Rimbick (base camp for WindingTrails' Sandakphu trek) for the past 35 years.

Apart from being a nature lover and trek enthusiast (unfortunately he injured his right leg on a trek in his early twenties); he formed, and now runs, Rimbick Nature Guides' Association - an organization for skilled and certified local trekking guides.

Prabhu daju or Prabhu ji - as he is fondly known - is a well-known person in Rimbick and has a vast network of connections with the government officials (including administration, forest and wildlife), tourist vehicle associations, tourism department, homestay owners, and whatnot! He looks after the day to day operations for WindingTrails.