Who we are
Built by experience.
Not by a travel agency.
Sumit Kulhari
Founder, Ettiq Trails
The founder
I started travelling seriously in 2012. By 2016, the Himalaya had become the only place I wanted to be. Since then, I've crossed 50+ trails across Garhwal, Kumaon, Spiti, Kinnaur, Lahaul, and Ladakh — on foot, on bikes, in 4×4s, and on rivers.
I've been in 25+ states across India. I'm not a specialist — I'm an all-rounder. Trekker, road-tripper, river person, culture obsessive. That range is what Ettiq reflects: four types of journeys, not just one.
Ettiq is curated, not always guided by me personally. I bring in the best local leaders for each route — people who know that specific valley, that specific monastery, that specific pass. My job is to find them, vet the routes, and build the right group.
Based in Jaipur. Thinking in the mountains.
— Sumit Kulhari, Founder
The journey so far
2012
Started travelling India seriously. 25+ states over 4 years.
2016
First extended Himalayan route. Something shifted. Came back every year since.
2019
Started leading small informal groups on personal routes. No business, just people.
2023
Scouted 15+ new routes across Kinnaur, Sirmaur, and remote Garhwal. Started documentation.
2026
Ettiq Trails launches. 53 journeys. 4 categories. One intent: routes worth doing.
Our approach
Five things we stand behind.
Routes before routes existed
We don't copy itineraries. Every Ettiq route has been scouted on foot — either by Sumit or by our vetted local leaders. If we can't vouch for it, we don't run it.
Small groups, always
6–14 people maximum. Not a policy — a belief. The group dynamic is half the experience. Past 14, it breaks.
Community-first curation
We ask about intent, not just fitness. The right group makes or breaks a mountain journey. We spend more time on this than most operators spend on logistics.
Honest over impressive
If a trip isn't right for you, we'll say so. We don't hide costs. We don't oversell difficulty. We'd rather lose a booking than send the wrong person somewhere unprepared.
The places nobody photographs yet
Nagini Lake. Tilung Kho. Morindha Tal. Phulara Ridge. We exist to take you somewhere still worth discovering — before it stops being that.
The name
Ettiq is the attic.
That quiet, sunlit corner of a Himachali homestay — where the roof meets the mountains, where the day slows down, where you think thoughts you didn't know you had.
Every great journey has a moment like that. An hour on a ridge. A fire after a cold summit. A breakfast with people you met four days ago and already trust. Ettiq is built around finding that moment.
Our guides
We don't do everything ourselves.
Sumit curates every route and builds every itinerary. But the people who lead you on the ground are specialists — a Kumaoni guide for Roopkund, a Kinnauri local for Chitkul, a certified mountaineer for the glacier crossings.
We spend months finding the right person for each route. That local knowledge is the difference between a good trek and an extraordinary one.
Come walk with us.
You don't have to know which trek is right for you. WhatsApp us — we'll ask the right questions and figure it out together.