Spend 80 days immersing yourself in the beautiful landscape and unique culture of the Indian Himalayas. From towering peaks to the rushing waters of the Kali River, you’ll challenge yourself and grow as a leader while developing outdoor and intercultural skills. If you’re seeking an experience beyond the tourist track, this semester is for you.

Your journey begins in New York City where you’ll meet your instructor and fellow students and travel to the NOLS India base in Ranikhet. At an altitude of about 6,150 feet, Ranikhet is a quiet, wooded town to which you’ll occasionally return during the semester to transition between course sections.

You’ll then dive into a 3-day Wilderness First Aid certification, preparing you to respond to emergencies in remote environments. From there, you’ll hike for 12 days through the Pindari Valley, passing through remote villages on ancient cobbled trails where cattle-powered agriculture is still the main way of life.

Next, you’ll spend 18 days rafting the Kali River, which forms the border between India and Nepal. Traveling by paddle raft and oar rig, you’ll learn to scout rapids, evaluate hazards, and practice rescue techniques while floating past terraced farms, thick tropical jungle, and sandy beaches.

Photo credit: Clare Jurczak

Then you’ll move into your cultural homestay, where you’ll pair up with a coursemate and live with a local family for 12 days in the village of Majkhali. You’ll engage in domestic chores and eat meals with your host family, and learn about daily life in rural India through classes on natural history, farming, and alpine ecology.

Photo credit: Oscar Manguy

The final 32 days will be spent mountaineering in the Kumaon region of the Indian Himalaya. This rugged, glacier-carved range is sacred to Hindus and world-famous for its climbing and trekking. You will travel 85-110 miles, up to 19,000 feet, traveling on glaciers, snow, and ice. Temperatures fluctuate from 100°F in the valleys to 0°F at altitude. This section will focus on the basics of alpine travel: moving in steep, rocky, or snow-covered terrain, building snow anchors, using ice axes and avalanche beacons, caring for and using mountaineering ropes, placing rock and snow protection, and climbing a peak.

You’ll return transformed—with outdoor skills tested in one of the world’s most demanding environments, cross-cultural understanding earned through living with local families, and friendships that will last a lifetime.

Photo credit: NOLS India