As a child, our parents took us to a small lake in Austria on summer holidays. They rented an apartment, and we hiked for two weeks in the surrounding mountains. I can't say that I always enjoyed these hikes, but they definitely laid the foundation for my love of the mountains. During my teenage years, I even ditched the mountains completely until my longing for them caught up with me again ten years ago. For a few years now I have been coming regularly to the small lake again hiking with my parents on familiar paths to well-known peaks.

However, it is not just the idyllic lake that makes this place so special, but the house we stay at and the people we meet every year for more than 25 years. Many of them have travelled the world and impressed me with their travel stories when I was a little girl. It was Gisela, the owner, who showed me a photo album from her trip to Guatemala in the eighties and encouraged me in my intention to work in social projects there.

After my time in London, I decided to travel to Nepal to hike. The initially planned six weeks turned into twelve months, which I spent hiking first in the Nepalese and later also in the Indian Himalayas. During the monsoon, I trained as a yoga teacher, meditated in monasteries and learned Hindi. Corona brought me back to Germany abruptly, but the seeds for the idea of ​​organizing trekking trips in the Himalayas were sown. Back home, I began training as Mountain Leader, studied a master's degree in South Asian Studies and founded Shanti Treks.

What seemed like a crazy idea at the time will take shape in just over six weeks. I'm traveling to Nepal to lead my first Nepal trek into the Tsum Valley and around Manaslu with a Nepalese friend and guide. The Himalayas, compared to the Alps, are a magical place for me. Religion, and especially Buddhism, is omnipresent there. That's why I spent a lot of time studying religious urban planning and art in the Himalayas when studying my masters in South Asian Studies. It will also be particularly exciting for me to travel back to the Himalayas with this new knowledge gained during my studies and to introduce my guests to the interesting religion and culture of this mountain region.

Besides the impressive culture, the remoteness of the Himalaya has a very special fascination for me. I was certainly a little lost on my first visit had I just finished my professional career in London and a rather uncertain future ahead of me. It didn't worry me, but I was looking for something. I hiked around the Annapurna range in thirty days giving myself plenty of time to walk and let my thoughts drift. After six years in London, I had a lot to work through and in the end, I came back to the valley not necessarily with a plan, but with an idea and the desire to start something new. I had gained the courage to take new paths, to put happiness before financial security and to trust that life had great things in store for me. The seeds for Shanti Treks were sown, but it would take almost five years to realize it. Patience was something I had to learn now.

Now I'm looking forward to taking my guests on this incredible journey to the Himalayas in October and share my passion for this region. In the end it will certainly be also a journey to oneself. During the many hours of hiking you inevitably start to think about life. To go without what is taken for granted at home means realizing how little you need to be happy. Accepting that sometimes things turn out differently than expected brings a serenity that is so often lacking in our perfect world. You get a broad perspective on things and see your own life from a necessary distance. If you want to change something in your life, the Himalayas are the right place to sow the seeds.

A few spots are still available to complete our group of maximum eight. If you are up for this incredible adventure, you can register here or contact me directly at info(at)shantitreks.com.