For Gaurav Kataria, travelling and exploring isn’t so much a business as a calling. Stepping beyond touristy hotspots and pushing into uncharted territory is something he has done since his formative years when he figured out a few home truths: namely that he wasn’t cut out for a typical nine-to-five job, any more than he wanted to stay put at a place for too long. So he set out to explore India and, in the course, also travelled to Nepal and Tibet more number of times than he cares to count. Along the way, he discovered passion for photography, birding, and angling.

The formation of Adventure Expedition Travel was a natural step forward. As its founding member, Gaurav has pushed the frontier of adventure travel to as far as the rarely accessible Andamans. To him goes the credit of opening new traveldestinationsand developing new tourism products in terms of angling, cycling, birding, and wildlife.Every advancement has been made with a thought for the local people througha number of community-based programs initiated by Gaurav. He particularly specializes in working with the communities in the relatively unexplored Northeast India.

Though based in Delhi, Gaurav has a wide network of associates, assistants,and helpers spread throughout India to bring any travel destination within reach. He has personally escorted academics, professionals, and amateurs to various birding and wildlife expeditions. Thanks to his 18 years of experience in travel, Gaurav brings to the table his in-depth knowledge of local places, people, and cultures. More than anything, his easy working style, friendly attitude, and unflagging love for nature makes him a person you wouldn’t just like to know or work with, but befriend for life.

Sabir Mallick likes few things better than hitting the road with his camera. Give him half an excuse to backpack, and Sabir is game. Ever since co-founding Adventure Expedition Travels with Gaurav Kataria, Sabir has explored the length and breadth of India and gained an in-depth knowledge of several destinations and their potential for adventure tourism to earn himself the designation of the head of operations at the firm. He’s not the one to be content merely overseeing the workings of the company, but loves to personally lead photography and cyclingtrips. Next to his love for traveling is his passion for photography, whichhas even won Sabira listing with Getty Images.Add to these talents a fondness for reading books and keeping up to speed with current affairs, and you have a man as interesting as he is outgoing.

No task is too big or too small for BR Sharma. For a man who has summited many peaks and climbed as high as 7000 meters, he’s a pretty grounded person who thinks nothing of turning a cook for the camp. He hails from Nepal, but given the amount of trekking he’s done in the Himalayas of India, Nepal and Tibet, he could well deserve a tri-national citizenship. India, particularly, he has covered like a man possessed, leading cycling trips in almost every part of the country, north to south, east to west for about three decades.His experience in fishing, cycling, and trekking is almost unrivalled. He’s our camp manager, cycling guide, trekking guide, head cook, senior adviser, foot soldier, trouble shooter and joke teller all rolled in one. In short, he’s the kind of work horse, the unsung hero on whose untiring back a great enterprise can be made, and we are proud to have him as part of the AE Travels family.

Nader Mibang, the head guide of our Siang Fishing Camp, is a jack of many trades. A teacher by profession, he is equally at home plucking shrubs in a jungle or reeling in the mighty Mahseer from a river. Put simply, he’s a young and inquisitive guy who loves nature. He’s done fishing since his childhood and knows well both the traditional and modern ways of angling. He’s a man of the jungle. And you’ll know that’s no exaggeration when you see him rustle up a tribal remedy with the shrubs and leaves he so loves picking off. Not least, he’s acquainted with the hospitality industry and is a friendly, soft-spoken, English conversant guy you will take an instant liking to as your fishing camp’s head guide.

There is hardly a place in Northeast India where Daniel Bengia hasn’t set his foot. Hailing from Itanagar, the capital of Arunachal Pradesh, he can verily be called the son of the soil and an indefatigable traveler with years of experience in the tourism and travel industry. The experience makes him the perfect choice to lead our specialty trips like tribal tours, birding tours or fishing tours. He’s the best hand to manage our Siang Fishing Camp in the Indian Himalayas. Being outdoors and making acquaintances turns Daniel on. The other thing that perks him up is playing his guitar. Often at the end of the day and sitting by the bonfire, he can pick a fine melody on his six-string. Or he may tell you a joke in his fine English.

When it comes to the Mahseer and Goonch fishing in India, there aren’t many people who can hold a candle to Asaram. His fishing experience of 30 years just puts him in a different league altogether. Deservingly, he is our most senior guide for fishing tours. He is well versed in both traditional and modern fishing methods, and he’s the go-to man if you want to land the big catch. A local from the Corbett region in north India’s Uttarakhand, he hails from a family of fishermen.So it won’t be amiss to say that fishing is very much in his DNA. Where best to throw the line, what lure to use, when to reel out or reel in, and how to wrestle the Mahseers or Goonches to the bank? Just ask Asaram and he will have the answer down pat.