Radhika
I’ve been working at Odyssey for about ten months now.
And if there’s one thing I’ve gotten used to very quickly is the stories.
Every day there’s a new one.
Someone crossed a pass. Someone slept through a storm. Someone cooked something amazing on a backpacking trip. Someone went on a crazy expedition…
Team meetings often start with planning content, but they almost always drift into stories. And because I handle brand and social media, the best thing is I get to see all the photos and videos shared by all our team members.
So when, a few weeks into the job, Vijeet said, “We’re planning to send our first team on the Sandakphu cultural trek,” I honestly didn’t know how to react.
A cultural trek?
I remember thinking, what does that even mean?
I’ve trekked before. I know what a trek looks like. Walk, camp, summit, descend. Where does “culture” fit into that?
At that point, I didn’t question it much.
Odyssey has a habit of doing things that sound odd at first and make sense later.
Then the first team went.
Our team members offering prayers at Ramam Monastery
The team was led by Mervin, and when they got back, we got on a call.
Mervin shared his experience and started sharing content from the trek.
And I just sat there, staring at my screen.
I am looking at the team, not just walking on trails and camping.
They were farming with locals.
Playing with farming tools.
Helping prepare food.
Making wine.
Chilling in the kitchen.
Learning how to make momos.
Our team members making Rhododendron wine at one of the Tea house
Our team making momos with the Tea House owners at Samanden
There were pictures of people laughing and having the best time ever. And somewhere in between all this, they had also gone to Sandakphu and completed the summit.
Our team at summit
I remember thinking, what did I just see?
I’ve never seen this happen on a trek. Ever.
And the strange thing was, it didn’t look chaotic or forced. It looked natural. Like people had just slipped into a rhythm that already existed there.
That’s when it hit me.
This wasn’t a trek with “cultural elements” added on.
This was the culture. The trek just happened alongside it.
Sandakphu itself sits at about 3,636 metres and offers views of the Sleeping Buddha, with peaks like Kangchenjunga, Everest, Lhotse and Makalu lining the horizon on a clear day. But what stays with people isn’t just the view from the top.
It’s the days leading up to it.
I’ve always looked at treks in a very particular way. A little hectic, a little goal-driven. There’s usually a sense of needing to be somewhere by a certain time.
This one just felt so different…
It felt like doing everything I love about being in the mountains, but at my own pace. Walking, eating well, resting properly, and actually living alongside people who call this place home.
That’s something I’ve always wanted, without really knowing how to ask for it.
Seeing those photos, I realised how narrow my idea of a trek had been. This was fuller. More rounded. And honestly, far more human.
After that call, I knew one thing for sure.
I needed to see this for myself.
So yes, I’m heading to Sandakphu this season. In April.
I want to walk those villages. I want to sit in those kitchens. I want to see if it really feels as calm and grounding as it looks in the photos.
And if you’ve read this far and felt even a little curious, or surprised in the same way I was, you’re probably already getting why this is special.
If you end up joining this season, you’ll find me there too.
Walking, eating, learning, and probably asking a lot of questions.
Thanks for reading till here!
And maybe, I’ll see you on the trail:)
Read more about Sandakphu Cultural Trek
