The Latest News from our IAYP Adventurous Journey's

By Harshitha Polathula

2025-04-06

The past few months have been buzzing with energy here at the Indiahikes School of Outdoor Learning! We’ve had the joy of hosting students from different schools for their IAYP Adventurous Journeys, and each one has been an adventure in itself.

Back in January, we welcomed participants from Harrow International School for their Bronze and Silver practice journey at our beautiful Channarayana Durga campus near Bangalore.

Participants from Harrow International School at a rest point along the Channarayana Durga Trek.

And just last month, CPS Global School joined us at our Kodaikanal campus with participants from all three levels: Bronze, Silver, and Gold. Each group went through a carefully designed programme, to meet their level-specific needs, while still staying true to the spirit of adventure and learning.

Let’s just say, an Adventurous Journey with InSOUL is not a walk in the park. The journey begins with a steep uphill trek to our basecamp, a far cry from the comforts of city life. But that’s exactly what makes it powerful.

Participants trekking up a steep trail during their IAYP Adventurous Journey.

We’ve put together a photo story that captures some of the most incredible moments from their journey, snapshots of courage, learning, and laughter in the outdoors.

Read the full story here: A Glimpse into CPS Global’s IAYP Adventure.

Since then, we’ve also hosted Aachi Global School in Kodaikanal and another group in Coorg. It’s been heartening to see so many young people step into the outdoors, step out of their comfort zones, and step up as future leaders.

Aachi Global School's IAYP participants at the summit of Avocado Hill in Kodaikanal.

Chennai Public School's IAYP participants at the summit of Nelji Hill in Coorg.

And here's some more exciting news! In addition to being a Trained Activity Provider, we now have four certified Award Leaders in our team. They play a key role in supporting the design of impactful journeys, coordinating on-ground activities, and ensuring that every participant, teacher and support staff member understands the ethos of IAYP deeply and meaningfully.

Since 2023, we have been sending one member from the InSOUL team for the Award Leader Training.

Thank you for being a part of this growing movement of experiential learning through the outdoors. We’re just getting started!

Harshitha Polathula

Content Writer (InSOUL)

About the author

Harshitha curates content for the InSOUL team at Indiahikes.

Before joining Indiahikes, Harshitha worked as a project officer in EU-funded projects in the fields of Education and Social Innovation in Germany. As she worked in a start-up, her core work included everything from writing proposals to managing social impact events.

Harshitha grew up in a valley surrounded by hills and spent a lot of time hiking. This upbringing in the hills has shaped her as a human being. Over the years she has reflected on how spending time outdoors and especially trekking impacts the mind, body and spirit. She wants to share that joy with everyone through her work at Indiahikes. Interestingly, her journey with Indiahikes goes back a long time as she was initially a Green Trails intern in 2018 during her undergrad.

Outside of work, Harshitha loves exploring new cultures through cuisine. She also enjoys reading and baking with friends. Yet spending time outdoors and watching the sunset is her all-time favourite. As she said this, she recalled a line by Jhumpa Lahiri from her book 'Whereabouts' that, "sunset is an everyday miracle that most of us manage to miss."

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