The Indiahikes Instagram account hit 100K subscribers last month. This has been a 4-year-long journey in the making. Through our Instagram account, we have seen some stunning pictures of our treks, received extremely thought provoking questions in our AMA sessions, and have had the chance to create a 100k large trekking community.

Here’s what Swathi Chatrapathy, our Chief Editor had to say about reaching this goal –

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Four years ago, we three retards started the @indiahikes Instagram account. Instagram was not as popular as it is now back then. Facebook was still the king at the time and Instagram was not seen as a marketing platform. Nevertheless, we were pretty starry eyed about starting this account and maintaining it. . We started from scratch, posting a picture a day. Sourced from our own trekkers, or often, ourselves. . Soon, we realised that people were loving the content. We brought in a few hashtag campaigns, #HumansOfTheHimalayas being the first of them. Then came in #IHPawPals, #IHviewfrommytent, #IHTrekmate. These were all back in 2015. . Soon, in October 2015, we hit a 1000 followers! What a celebration it was! We did a giveaway and everything. Then we hit 5000 followers! Wow! Then came the 10k mark! We were thrilled beyond imagination. We bought ice cream for everyone in office. . We wanted to grow more, take the Himalayas to more people. But we decided not to put in any money into it. No promos, no ads, not a single penny. After all, we were doing it for the love of beautiful pictures of Himalayan trails. . We hero-ed our content, our photographs, our trekkers. Over time, the three of us took on other responsibilities and oversaw the page while others managed it. We made sure not a day went without posts. Today, as I type this, we’ve hit a 100,000 followers on the @indiahikes account. And the three of us are still involved in it — Latika managing it, Lulu throwing in amazing ideas as always, and me overseeing the content. . In a way, we’ve come full circle and what a gratifying journey it has been! 🙂

A post shared by Swathi Chatrapathy (@swathichatrapathy) on Nov 1, 2019 at 7:45am PDT

Here are the winners for the IH 100k Contest

Each winner gets a Hillcrest backpack from our friends at AdventureWorx. This daypack is compatible with laptops, and can store everything for a day-hike as well. Are you excited for your next adventure?

1. Arpit Mehta – Buran Ghati Trek

We chose this picture for its beautiful composition – from the foreground until the background. Further, there is a nice play of  light, almost layering all the sheep.

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When a flock of sheep becomes your alarm clock in the morning and the views outside your tent are nothing less than what you saw in fairytale books during your childhood days. Two big reasons why I go back to the mountains again and again. • Trek name- Buran ghati Trek • This picture was taken on 26 June 2019 • #IH100KCONTEST #IHILoveGreenTrails #IHTrekFit #IHExploreMore #IHTrekGeek #IHBestWeekOfMyLife

A post shared by Arpit Mehta (@datsuzokui) on Nov 11, 2019 at 10:31am PST

2. Puneet Garg – Sandakphu Phalut Trek

It is so rare to capture a picture of a Red Panda from such close quarterst! Kudos to Puneet for being able to do so!  And for capturing so beautifully the morning light on Mt Everest, Lhotse, Nuptse and Makalu peaks.

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#IH100KCONTEST #ihbestweekofmylife Name of the trek – Sandakphu Month & year – March 2018 Sandakphu trek was my first trek and it changed my life in many parameters. This trek made me love mountains and I felt so alive that I never stopped coming to mountains. I can’t explain it in one picture because every moment was so special and different and these three pictures are the reason people prefer this trek. It’s very rare to witness all three at once. It felt like being on this trek was what life wanted me to be on. Pic 1 – Everyone was waiting to see the Kanchenjunga at Tumling campsite, everyone woke up before trek leader, some woke up at 4am. But views were not clear, so everyone has to move forward leaving those hopes high to see Red panda. Our guide said ” Maine 7 Baar Dekha..24 Saal mein” and we all were shocked to realise what we just heard, and it was very natural that we started to focus on birds and flowers in that valley, suddenly our trek leader (Vikas Sharma) came running saying..panda..panda..panda!!…we all just ran, no matter how much tired we were, what we were doing, where we are, we just kept running until we reached the spot and saw RED PANDA and he was equally excited to see us as well 🙂 Pic 2 & 3 – we all were very happy to see Red panda and eventually we reached Sandakphu summit. Witnessing mesmerising sunset from the peak, it was life changing..such peace..such calmness..such ocean of clouds, it was the moment no one can forget in their entire life. Next morning everyone was up early and to add cherry on top, sunrays on the Kanchenjunga and then on the Everest cluster (Makalu, Nuptse, Lhotse and the Everest). It was unreal, seeing those peaks in front of my eyes made me believe in magic and the beauty of nature. It was my first trek in life and I never stopped trekking after that. Mountains became my love and I come to them with every chance I get. . . . . . . . #indiahikes #sandakphu #trekking #himalayas #mountains #mountainstoclimb #mountaineering #naturegallery #naturephotography #nature #travelwithpuneet #everest #momentsofmine #momentsoflife #life #lifeisgood #natgeoyourshot #natgeo #travelersnotebook

A post shared by Puneet Garg (@puneet_garg24) on Nov 9, 2019 at 1:35am PST

3. Rakesh Khot – Pin Bhaba Pass Trek

We loved how this picture was framed. A clean division of the frame in whites and greens. Further, the lone trekker puts into perspective the vastness of the pass.

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#IHBestWeekOfMyLife Right before the Pin Bhaba pass . . . It all seems impossible before you do it but when you make up your mind , there is nothing that can stop you! That feeling when you close your eyes and think about the journey. It’s nothing less of an achievement. When you finally reach your goal despite of all the hurdles you have been through to get there. Learn to cherish the moments, good or bad, better or worse. There is always something beautiful waiting around the corner. . . . I miss being in mountains, this was the best week of my life I spent in the wilderness . . . . . #wilderness #moutains #indiahikes #pinbhabapass #trekking #trek #fitindia #snow #green #travel #canon #naturephotography #photography #photo #instagood #picoftheday #photooftheday #love #sky #himachal #beauty #nature

A post shared by Ｒａｋｅｓｈ ｋｈｏｔ🇮🇳 (@backpackfever) on Nov 3, 2019 at 11:40am PST

4. Kartik Maheshwari – Rupin Pass Trek

This photograph follows the rule of thirds. It is superbly shot. It has a subject, and another element – the waterfall. This photograph has a story to tell.

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Picture from Rupin Pass trek – 20th Oct 19 Batch #ih100kcontest and for #ihexploremore category @indiahikes . Were about to reach the waterfall and officially entered the high altitude zone. An entire #Valley was right in front of us with open arms welcoming us. Warmth of the sun was not let us to realize the actual temperature. The cool refreshing breeze was not let us to realize how tired we were. What you see in front of you and what you feel within your self make you forget everything.. even yourself. When you are standing right in the #heart of the nature, you understand how small we are. Also you understand how big we can live the life. They posses you.. or hypnotize you, but That’s the #magic of the mountains. When the mountains calling, you just can’t help but Go. #mountains #himalayas #trek #clouds #stream #river #amazing #waterfall #frozen #beautiful #nature #snow #adventure #wanderlust #travel #RupinPass #trekking #hiking #himachalpradesh #india #incredibleindia #traveldiaries

A post shared by Travel Diary (@outdoor_logs) on Nov 12, 2019 at 9:37am PST

5. Rajshree – Buran Ghati Trek

A happy and exciting picture. But what we love most, is this honest, and thoughtful caption.

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What makes this picture extra special is because of that fluorescent green coloured Ecobag tied around my waist. When, I got introduced to the concept of #IHGreentrails, I was very impressed by the idea and had never imagined that a group of 20 trekkers could collect so much trash from such remote places. I was proud to complete the trek by leaving the mountains better than I had found, however at the back of mind I knew I could do much more…not just in the mountains but even in everyday life. Truly speaking, those 7 days on the trek were an eye-opener. . Simple things like, carrying my own water bottle before stepping out of the house, or having a reusable bag with me all the time, or the conscious effort to opt for filtered water instead of a bottled water in restaurants, can make so much of a difference in reducing waste. A simple initiative by Indiahikes, inspired me to replace my ‘plastic wrapped’ travel checklist to ‘zero waste’. . Here is an image from Buran Ghati in June 2018, where I am showing off my EcoBag with pride as I try to reach the new heights in reducing my carbon foot print😊 … #IHILoveGreenTrails #IH100KCONTEST #IHTrekStory … … … #lessismore #mypixeldiary #incredibleindia #ngtindia #earthofficial #cntraveler #travelphotography #travelrealindia #igramming_india #iiframe #agameoftones #travelstoke #hippieinhills #himalayas #lonelyplanetindia #wildernessculture #discover_earth #india #thehimalayas #trekking #getoutthere #trekkersofindia #landscapephotography #_soi #photographers_of_india #mountains

A post shared by Rajshree (@rajshree1209) on Nov 10, 2019 at 11:37pm PST

If you would like to be featured on our page tag us @indiahikes on your posts and stories. Looking forward to seeing your pictures.

Congratulations to our winners 🙂 !