A Word From Helena
Helena is soon to celebrate a 30 year relationship with India and Himalayas. She says “it has been and still is a fascinating journey in my life, working and living in this region is totally different than in other parts of the World, and still it fascinates me in an amazing way. No wonder travelers have written so much about India and the Himalayas over the centuries and continue to do so, there is no such country as India and the Himalayas that can move your heart and mind in such a way that it can capture you forever. The way of life is unique, living cultural heritage so diverse and colorful that one is so eager to learn about it. Some traditions can be traced back a couple of thousands years, here life is to be celebrated in every aspect of Indian and Himalayan culture. To embrace life in all its form is often manifested in colorful festivals as well as during the important phases in life, at the time of birth, marriage and death".
Helena started to travel the world from a very young age, she also spent some time working in Africa but her heart was always in India and the Himalayas which is where she decided to settle. Working in the travel industry, Helena had the wonderful opportunity to reveal this interesting and amazing region, with such an ancient history which is still evident in life today, to travelers from all parts of the world.
Helena informs " The History of India is incredible and very ancient; archeological findings in the west of India are from one of the oldest civilization in the World. The Indus Valley Civilization, also called Harappan Civilization, are noted for their developed housing areas, urban planning and drainage systems etc., as well as new techniques used in handicraft and metallurgy work. A couple of centuries before Jesus Christ, an ancient culture flourished, during which time mankind was already searching for our true nature and had philosophical thoughts and knowledge about the universe and mankind’s existence, Great Hindu empires were highly developed, some of them (250bc) had already developed a governance system with laws to protect flora, fauna and wildlife.
This region has such an ancient history which has naturally gone through various phases in time. Many great Hindu kingdoms were incredibly wealthy and rumors of their wealth attracted foreign invaders by whom India was looted for centuries until they settled, some of them established great empires so rich and wealthy that the subcontinent had one of the greatest economies in the world at that time. Amazing artifacts and historical places can be found all over India and the Himalaya from this era and before invasion. The Archaeological Survey of India is conducting lots of work to discover more about her past. It is not only in the heritage sights and monuments that you can see signs from the past, as people continued to embrace their cultural heritage and only integrated a little from foreign influence, this ancient cultural heritage can still be found in artifacts, culture, music, dance, crafts and textiles, in fact in almost everything and everywhere. Even today this is the practice in India, despite modern influence in certain areas, cultural heritage remains the most important thing in the lives among people. This is fascinating and unique in this world today, to meet a culture so rich and colorful, still being so alive and embraced by people and it is surely a life experience to see.
India and the Himalayas have such an abundance of diverse culture and when it comes to tourism it is just a paradise. There is everything - from the highest mountains in the World to the beaches with their tropical climates in the south, from the Thar Desert in western Rajasthan to the eastern side of the Sundarban next to the great delta of the Bay of Bengal. Every climate zone is presented which give a tremendous diversity in this region when it comes to flora, fauna and wildlife. It is not only the nature and wildlife that show great diversity, even among the people it is expressed in the way of life, customs, tradition, culture, architecture, music, dance, craftsmanship, textiles and so on. It has a tremendous abundance of everything and is present everywhere. It certainly is a paradise for the traveler looking for extraordinary experiences.
We at Helena India Travel do our best to create amazing journeys for travelers who wish to have a closer contact with India and the Himalayas. We have a wonderful network of long time local connections and local partners, families, friends, guides, craftsmen, lamas (monks), professors, schools, NGOs, wildlife experts, botanists, yoga teachers, owners of Himalayan resorts etc. They all contribute in an amazing way to our work on tourism, we are very passionate about our work and it is with great care and responsibility we reveal this part of the world. If you wish to be immersed immediately in the most beautiful and amazing aspects of this region, then Rajasthan and the Himalayas would be the places to visit"
Welcome to our world
Helena and Team
