Wildtrotters – Exploring the unexplored

Travelling is a passion of many but not many have been lucky to turn that into a profession. One of the lucky guys Habib Mehmoodi, a commerce graduate from Mumbai University started Wild Trotters to chase his dreams. India popularity with international tourists and its reputation as a mystical and spiritual country were some of the reasons that made Habib startup. “But all that gets focused in any tourist brochure are the same few historical monuments. India, as a developing country and as one of the oldest civilizations, has a lot more and unique things to offer to travellers. We focus "pick up the bag, have an adventure' philosophy,” explains Habib.

Started in January 2012, Wildtrotters is about giving a unique experience to the traveller. The USP of Wildtrotters is to make the tourist get a feel of real India when you tour the place. The background story, the history, the folklore, the legends simply get ignored, which Wildtrotters want to change. The tour is designed to fit the time constraint of the traveler. It involves staying in houses of local villagers, eating local food, a lot of trekking and hiking; in short a complete travel experience. “We are committed to showing our guests, loads of unseen or unnoticed aspects of the places they travel to. Keeping in sync with our philosophy of developing ethical / responsible travelling, our tours are enriched by local communities, businesses and individuals,” explains Habib. Having spent 10 years in online advertising industry, Wildtrotters is the second venture for Habib who served as a co-founder of BrandMetasis.com. Wildtrotters offers variety of tours like Only Friends, ladies tours, haunted tours, couple tours as well as gay and lesbian tours. Pan India, Wildtrotters offers destinations like Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Leh & Ladakh, Karnataka and Kerala with adventure sports. On going international Habib shares, “We are contemplating to start tours to Iran and Iceland as both the countries offer gorgeous places and cost-effective travelling.”

A boot strapped venture, Wildtrotters is presently run only by Habib who is on the look out for angel funding to expand. Targeting people from age group of 21 to 35, it markets itself online through social media and offline at various colleges. Delineating his experience on a haunted tour with students from ManipalUniversity, “It was a very adventurous tour visiting haunted places in Karnataka, setting up our tents just beside those places and staying overnight. Having said that we take ample precautionary measures to prevent any hazardous affair.” Habib tries to personally accompany most of the tours that Wildtrotters offer and those that he can’t are accompanied by his hired associates. Having done about 10 -12 tours, he has managed a break even. “We want to create a niche market coming into the mainstream and be the flagship company in the field of adventure touring in next 5 years.” says Habib sharing his vision.

Website: Wild Trotters