A Girls' Trip to the Himalayas: Burn Your Fear and Connect with Yourself

She stood at the launch site on Billing ridge, harness clipped in, knees not quite steady. Below her, the whole Kangra valley lay open: tea gardens, terraced fields, the tiny white dots of Bir's monasteries. The pilot said, quietly, “Just run. Don't stop running.” She ran. And then there was no ground.

Later, over tea, she said something we have heard from many women on our trips. “I didn't know I was allowed to feel like that.”

Why women travel together

Women have always travelled. They just haven't always been told they could. A girls' trip is not about being protected from the world; it is about being in it, fully, without having to perform, explain or apologise.

Somewhere between the first awkward introductions on the bus and the last bonfire, something shifts. You stop being the one who organises everyone. You stop checking whether you're too loud, too slow, too much. You are simply a woman on a mountain, with other women who are figuring out the same things.

The fears we carry up the hill

Everyone arrives with something. Fear of heights. Fear of being the least fit in the group. Fear of being alone with your thoughts for too long. Some fears are loud; some are the quiet, familiar kind that have kept you choosing the safe option for years.

The mountains don't ask you to get rid of them. They just ask you to walk anyway. The Bhagsu trail does not care how many times you stop. The sky over Bir does not care what anyone back home would say. That is the freedom.

What a girls' trip to Himachal can look like

• Running off a ridge in Bir with a tandem pilot, and laughing all the way down.
• Walking to Bhagsu waterfall and sitting by the water in silence.
• Camping under the Dhauladhars, wrapped in blankets, telling stories you've never told anyone.
• Wandering McLeodganj's lanes, eating laphing on the street, getting gloriously lost.
• Writing in a small pocket diary every evening, so you remember not just where you went but who you were there.

Safety, honestly

Freedom and safety are not opposites. A well-planned women's trip means vetted stays, trusted transport, women-friendly campsites, and a team that is reachable at every hour. It also means you are free to say “not today” to any activity without anyone making it a thing. Our guide on safety for solo and women travellers goes deeper.

If you are coming alone

Most women on our trips arrive not knowing anyone. That is normal, and usually the best part. By the second evening, the group chat is full of inside jokes. By the last morning, there are long hugs at the bus stop.

Burn your fear. Connect with yourself.

That is the whole idea. GoRaahi's women-only departures are built for women who want to try something brave, gently, in good company. If something in you says yes, explore our upcoming women-only trips.

See the Bir & McLeodganj girls-only trip →