Founder’s Journey
Some people travel to take a break from life. Rohit Khattar travels because it is his life.
Long before IKIGAI existed, Rohit was the kind of person who'd disappear into the mountains of Spiti for weeks, surface somewhere in Southeast Asia the next month, and spend his evenings convincing everyone around him that the world was far more extraordinary than their daily routine suggested.
That restlessness — that compulsion to explore, to go further, to find the places most people never see — became the foundation of everything IKIGAI is today.
Rohit founded the Himalayan Explorers Club and co-founded Jugni, a group travel platform for women — long before group travel for solo travellers became a trend in India. He wasn't following a market. He was creating one, because he genuinely believed that the joy of travel shouldn't be limited to those who happen to have someone to go with.
With IKIGAI, he took that belief and built it into a company. Every destination on our list is a place Rohit has walked through himself. Every itinerary carries the instinct of someone who knows the difference between seeing a place and truly experiencing it.
When you travel with IKIGAI, you're not following a package. You're walking a path that Rohit walked first — and loved enough to share with thousands.
You Want to See the World. You Just Don't Want to Go Alone.
You've saved the reels. You've bookmarked the destinations. Maybe you've even looked up flights — twice. But something keeps stopping you. Not fear, exactly. Just the nagging feeling that travelling solo to a place you've never been, knowing nobody, figuring it all out alone — isn't quite the experience you imagined.
That's exactly why IKIGAI — Your Travel Genie exists.
We are a group travel company built specifically for solo travellers. Not a bus tour. Not a resort package. A carefully curated journey to some of the most extraordinary places on earth — with a group of like-minded people who arrive as strangers and leave as friends for life.
Since 2012, we have taken over 11,000 travellers (and counting) across more than 60 destinations worldwide. From chasing the Northern Lights across Murmansk, Finland, Norway, and Iceland — a pursuit we've made our own over more than a decade — to the ancient ruins of Egypt, the rice terraces of Vietnam, the surreal landscapes of Siberia, and the warm waters of the Maldives. Every trip is designed to give you the world, without the loneliness of going it alone.
Why IKIGAI?
In Japanese, Ikigai means your reason for being — the place where your passion, your purpose, and the world's needs intersect.
For our founder Rohit Khattar, Ikigai has always been travel. Not travel as leisure. Travel as transformation. The kind that changes how you see the world — and yourself.
IKIGAI — Your Travel Genie is the living expression of that belief. Every destination we choose, every itinerary we build, every group we put together is guided by one simple idea: travel should feel like the best decision you ever made.
What Makes Us Different
Small Groups, Real Connections
Our trips are intentionally intimate — averaging 15 to 20 travellers. Small enough for genuine friendships to form. Big enough for the energy that makes a group trip unforgettable.
Offbeat by Design
We don't do conveyor-belt tourism. Our destinations are chosen for their ability to surprise you — places that stay with you long after you're back at your desk.
Built for Solo Travellers
Whether you're 25 and doing your first international trip or 45 and finally taking the holiday you've been putting off — our trips are designed so you never feel out of place, out of your depth, or out of the group.
Safe, Curated, and Looked After
Every detail is taken care of. Stays, transfers, local experiences — so your only job is to pack your bags and show up.
India's Most Experienced Northern Lights Operator
For over a decade, we have been taking Indians to chase the Aurora — across Murmansk, Finland, Norway, and Iceland. We know these routes, these seasons, and these skies better than almost anyone. If seeing the Northern Lights is on your bucket list, you're in the right place.
14 Years. 1000+ Trips. 11,000 Travellers.
We've been doing this since 2012. That's not a number — that's 11,000 people who trusted us with their holiday, their safety, and their experience. And kept coming back.
Ready to Go?
You've read enough about us. Now let's talk about where you want to go.
Browse our upcoming trips — or if you'd rather just have a conversation first, we're on WhatsApp. No hard sell, no automated responses. Just a real person helping you figure out which trip is right for you.