Adventure tourism in India is transitioning from niche recreation to a structured, competitive sporting discipline. Sayeesha Kirani and Ajita Madan, co-founders of Nth Adventure, are driving this shift through awareness, formal training pathways, and organising professional-level adventure racing and orienteering events in India. Speaking to TTJ, Ajita highlights the significance of the International Adventure Racing World Series (ARWS) Qualifier in Arunachal Pradesh in November 2026, hosted with full support from the state Tourism Ministry, as a strategic platform to showcase the state globally. The broader goal is to position India as a recognised hub for world-class adventure racing and orienteering by 2030.
With the intent of bringing structure and credibility to adventure sports in India, Ajita and her husband, Sayeesha, founded Nth Adventure to approach the sector as an ecosystem rather than mere recreation. Integrating logistics, safety standards, community engagement, education, and sustainability, they aim to professionalise adventure racing and orienteering as organised, long-term disciplines instead of sporadic events.
Core Values at Nth Adventure
Adventure racing in India is still in its infancy, despite being over a century old globally. Nth Adventure positions itself as the home of adventure racing in India. It was founded to connect adventurers through structured, competitive platforms. To date, it has hosted more than 35 races, including sprints, national championships, qualifiers, workshops, and boot camps, including Adventure Racing World Series (ARWS) events, steadily building depth and credibility in the sport.
Ajita notes that India’s first world championship representation came only in 2025, underscoring how nascent the discipline remains domestically. She shares, “Our long-term vision is to establish India as a credible global contender in adventure racing, orienteering, and rogaining, while widening access so the sport becomes a training ground for resilience and sound decision-making among youth, who will ultimately shoulder environmental stewardship.”
Mechuka, Arunachal Pradesh – The Perfect Choice
Positioned as India’s first border adventure race and a national championship, Adventure @ Mechukha was part of the third National Adventure Racing Championship and served as a qualifier for the Asia Championship, drawing teams from India and abroad. Just 29 km from the border, the initial concern it drew underscored the very perceptions Ajita hoped to reshape. Hesitation around regions such as Arunachal, Kashmir, Uttarakhand, or Ladakh, she maintains, stems more from assumption than lived experience. The race set out to shift that exact narrative.
Arunachal Pradesh offered the ideal canvas with its terrain and texture for an event of this intensity. It is remote and raw, with a two-day drive from Dibrugarh, limited homestays, patchy electricity, and no internet for days. Ajita clarifies, “This is not for those who want to fly in and out. It is for those who want to experience mountain life at its most basic. Transporting every kayak and piece of race infrastructure entirely by road and coordinating international teams was formidable, but it successfully proved a border region can deliver at international standards.” It reflects the larger vision of showcasing a layered, lesser-seen India.
Her first visit to Mechuka replaced apprehension with assurance. “We expected apprehension from the local community; instead, we received warmth, and saw pride and an eagerness to welcome visitors to share stories, food, and a way of life,” she reflects.
The race also aligned closely with the vision of the Arunachal Pradesh Department of Tourism to integrate border communities through responsible, high-value tourism. Ajita acknowledges the strong support extended by the department, particularly by Pasang Dorjee Sona, Hon’ble Minister for Tourism, Education, RWD, Library, and Parliamentary Affairs, Government of Arunachal Pradesh. His emphasis on strict safety protocols, calibrated footfall, and protection of the state’s natural resources resonated seamlessly with the event’s philosophy. His involvement was beyond endorsement, with active participation in the planning, coordination, and on-ground execution of the upcoming race in Mechuka.
International Adventure Racing World Series Qualifier Comes to Mechuka
Ajita shares excitedly, “If the previous race was a start, this year is the next level! In November, Mechuka will host a 10-day expedition race, including six days of non-stop competition covering over 400 km across the valley. Teams will be fully self-supported, carrying their own food, choosing when and where to rest, and navigating solely by map. The race will feature kayaking, cycling, ziplining, hiking, swimming, and village-based cultural engagements. More than 15 countries are already confirmed, with teams from Sweden, Switzerland, the USA, Costa Rica, Estonia, South Africa, Japan, Malaysia, and the Philippines competing alongside Indian participants. Indian teams are undergoing intensive training to compete at par, as this will be their first race at such an endurance scale.”
While expedition-style races have previously been hosted in India, including two editions in Jammu and Kashmir by a South African organisation, Ajita draws a clear distinction. Those events lacked domestic continuity. She explains that when a foreign organisation comes, hosts, and leaves, it has no base or structure. But Mechuka represents a sustained, Indian-led framework to develop the sport from the grassroots. Athletes cannot be expected to jump into expedition-level. They have to be built from the beginning. For her, this edition is about ownership, institutional backing, and long-term ecosystem building, to be executed jointly by the state and the organisation.
Building Local Ecosystems
For Ajita, sustainability is not a slogan but a structural principle. Whether hosting races in Goa, Kerala, Karnataka, Uttarakhand, or Arunachal Pradesh, the objective remains consistent: the sport must outlast the event. She reiterates, “If you involve the local community, even in the smallest way, you contribute to their economy and development. Nth Adventure therefore focuses on building a local base in every state it enters, training residents, creating skill pathways, and ensuring the sport sustains independently.”
In Mechuka, what began as a single zipline setup expanded once locals saw growing participation. Kayaking infrastructure followed a similar trajectory, with residents now being trained as guides and even hosting local championships.
Designing Responsible Events
While ambition drives growth, sustainability anchors operations, especially in ecologically sensitive regions like Mechuka. Every race is designed around strict sustainability goals, emphasising controlled scale to avoid overwhelming small mountain towns. Logistics are localised, with food, accommodation, and staging sourced within the community. Plastic is minimised, participants carry their own hydration, branding is cloth-based, reused, and often repurposed locally after the event.
Beyond environmental safeguards, livelihoods are woven into the design of race. In Udupi, participants peeled areca nuts at a checkpoint under village supervision, and in Shimoga, teams crafted bamboo baskets under the guidance of a local artisan. The race becomes interaction, not intrusion. The philosophy is simple: do not host an event without valuing local heritage. By compensating artisans and embedding their skills into the format, the organisation ensures economic participation while showcasing each destination’s identity to a global audience.
The Broader Impact
Ajita believes the ripple effect of such events is inevitable. Smaller destinations gain visibility, travellers grow curious, and communities benefit from controlled, responsible exposure. What begins as a race route or a checkpoint intervention evolves into something far more inclusive and enduring through economic participation, cultural preservation, and environmental awareness, moving in tandem. At the centre of her vision lies a larger thesis: adventure sports, when structured, localised, and responsibly executed, can shape careers, character, and climate consciousness in equal measure. It is not merely about competition or recreation; it is about building capacity in individuals, communities, and ecosystems.
 Qualifier in Arunachal Pradesh in November 2026, hosted with full support from the state Tourism Ministry, as a strategic platform to showcase the state globally. The broader goal is to position India as a recognised hub for world-class adventure racing and orienteering by 2030.){kind=link}