Our Story | Leading Responsible Travel in Spiti Since 2002

MUSE is a pioneering NGO born out of a commitment to serving communities bypassed by traditional infrastructure. We are a team of local experts and global professionals who believe a community’s potential should never be limited by its geography.

Since 2002, we have lived and worked alongside the people of Spiti, mastering the art of delivering essential services in India’s most extreme environments. What we learned in the extreme -30°C winters of Spiti—the art of delivering care where infrastructure is non-existent—is a blueprint for resilience that the rest of the world needs.

This expertise has allowed MUSE to grow beyond the borders of the Spiti Valley into a multi-regional force for change. We are now taking our Last-Mile models to underserved rural clusters in Bihar and Chhattisgarh, the remote hills of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, and marginalized urban settlements in Punjab and Delhi. We are proving that the lessons learned at 12,500 feet can transform lives across the country.

A Note on Our Ecosystem
While MUSE drives our non-profit impact, we are supported by our social enterprise wing, Ecosphere, to create sustainable revenue models and mindful engagement. This unique hybrid model allows us to reinvest tourism revenue directly into the community projects managed by MUSE, ensuring that our work remains sustainable long after a grant ends.

Our story began serendipitously in 2000 with a chance article on Seabuckthorn – a miracle berry growing in the high altitudes of Spiti. The article grabbed the attention of Ishita, a young social work professional working with the State Government of Himachal Pradesh. Seabuckthorn had immense ecological and economic potential, whose wonders remained hidden and untapped. “Why had nothing been done about this miracle berry to help improve the livelihoods of local communities in Spiti?”. So she and a friend set off on a motor bike to Spiti to figure out the answer to that question. This was the start of a lifelong relationship for Ishita with Spiti. She went on to quit her job with the Government and a group of friends went on to found MUSE (an NGO) in the year 2002 to start work on this Wonder Berry!

With the success of the Seabuckthorn project, MUSE looked at other livelihood streams that could help enhance the income of the people in Spiti. It was imperative for these livelihoods to make responsible use of locally-available resources and remain closely linked to the conservation of nature and cultural heritage.

Tourism, which had just started making its inroads in Spiti, was an obvious choice. This led to the genesis of Ecosphere, a social enterprise that envisioned making tourism beneficial and memorable for everyone involved – the local communities, travellers and the environment.

Ecosphere is today one of the most awarded and recognised responsible tourism interventions in the country, whose model has been widely replicated.

Over the years, Ecosphere and MUSE together have initiated various community initiatives across the length & breadth of India, that have received world-wide recognition.

We support these initiatives from the revenue we generate from our responsible travel trips and experiences. Additionally, we operate Sol Café, Taste of Spiti, Osel Rooms, and Sol Eco-Hotel in Kaza, Spiti, all of which contribute to supporting our various development projects and initiatives.

The MUSE team is a dedicated collective of local experts and professionals working in the remotest and hardest terrains. We don’t just provide services; we build relationships, foster trust, and create systems of care for communities where access is a challenge.

The team that visualizes, strategizes, and navigates the complexities of last-mile development to ensure every project is sustainable and community-owned.

Ishita Khanna

Ishita is a dynamic social entrepreneur who is the founder of Ecosphere and MUSE. Her experience of working at the grassroots and passion for sustainability, travel and the mountains have been the driving force for both MUSE and Ecosphere – which enable her to live her philosophy. Ishita has been recognized as one of India’s leading 50 social entrepreneurs. Her accolades include being voted an MTV Youth Icon, receiving the Real Heroes Award by Reliance & CNN-IBN, and being honoured as a Pathfinder in the Indian Responsible Travel Awards. Additionally, she is an Ashoka Fellow, reflecting her commitment to social change and sustainability.

Chhering Norbu

Norbu, is a man of many talents and comes with a vast array of experience in various fields ranging from tourism, renewable energy, solar passive architecture, mountaineering, medicinal plants, and the list can carry on! He belongs to a family of Amchis (traditional medicine practitioners of Spiti) and is now one of the last few practicing Amchis in Spiti and well renowned in the valley. He is the Manager for all the Spiti operations.

Anubhav Das

Anubhav, a banker and a finance & marketing professional quit his job to pursue his dream of creating a social impact through his knowledge and experience. Given his forte, he has been instrumental in expanding Ecosphere trips and MUSE’s initiatives to the rest of the country.

Tanisha Bhandari

Tanisha manages MUSE’s digital platforms, amplifying our work in community-led resilience and last-mile access. As a visual storyteller she curates strategic content that connects our initiatives with a global audience of partners ensuring the voices of the communities we serve remain at the forefront of our communication.

Vaishali Singha

Vaishali is a social sector professional with over five years of experience in community-led development, gender justice, mental health, livelihoods, and inclusion. She is the Partnerships & Communications Manager at MUSE. Having grown up in the hills, her work at MUSE is guided by a commitment to care-centred, sustainable impact and conscious living, ensuring that narratives are authentic and partnerships are built on mutual respect. Vaishali’s love for travel and nature fuels her drive to collaborate with passionate individuals, striving for meaningful, long-term change that honours both the people and the delicate ecosystem of the Himalayas.

We make the place a home. We bring the warmth, the long conversations.

We make you laugh, give you the local insights and welcome you after a day full of adventure.

We are the team behind the scenes working diligently in the remotest and hardest terrains

creating impact and providing access to quality and affordable healthcare across rural & urban India.

Dr. Narinder Kumar Jha

Dr. Jha, is a dedicated dental professional driven by the desire to create meaningful change through his work. He is the senior dentist at the MUSE Charitable Dental Clinic and has been part of the team since 2021, holding awareness & treatment camps in the remotest of villages of Spiti through the summer and in the rural villages of Chhattisgarh and Bihar through the winter. He now heads the MUSE Charitable Dental Clinic in Delhi providing world-class, and affordable dental care services, ensuring that quality treatment reaches the most underserved communities.

Dr. Sapna Gautam

Dr. Sapna Gautam is our dentist at the MUSE Charitable Dental Clinic at Kaza where her role focuses on delivering quality oral healthcare to the local community, ensuring patients receive the best possible treatment in a compassionate environment. During the winter she travels extensively with the team holding awareness & treatment camps catering to marginalised communities in rural and urban India and to those who have special needs.

Lotey Gyachho

Lotey is our dedicated Dental Assistant at the MUSE Charitable Dental Clinic at Kaza. Hands on and extremely dedicated he manages the running of the clinic and the numerous outreach camps.