About Fallow Journeys

A small, independent operation — and the philosophy behind it.

The Founder's Story

Kunal Shah

I've travelled widely — through Indian states, across the Himalayas on treks like Markha Valley in winter and Kashmir Great Lakes, and through countries as different as Iceland and Bhutan. I've spent time with communities that live with very little, and in cities built on abundance.

And the one thing that has stayed with me, every single time: happiness doesn't live where you think it does. It's everywhere — and nowhere in particular. The farmer in Spiti has it. The retiree in a small Dutch town has it. It is a life where meaning is found in the 'aha' of small moments — a shared meal, a shifting shadow on a peak, a conversation with a local that lingers.

Most of us don't see that. We're moving too fast, too focused on the next thing. I was too — three years at BCG post my MBA from XLRI, doing strategy work across industries. I know that life well. And I know what it costs.

Fallow — it's what you call land left to rest. Not abandoned, but deliberately stilled, so it can recover and grow again.

That's what these journeys are. An attempt to engineer this experience for those too busy to find it themselves. An invitation to see the world from a different angle.

I can't promise it'll work. But I'll try.

— Kunal Shah
Founder, Fallow Journeys

What Kunal Actually Does

There's no operations team, no agency in the middle, no subcontracted guides. Everything runs through one person. Here's what that means for you.

You land somewhere he knows personally

Kunal spends real time in every landscape before it becomes a journey — walking the routes, meeting the local hosts, testing the stay. You get the benefit of that, not a brochure version of a place.

The shape of the week is deliberate, not assembled

The 50/50 balance, the sequence of days, the placement of each stillness hour — none of it is off-the-shelf. It's designed around how a week of this kind actually needs to move.

The person who designed it is the one running it

From your first welcome tea to the closing circle, you are with Kunal. Not a stand-in, not a local guide handed a brief. The person who cares most about the week going well is the one in the room.

A real conversation before any commitment

Before you confirm your spot, you speak to Kunal. He'll tell you honestly if the journey is or isn't right for you — which means if you do go, the group around you has been thought about.

Care on the Ground

A small operation can look after you in ways a big one can't. Here's what that means in practice.

One person, accountable

Kunal plans and hosts every journey himself. From your first message to the last morning, you're talking to the person actually running the trip — never a call centre.

Small by design

Eight travellers at most — five on a pilot. It's the cap that makes genuine local welcome, real conversation, and quiet in nature possible. It will never grow.

Safety, quietly handled

Travel insurance is mandatory; a first-aid kit travels with us. We ask about health and mobility at booking so the trip fits you.

The Small Things We Carry

A journey is held together by its details. These are some of ours — small, deliberate, and quietly important.

Welcome tea on arrival

You arrive tired and urban-paced. The first thing that happens is tea, slowly, with no agenda. The week begins the way it means to continue.

A reflection booklet that's yours to keep

A physical booklet with prompts that follow the arc of the week — the companion to your daily stillness hour, and something you take home.

Instax photographs

A few real, printed photographs from the trip — the kind you hold rather than scroll past. Travellers on our first journey loved them.

A closing circle

On the last night, we gather one more time. A few honest words about the week, and what each person is carrying back down the mountain.

Meals at one table

Food is communal, abundant, seasonal, and home-cooked. We eat together — it's where strangers quietly become companions.

A landscape is waiting.

The next departures are open. Or just stay in the loop — we write occasionally about the places we travel through.

See the Journeys Join the Waitlist