Founded in 1994, Himalayan Adventure Institute (HAI) is India’s foremost outdoor education centre, with over three decades of excellence in adventure-based learning and leadership development. For 32 remarkable years, we’ve welcomed individuals of all ages and backgrounds to experience powerful, life-changing learning in the lap of nature.

At HAI, adventure is more than activity—it’s experiential education. In a supportive natural environment, participants step beyond comfort zones, embrace challenges, and develop leadership, resilience, self-confidence, courage, and self-reliance—all while having meaningful fun. Our highly skilled and professional team delivers diverse programs ranging from outdoor adventure courses to specialized Search & Rescue and disaster response training.

We are a registered society affiliated with the Indian Mountaineering Foundation and the National Adventure Foundation, and are empaneled with respected organizations including ONGC, the Disaster Mitigation Center, and Bhutan Hydel Power. Our leadership and adventure programs have been conducted for esteemed institutions such as the Lok Sabha Secretariat (under ICPS), the Indian Corporate Law Service Academy, and the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration.

Over 2,500 police personnel, disaster responders, government officials, youth volunteers, and NDRF members have been trained by us in Mountain Search & Rescue and Disaster Management. Our 85+ rescue batches have contributed meaningfully during landslides, floods, vehicle accidents, earthquakes, and fire emergencies—saving lives when it mattered most.

As a designated hill training centre for Outward Bound India, HAI has trained over 10,000 youth and partnered with leading schools, colleges, and global institutions.

At Himalayan Adventure Institute, the journey is the reward—and the skills you gain last a lifetime.

THE US SCHOOL OF SURVIVAL (US-SOS) brings elite, real-world expertise to India under the leadership of John Dobbins—a United States Marine Corps veteran trained by the U.S. Department of Defense in Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape (SERE). Certified through the United States Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Red Cross and the American National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians, John blends battlefield and disaster zone-tested resilience with advanced wilderness medicine and academic distinction.

His career spans classrooms, wilderness areas, command posts, and crisis zones across the globe. He has designed and delivered survival and medical training programs for Ivy League institutions including Yale University, Brown University, Columbia University, and Dartmouth College. He also taught Search and Rescue at Red Rocks Community College and led advanced certification programs at Tufts University and Ohio University.

As founder of SOLO Colorado with SOLO Wilderness Medicine, John worked with some of the world’s foremost experts in wilderness emergency care. He has been selected as a Lead Instructor for Colorado State Police, the U.S. Geological Survey, United States Space Force contractors, and the American Red Cross after leading disaster response teams in high-stakes environments where his decisions saved countless lives.

John is a four-season backcountry athlete who lives off-grid, continuously practicing what he teaches as a volunteer rescuer.  John authored the US School of Survival Field Manual and brings unmatched credibility to every course.  In addition to teaching at the national level, John has also advised the United States Government during times of crisis, when clear thinking and decisive action matter most.

Now in partnership with Himalayan Adventure Institute, the US School of Survival is delivering world-class wilderness emergency medical certification programs in India—combining global expertise with practical, life-saving skills for real-world challenges.