Bhavita Bhatia

Bhavita Bhatia is a storyteller, adventurer, ecofeminist and a budding horse conservationist with well over a decade of experience around the pastoral communities of the trans-Himalayan region in India, Bhutan, and Nepal. Her work has been featured in National Geographic, Explorer’s Log (The Explorer's Club), and the New Yorker, among others. Bhavita’s documentary work reflects her love for the wilderness, which led her to chase Himalayan nomads across the most remote corners of the mountains. She recently partnered with the National Geographic Society, guiding two-time Pulitzer award-winning former war journalist Paul Salopek to join a 5000-kilometer foot traverse across northern India for almost a year. She then continued to walk solo right up to the world’s most isolated nomadic communities in the Himalaya. Over the last five years, she has single handedly built a grassroots conservation project to study and support the lives of horse herders of the Himalaya. Her special focus is on the fast-disappearing ponies across the foothills of the holy ranges from Mount Kailash, to the valleys around Mount Everest. Her project 'Cowboys of the Lost Horizon' documents the last generation of horse traders and closely studies the few horsemen remaining in their homelands. This is an intersectional project weaving together conservation, science, biology, eco-feminism, and traditional horse economies. Her project has been graciously supported by National Geographic, Internews (USA), Explorer’s Club (USA) and the Exodus Travels (Canada). She has recently been awarded the title '50 people changing the world' by the Explorer's Club.