The Road Did Not Start in Malta
Jaydip Lakhankiya grew up in a farming family in Bhavnagar, Gujarat. A 182-day journey across India, years of outdoor work, and later study in Malta eventually led him to begin a 12,000 km walk back toward India.
The biography behind the mission
The Climate Walker came out of farming life, long travel through India, practical outdoor training, Malta climate study, and a decision to carry the climate conversation on foot.
Bhavnagar and farming life
Jaydip Lakhankiya grew up in a farming family in Bhavnagar, Gujarat. In his family, climate pressure was not an abstract issue. It appeared through heat, water, crops, and the uncertainty of agricultural income.
Leaving a conventional track
Jaydip initially studied chartered accountancy in Surat. He later changed direction to study travel and tourism and spend more time working directly with people and places.
182 days across India
In 2021, Jaydip spent 182 days walking and hitchhiking across India with very little money. The experience showed him how differently people live across the country and how closely hardship is connected to geography, work, water, and opportunity.
Outdoor training that made the road possible
He later trained and worked as a trekking instructor and added kayaking and outdoor leadership experience. That work developed the navigation, endurance, group leadership, and risk awareness needed for a long route on foot.
Malta sharpened the climate mission
Jaydip moved to Malta to study hospitality and tourism. His work around sustainable tourism and climate change helped turn a personal concern into a public walking journey.
From Malta cleanups to Valletta departure
Before leaving, he completed a five-day walk through Malta's localities with cleanups as a tribute to the island. Public coverage later referenced roughly 800 kg of waste collected in Malta cleanups. On 21 February 2026, he left Valletta to begin the roughly 12,000 km route toward India.
What the walk is meant to build
He intends to use the experience, relationships, and documentation from the walk to continue environmental education, cleanup work, speaking, and documentary projects in India.
The story is on the road now