About
Shantanu Chand
Oloi Shorua — The Blessed One
The Beginning
A Life Shaped by Travel
Travel formed early. Shantanu Chand travelled extensively as a child with his father, who believed the only real way to understand the world was to see it firsthand. Consequently, he moved across cities, cultures and landscapes from a young age — across more than forty countries over time, through environments that differed as much in character as in geography.
Africa remained central throughout. It shaped not only where he travelled but how he came to understand place — as something experienced through return rather than through single visits. At times, travel meant considerable comfort. At others, it meant moving simply and without structure. This contrast, in turn, shaped an approach that values both refinement and grounding in equal measure.
His connection with Africa began in 1997. Indeed, he has been returning consistently across regions and seasons ever since.
Africa Since 1997
Return as the Foundation of Understanding
Over the years, Shantanu has spent extended time across Kenya, Tanzania and Southern Africa — returning repeatedly rather than passing through. Moreover, he understands not just destinations but how they evolve season to season and year to year. The Masai Mara he first visited in 1997 is not the same as the Mara of 2010 or the Mara of today. That continuity of knowledge is what makes the difference between selling a destination and actually understanding it.
These years have also built relationships that extend beyond access. He works directly with lodge owners, guides and conservation teams — the people who shape the experience on the ground rather than those who market it from a distance.
The Name
Oloi Shorua
A Maasai chief in the Masai Mara gave Shantanu the name Oloi Shorua. Over years of returning to the Mara, he developed a close connection with the region and the people within it. The name carries significance in Maa and Maasai culture — reflecting the idea of taking from the universe and giving back to the people.
Between 2009 and 2019, Shantanu led Go Beyond Travels, developing operational depth across East and Southern Africa and establishing long-standing partnerships with camps, lodges and private conservancies. In 2019, he consequently founded Oloi Shorua in India and then headquartered in 2024 in Dubai — not a reinvention but a refinement. The same knowledge and the same relationships, channelled through a more considered framework.
Every journey begins with a direct conversation. He designs every journey personally.
The Work
Four Brands Built From the Same Conviction
Oloi Shorua — a luxury African safari and expedition company built on direct knowledge, deep regional relationships and a philosophy of slow, considered travel. Based in Dubai, working across East and Southern Africa.
Arabia by Oloi Shorua — an Arabian Peninsula travel platform covering desert expeditions, heritage journeys and conservation-aware travel from the Red Sea to Musandam.
Baobab Rituals — a luxury skincare and wellness collection drawing from Africa’s most treasured botanical traditions. Founded in Dubai. Rooted in Africa.
Oloi Shorua Coffee — a coffee experience sourced with care, served with intention and connected to the landscapes and communities that produce it.
The Writing
Books on Africa, Arabia and the Art of Travelling the World.
Shantanu’s time across Africa and beyond has taken form through a series of written works. These books reflect journeys, landscapes and experiences gathered over decades — capturing moments as they unfold rather than presenting structured narratives. Furthermore, the subjects have expanded over time — from East Africa to Southern Africa, from Arabia to Dubai, Costa Rica and beyond.
Quiet books. Unhurried, unadorned and attentive to landscapes that reveal themselves slowly. For readers who travel the same way.
Photography and Film
Memories
The photography was never a separate project. It happened the way most things happen on a safari — naturally, in the field, as a consequence of being present in a place long enough to notice what it was doing.
The Oloi Shorua YouTube channel carries the images and film that accumulated across decades of journeys through Africa and Arabia — an archive of landscapes encountered slowly and returned to often.
“I didn’t write these books to explain Africa. I wrote them because distance teaches things that speed never will.”
Shantanu Chand