Nikheel Advani has been pushing the boundaries of luxury travel on Providenciales since 2004. This fall, the Grace Bay Resorts chief operating officer and Turks & Caicos Hotel and Tourism president pushed a different set of boundaries – his own – up the steep slopes of Mount Kilimanjaro.

The adventure grew out of Advani’s long-time participation in the Virtuoso network of international travel professionals. While attending an industry meeting in August during 2018 Virtuoso Travel Week, Advani found himself saying “yes” to an October expedition up Kilimanjaro’s Uhuru Peak, the highest point in Africa and the tallest freestanding peak on Earth. Even climbers on the “easiest” routes face days of uphill trekking and altitude sickness. Most years roughly 17,000 climbers fail to summit, with an average of 10 deaths.

But at 7 a.m. on Oct. 14, 2018, Advani and his 20 team members reached the top.

“Wow – what a life-changing trip,” Advani told his followers on Instagram after returning from Africa. “This experience impacts you in layers. I am still digesting the incredible journey up ‘Kili’ – with the most amazing people – it was mind over matter – you are faced with physical and mental challenges at sub-zero temperatures, pushing you to limits that you didn’t know could be pushed!”

Image provided by Nikheel Advani