The
origin
story
Pugmarks was founded 1999 in Pune by 3 passionate conservationists including an IITian and a naturalist working for WWF.
Our core mission is “To sensitise the youth to the joy of the outdoors and nature conservation while enhancing their personal development”.
Each year thousands of youngsters camp with us in their vacations at amazing places like Manali, Andamans, Kanha, Dandeli and more.
Pugmarks is led by a dynamic team which has over 20 years of experience in adventure travel and ecotourism. Pugmarks has won many awards over the years, most notably the National Award from ATOAI for excellence in “Community-based adventure”.
Volunteers
A major innovation by Pugmarks was the launch of its signature Volunteer Training Program.Since 2005 more than 800 youngsters have undergone the VTP. Our volunteers have gone on to become great ambassadors of the outdoors around the world. All the camps at Pugmarks are conducted by our team of trained Volunteers. Our Volunteers define the unique culture of Safety, Fun and Care that has been the hallmark of the organization.
Current Management
In 2012, Mr Anil Gupte and Mrs Usha Gupte retired from the business and Mr Chinmay Divekar and his father Mr Hari Divekar became directors of the company. Further in 2017 Mr Anirudh Chaoji also retired from the business. He currently stays in Nagpur.
Our Mission
To sensitise young people to the joy of the outdoors and nature conservation while enhancing their personal development.
Once a Pugmarker always a Pugmarker
A Pugmarker pursues her passion for the great outdoors gaining confidence and skills to become a sensitive, and patient leader and is ready to take a responsible place in our society. Being a Pugmarker is an enriching way of life.
Meet the team
Chinmay Divekar
Director
Chinmay is the Owner/Director of Pugmarks, an avid reader and a traveller himself. He has over 2 decades of experience in camping, adventure and travel.
Bhavin Majethiya
Chief Executive Officer
Bhavin is the CEO based out of Pune office brings his experience of large scale operations and School excursions on the table. He has been part of the travel industry for over 15+ years. A published author and an avid trekker with passion for adventure sports are some of his keen interests.
Kapil Jain
GM, Mumbai and Head Admin
Kapil Jain is the GM, MUMBAI AND HEAD ADMIN – Mumbai operating from Thane Office. He also closely monitors the camp operations plus critiques and troubleshoots problems as and when needed.
Prakash Kelshekar
Category Manager: Himalayan Treks and Head: Safety
Prakash is a qualified mountaineer with BMC, AMC, MOI,LO and Basic skiing course to his credit. He is the summitter of Himalayan peaks like Jogin-I and Jogin-II in Gangotri region.
He is also IMF(Indian mountaineer foundation) National Judge with International Judging qualification from Singapore, Malaysia, France and Austria in sports Climbing and IMF National faculty for National Judges courses .
Rupesh Majethiya
Category Manager: Wildlife Camps and Head Volunteer Training Program
Passionate for Outdoors, Music and Cricket...Rupesh has been exploring outdoors for more than 18 years.
He has been leading people of all age groups to different parts of Country.
He finds equal joy be it conducting a Team Building Simulation for a corporate group or dancing around on Music with bunch of energetic campers or Sharing valuable knowledge and information about outdoors to Young Volunteers, or simply sitting around Campfire singing a Kishore Kumar classiss and crackling unlimited and spontaneous Jokes.
Abhijeet Sonavane
Senior Tour Manager
Abhijeet is a certified tour manager. He has 7 years of experience in the tourism industry. Professionally managed domestic and international tours.This gave him a chance to travel all over the world and experience different cultures. His love for travelling and exploring places is what brings him here and what motivates him to give a similar experience to our campers.
Dhwani Dave
Category Manager- Wildlife Camps
Dhwani has completed her Masters in Wildlife Conservation and Action in the year of 2021. She has a keen interest in Herpetology and was part of multiple research projects for the last 5 years regarding snakes and frogs all around the country. Here in Pugmarks she wants to educate and spread awareness about the lesser known fauna by contributing in our children friendly camps.
Nikita Kumavat
Executive: Bookings, Vacation Camps
She has completed her Bachelors in Travel and Tourism Management. She believes that If you set your mind on what you want, wrap it up in what you are doing and keep doing it. She has an interest in the working sector where she can connect with people professionally and give them insights of traveling along with the joy of people getting satisfied with tourism and travel. She is working as a sales co-ordinator and operates from our Thane office.
Testimonials
What Our Customers Say
"Every activity on the camp was memorable cause some of them were done by me for the first time. All the activities were filled with thorough energy and enthusiasm. Apart from the activities the time we spent traveling together or the time spent at night with all the fun games, inside jokes, antakshari and thrilling stories will always and forever be in my memories 💗"
via TripAdvisor
Bindu Arundhati (Camper)
Himalayan Beach Waves
“It was the first camp and solo trip for my daughter Trisha. I saw my child return happy and content which is very rare for today's teenagers. A big thank you to Aditi and Dhawal and the entire crew at Manali and Pugmarks for making this experience so memorable for her. She had so many stories to tell , memories created and friends made. As parents we were relaxed as she did not complain about the food , toilets, safety and everything else in general. She thoroughly enjoyed herself . Pugmarks has been a good experience for us and both my daughters are looking forward to joining your camps next year. Thanks”
via TripAdvisor
Anish Gupta (Parent)
Manali Adventure Camp
"Group is very supportive.
My daughter is an introverted person and not very used to mixing with people. But the group attendant gave her full comfort. Thanks team 10 marks for caring 😇"
via TripAdvisor
Priyamvada Ingale (Parent)
Manali Masti Camp
"The parent child camp was the first camp we attended with Pugmarks. It was very well thought out and exceptionally well organised.Our host Ankita and Heer were always there to help and kept us fully occupied with fun games and activities. The food was excellent and my kid took a lot of second helpings.We both loved the food.The place was also magical especially the lake early morning.It did not feel like we were so close to Pune City. Overall a great weekend."
via TripAdvisor
Nivedita Datta (Participant)
Parent and Child Camp
"Hello!
My name is Viraj Singh and I have been a part of Pugmarks for 5 years now. I went for my first camp as a camper with Pugmarks in 2011, and I haven't been away from it since then. I used to be a very naive, ignorant boy but always had an inclination towards nature which escalated on the camp. It went to such a stage where now, it's become my career. The camps that have been chalked out are very unique as they not only are memorable but they mould you as a person. As a volunteer who pushes campers to explore new things, you yourself get to learn a lot. You learn how to conduct yourself and in turn influence young minds, Other than that you develop a small sense of independence at a very young age. You even grow on an intellectual level as you meet various people from all walks of life. People having stage fright and social anxiety will realise a huge difference in themselves after doing this. You will get very comfortable in a group dynamic and might even enjoy it! "
via TripAdvisor
Viraj Singh (Instructor)
"My life at pugmarks since I joined back in 2015 has been incredible. From being a camper to eventually becoming a volunteer has certainly been one of the best decisions I’ve ever taken. The time at pugmarks has somehow shaped me as a person. I have gotten a sense of responsibility and discipline which I certainly lacked a few years ago. The things you learn over the course of one year ends up being valuable for a lifetime. And trust me, I’m not a person that would give fake testimonials. This is exactly what I have felt. My love for travel was ignited by Pugmarks. To take up new challenges, fight different kinds of fears, and solve every problem critically. I would recommend everyone to join this programme. Other than traveling a lot, meeting so many amazing people and finding mentors, you will acquire an intangible value that makes it really worth it."
via TripAdvisor
Kaushil Shah (Instructor)