The
origin
story
“Pugmarks” was launched in Pune, Maharashtra India, by three passionate founders, Mr Anil Gupte, Mrs Usha Gupte and Mr Anirudh Chaoji in the year 1999 out of a small office. The mission of the organization was” To sensitize young people to the joy of the outdoors and nature conservation while enhancing their personal development.” Pugmarks started organizing Summer Camps for young people and outings for Corporates, Schools and Families.
Over a period of the next few years, Pugmarks became a very popular brand. Many youngsters developed their first connection with the outdoors, nature and wildlife through Pugmarks.
By 2010 Pugmarks expanded to Mumbai and many other cities in Maharashtra, with an office at Shivaji Park in Mumbai and Franchisees at Aurangabad, Sangli, Satara, Ahmednagar etc.
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 a nature and adventure enthusiast. He is a history buff and loves to organize expeditions. An avid reader and a traveler himself. He has done his MBA from the Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management Studies (JBIMS), Mumbai and used to work with Colgate Palmolive in Marketing before quitting his job and getting into business. He has over 2 decades of experience in camping, adventure and travel.
Kapil Jain
GM, Mumbai and Head Admin
Kapil is the Area Sales Manager – Mumbai operating from Thane Office. He also closely monitors the camp operations plus critiques and troubleshoots problems as and when needed.
Bhavin Majethiya
GM, Pune and Rest of Maharashtra and Head Marketing
Bhavin Majethiya based out of Pune office brings his experience of large scale operations and School excursions on the table. With an MBA in sales Management- travel & tourism, 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.
Prakash Kelshekar
Category Manager: Himalayan Treks and Head: Safety
He 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 mountaineering 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, Dancing around on Music with a bunch of energetic campers, Sharing valuable knowledge and information about outdoors to Young Volunteers, or Simply sitting around Campfire singing a Kishore Kumar classic and crackling unlimited and spontaneous Jokes.
Rithik Awate
Trainee Category Manager (Wildlife Camps)
He has completed his Masters in Wildlife Conservation sector. He is an Animal enthusiast with lots of love towards nature, environment and Wildlife. His passion and aim includes at the end of the day, your hair should be muddy, your arms bruised, your face tanned but your eyes glittering. He helps people to connect with nature and to get a glimpse of Amazing facts about wildlife and some amazing tricks to help in conservation.
Dhwani Dave
Trainee 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.
Abhijeet sonavane
Sales Executive: School Camps and Corporate Outings
He 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 traveling and exploring places is what brings him here and what motivates him to give a similar experience to our campers.
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.
Abhishek Ankleshwar
Executive: Bookings, Vacation Camps
Abhishek Ankleshwar is a graduate in travel and tourism management from Jai Hind College Mumbai. He has also done a diploma in Adventure Tourism from Pugmarks. During this diploma he has traveled to many of the places in Maharashtra. From last one year he has been working for Pugmarks.
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)