§1What this business is
The camp has 10 twin-sharing tents and 5 six-person group tents, all with attached bathrooms, plus common toilets, kitchen, dining (80 seats), pantry, staff and shelter tents, parking for 12 vehicles and a kiosk selling toiletries, snacks, torches and repellents. It also hires out camping gear, sleeping bags, trekking poles, binoculars, balance cycles and heaters. Guests are trekkers, adventure and leisure tourists, school groups and travellers going where there are no hotels. The profile names Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, the Northeast, Rajasthan, Goa, Karnataka, Jammu & Kashmir, West Bengal and Odisha as good locations.
Capacity: 50 guests a night (20 in twin tents, 30 in group tents); 300 operating days split into 100 high, 100 medium and 100 low-season days.
§2Is it right for you?
Who it is for
A trekking or adventure-travel person ready to live at a remote site for part of the year.
Who it is not for
Someone who wants to manage from a city — the camp needs the owner present in the busy season.
Advantages
- Adventure and nature tourism keep growing
- Tents allowed where buildings are not, near parks and fragile areas
- Several income streams: stays, meals and gear hire
Drawbacks
- Closed or slow for months in bad weather
- Remote sites make power, water and sewage hard
- Needs ₹99.50 L and the owner on site in season
Skills you need
- Hospitality and outdoor safety
- Managing seasonal staff
- Site upkeep: tents, power, water, sewage
- Online marketing and tie-ups with adventure groups
Why difficulty 3/5: Large outlay, remote operations and permits, but a clear and growing market.
§3Market
Who buys
- Trekkers, rock climbers and adventure tourists
- Leisure tourists wanting a tent stay
- Tourists going where there are no built hotels
- School groups
How it sells
- Travel portals
- Tie-ups with adventure tourism groups and resource persons
- Walk-in transit diners
Good to know
- The profile plans 300 operating days a year in three seasons.
- It says camping in India is growing in Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Ladakh, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Goa and the Northeast.
§4Raw material & machinery
| Item | Qty | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Site works: levelling, fencing, bore well, power line, genset, sewage treatment, lighting, firefighting, water purifiers | — | ₹10,00,000 |
| Twin-sharing tents with attached toilet, furnished | 10 | ₹16,00,000 |
| Group (six-person) tents with attached toilet, furnished | 5 | ₹12,00,000 |
| Common toilets | 4 | ₹3,00,000 |
| Kitchen tent | 1 | ₹3,00,000 |
| Dining tent with furniture | 1 | ₹5,00,000 |
| Shelter/lounge tent with furniture | 1 | ₹4,00,000 |
| Staff tents with furniture | — | ₹4,00,000 |
| Pantry | 1 | ₹1,00,000 |
| Kitchen equipment, appliances, pots, crockery and cutlery | lot | ₹10,00,000 |
| Linen, electric blankets, sleeping bags, survival kits, radios, first aid, heaters, air mattresses and other gear | lot | ₹15,00,000 |
| Outdoor furniture and fire pits | lot | ₹2,00,000 |
| Bicycles (5) and motorcycles (2) | 7 | ₹2,00,000 |
From: SIDBI Stand-Up Mitra project profile — Camping Facility (2018) — private guide — confirm locally
- Food and beverage supplies₹18 L a year in the profile
- Kiosk stock: toiletries, beverages, snacks, flashlights, chargers, repellents, emergency food packetssold to guests
From: SIDBI Stand-Up Mitra project profile — Camping Facility (2018) — private guide — confirm locally
§5Licences & registration
- State tourism department registration
- Pollution control clearance from the state board; National Green Tribunal in some cases (the profile)
- Protected Area or forest permit if the site is in a forest area
- Fire safety clearance
- FSSAI registration or licence for the kitchen
- Shop and establishment registration and GST
§6Schemes & subsidies
- CGTMSECentralActiveNo collateral, up to ₹10 crore
- Stand-Up IndiaCentralClosed₹10 lakh – ₹1 crore loan
At ₹99.50 L the project is above PMEGP and MUDRA limits; the ₹59.70 L term loan fits CGTMSE cover or Stand-Up India.
§7Money
How the investment is worked out: Lease deposit (3 months) ₹1.50 L + site works (levelling, fencing, bore well, power line, genset, sewage treatment, lighting, firefighting) ₹10 L + twin tents ₹16 L + group tents ₹12 L + common toilets ₹3 L + kitchen tent ₹3 L + dining tent ₹5 L + shelter/lounge tent ₹4 L + staff tents ₹4 L + pantry ₹1 L + kitchen equipment ₹10 L + linen and camping gear ₹15 L + outdoor furniture ₹2 L + 5 bicycles and 2 motorcycles ₹2 L + preliminary ₹6 L + working-capital margin ₹5 L = ₹99.50 L. Equity ₹39.80 L, term loan ₹59.70 L.
Working capital: Margin ₹5 L; no working-capital loan. Operating costs ₹77.49 L a year: lease ₹6 L, staff and admin ₹25 L, electricity ₹5 L, water ₹2.40 L, sewage treatment ₹1.20 L, upkeep ₹6 L, food ₹18 L, marketing ₹13.89 L.
Profile from 2018 — machinery and material prices will be higher now.
§8Export potential
This is a tourism service; there is no goods export.
§9Risks — where people fail
- Weather and natural hazards
- Environmental and forest permits
- Guest safety incidents
- Seasonality and access problems
§1030 / 60 / 90-day plan
A general plan that applies to any business. A plan for this business will be added after research.
- Days 1–30: Visit a working camping site (tented camp) unit, ask 10 buyers about price and quantity, and get quotations from 3 suppliers.
- Days 31–60: Udyam and the licences you need (State tourism department registration, Pollution control clearance from the state board; National Green Tribunal in some cases (the profile)), a project report (DPR), and the scheme or loan file.
- Days 61–90: Space and machines, trial production, and first deliveries to 10 customers.
§11Who to connect with
Associations, clusters and training institutes — the directory is being built. Connect
§12Watch
There is no episode on this business yet. Shows are coming soon on the Podcast page.
Want to start Camping Site (Tented Camp)?
DPR, loan file or registration — ask us on WhatsApp.
¶Sources
Data review: 6 October 2026. Spotted a mistake? Report it. For information only — not legal or financial advice.