Almost every individual, at some point in life, dreams of escaping to the mountains – of trading deadlines and traffic for misty mornings, starry nights, and the lullaby of streams weaving through valleys.

For most, it remains a wistful longing. But for Dimple Kamra and her husband, Uppi, this dream became a reality – and today, it stands proudly in the eco-zone of the Great Himalayan National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, in the form of ‘Gone Fishing Cottages.’

What makes their journey remarkable is not just that they moved to the mountains, but how they did it — crafting a sustainable homestay from scratch, one stone, one reclaimed piece of wood at a time, weaving their love for nature into every corner of their new life.

From classrooms and farmlands to mountain streams

Before the mountains beckoned, Dimple (53) led an eventful life in Chandigarh. She ran an institute coaching students for exams like IELTS, SAT, and GMAT, and conducted leadership programmes for an international organisation. “I was running this independently for many years,” she shares.

“And I was also doing leadership programmes for an international firm called TGALF, the Global Education and Leadership Foundation. I was a trainer of trainers, and we would go to schools and programmes.”

Uppi, on the other hand, stayed connected to the earth — he remains a farmer to this day. Together, they balanced two very different worlds until the mountains, which had always been a shared dream, finally called them home.

“This is our second marriage, both of us,” Dimple recounts. “We met about 25 years ago and have been friends all this time. We got married 15 years ago, and have been visiting Tirthan for the past 25 years. We always knew we would move to the mountains someday. In 2015, we decided it was time.”

Using the stones effectively

When they first arrived, the land........

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