Mahendra Nalwaya was born in 1975 in Madhya Pradesh, India. He studied in a boarding school in the steep Kodaikanal hills where his love for nature and travelling was born. Before joining his father's cotton trading company in Coimbatore he studied economics in Mumbai. Later, he opened his own trading company for yarn and later on his own exports company Desire Exports in 1999. After joining the hotel business with Yangthang Resorts he has opened his own travel agency Desire Earth in 2006 to fulfill his dream of creating authentic India tours, which focus on showing India as it is.

Ilona Nalwaya was born in 1980 in Detmold, Germany. Raised in a family full of explorational spirit she has travelled the world from early years on. In 1996 she has spent half a year in Ecuador. After finishing secondary education in 1999 she worked on an eco-farm for one year before she travelled to India, where she met her soon-to-be husband in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu. There she worked for Desire Exports. Since 2006 she manages Yangthang Resorts and Desire Earth jointly with her husband.