Bangalore Founders discovers Ameeshi Goenka, who heads a trekking organization called Around Bangalore City. It organizes short treks at scenic spots close to Bangalore and gives a much needed getaway from the jaded city. I spoke to her regarding her formative years and the concept behind ABC.

Bangalore Founders: I’ve seen you as a person who enjoys exploring the lesser known spots around Bangalore. As city dwellers, some of us find the urge to go out of the city but have few options to discover. What drove you to venturing into making trekking a weekend affair?

Ameeshi: It all started on a sunday morning when I wanted to take my mother out for a drive in my new car ! She suggested we drive towards Kolar after listening to her friend. Without any questions, I revved the accelerator towards Kolar highway. I thoroughly enjoyed the scenic drive, the 6 lane highway, the breeze, the music, mom’s company and the entire journey! After a telephonic conversation between my mother and her friend, we decided to climb Antharagange. It was my first ever trek. My mother managed to get me all excited about water caves and rocky caves. After finding a guide, 30mins into the trek, little did I know that I’d almost be doing a split balancing myself on a bamboo rod across 6ft forwards and a big dip below. Moving forward, we had to slide, crawl, jump, and use every part of the body to navigate inside a cave. Distinct sun rays were visible through the massive boulders of rocks, piling on top of each other and making a passage between them to get from one side to the other. After 1.5hrs of the thrilling adventure, we reached the opening on the other side and enjoyed the view of the valley. I had no idea that my 45year old mother was this fit and strong to be able to do this trek, let alone, be her idea ! After about 35mims of resting and clicking pictures, we made our way towards the water cave. On reaching the cave, we joined the queue to enter it, as only 4-5 people were allowed at once because it demanded each person to lie down and crawl while the water flowed. It was quite compact and each person, known and unknown, were helping and motivating all along. After the 10mins crawl we saw the light between the rocks and made our way out. We had a mother and daughter Sunday, made new friends, heard stories from the guide, and all in all, had a thrilling experience ! We went into the temple and bowed before leaving the premises and then headed towards the car and back towards Bangalore City !

BF: How did you consider starting Around Bangalore City(ABC)?

Ameeshi: Since that experience, in 2016, I started going on weekend drives and exploring hills, forests, lake, dams, and every bit of nature that surround the city of Bangalore. I enjoyed documenting and writing, so I also shared my journey details in the form of articles, supported by pictures and videos, covering routes, budget, eateries, what to wear, what to carry, tolls, gas stations, trek details and lots more under the name of Around Bangalore City, which were always my keywords while doing my primary research!
After about a year of trail hunting explorations, a friend suggested to make this passion into a pet project and make this experience available to a larger audience.

BF: Is there another venture that keeps you occupied?

Ameeshi: ABC, being a passion pet project, was at its peak during my job days from 2017-2020, until covid hit. During this time, after 6 years of being in the world of interior design, with the help of my family, I flipped my career, and started my own Interior firm. Since then the frequency of trips and events, has gradually reduced from once a week to once in a month. Having travelled nationally and internationally due to work and family in this period, I experienced the local sites, delicacies, traditions and absorbed the atmosphere of every place in its most natural essence. 

BF: What does ABC encompass?

Ameeshi: Since 2017, ABC, Around Bangalore City has touched the souls of 1000+ lives, 200+ activities and events, providing nature trails of all terrains and different difficulty levels, weekend farming, corporate retreats, biker rallies, city wide Treasure hunt, camping and bbq by the lake, out station event, heritage city walk, star gazing and many more which are also pet and family friendly.

BF: What are your goals for ABC?

Ameeshi: Moving forward I hope that I am able to fulfil the larger picture that Around Bangalore City was started, keeping in mind. I won’t be sharing that in this article. We’re in May of 2024, if all goes well, then the next interview will be covering the next chapter of ABC in the May of 2025.

BF: Thank you for telling us about your formative years at ABC!

Ameeshi: Thank you for having me revisit my past days ! So memorable like it was just yesterday ! 

BF: You’re welcome!