Triathlete Sam Suresh Chandy was looking for trekking partners to Agasthyarkoodam, South India’s second-highest peak, located in Thiruvananthapuram, in 2020. Unable to find someone in his immediate circle, he spread word about it. Eventually, there were 40 people ready to join him on this difficult climb.
This collective ultimately led to the formation of ITREK, a hiking community that now has 500 members, aged 18 to 75. The group includes civil servants, corporate heads, journalists, entrepreneurs, and students. Their motto: Explore outdoors, embrace community. It focusses on sustainable travel, environmental responsibility, and supporting forest-dwelling communities.
“We are a facilitating engine for people who like trekking. Many people do not know how or where to go for a trek; some do not have people to go with, and some are worried whether they can physically endure a trek,” says Sam, a five-time Ironman triathlon winner, finishing a series of swimming, running, and cycling challenges.
Sam Suresh Chandy
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ITREK focuses on three aspects— exploring the outdoors to promote a healthy lifestyle, commitment to preserve nature, and allegiance to forest-dependent and tribal communities with an emphasis on ensuring a clean trek without littering and extending a helping hand to forest dwellers, acting as a “window for exchange of ideas with people living in the city.”
ITREK with Avittam Thirunal Adithya Varma during their logo launch
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“With each trek, we contribute to the community. We mobilise funds for guides if they reach out to us with health or other issues, since they are part of communities indigenous to forests,” says Sam. “They welcome us and speak to us about the forest, the way they live, in the available window of time.”
Health is wealth
Sam says the club advocates a healthy lifestyle. He points out that people who are interested in trekking most often already train daily.
“The group is not limited to treks; we sometimes do sea-swimming too. Thiruvananthapuram has the Western Ghats on one side and the Arabian Sea on the other. It is an opportunity to experience both,” says Sam.
ITREK during a hike at Kurisumala
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He adds, “Even if it is an elderly person, he or she should be fit to an extent. Fortunately, these are the people who often choose trekking. For instance, during our last trek to Arippa in Kollam, we had Veeramoni Sankaranarayana, a retired banker, who trekked with us for seven kilometres. We ensure help for members of all ages. We will hold their hand and even carry them,” says Sam. “Often older people wish to trek to peaks like Agasthyarkoodam for many years, and ITREK has been able to fulfill the dream of many of them.
During the last trip to Agasthyarkoodam, 75 people from across the State joined the group, making it the single largest group to scale the peak, says Sam. In December 2025, ITREK will be scaling the peak again.
The team has planned four treks — the first one is to Vazhvanthol waterfalls, located 40 kilometres from Thiruvananthapuram, on September 21. The itinerary for October has a two-day and one-night trek in the Periyar Tiger Reserve, which includes a night jungle scout with animal sightings, and a full-day trek. There are treks to Munnar and Meesapulimala in Idukki scheduled in November.
“Next year, we hope to have a Himalayan trek,” says Sam.
Published – September 17, 2025 05:00 pm IST
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