Magic of Nandi

Bangalore’s closest hills station holds a special place in my heart. While most of my memories are of early morning drives on the curvy roads and the mist, that is not the only reason for this.

During a trip with my friends I discovered that one could walk up a flight of steps to get to Nandi Hills. While I could not explore the path then I have since done couple of hikes here. As opposed to the crowded noisy Nandi Hills most of us know this route is scenic, lined with gulmohar, mango and jamun trees. During summer while the birds entertained me with their songs, I got to taste some wild mangoes and jamun while walking up.

On one occasion I spent time watching yellow browed bulbul drink water from a dripping tank, another time babblers kept me company for a long time. Closer to Tipu’s guest house I had my first close encounter with Tickle’s Blue Fly Catcher. But birds are not the only ones to look out for; the trail also has a fair share of butterflies, insects and wild flowers.

The only eye sore is the garbage that is thrown closer to Tipu’s Guest house. That brings you back to reality and the impact crowds can have.

Couple of pointers

There is not restaurant on this route till you reach the top so carry water and some eats.

Careful of monkeys that are on their way up, food seems to tempt them so please keep them inside your bags.

The Good Old Nandi Hills

It was very early in the morning that Sunday. I still hadn't slept as I was at my friends place partying. Just as everybody started find a place to sleep, someone suggested we drive upto Nandi Hills. It seemed like a good idea to me. Having been in Bangalore for 10 years I had not once visited this place.
After quickly freshening up we got into our cars and headed to Nandi Hills. Just 2 people knew the way. So we decided to follow those cars. The tough part of our journey was not finding the way but keeping awake.

Since we started at 5.00 am we missed watching the sunrise from the hill. Stopped at the base to take some shots. It was a pretty sight, the vineyard and the golden sun.

When we reached the top a group of monkeys greeted us. One could see monkeys every where and they were creating a havoc.

Just to stay awake and get some energy we decided to first get some coffee and then walk around. There are lot of vendor selling cappuccino there. After gulping some hot coffee each of us headed in different direction to explore the place. I went with some bird watcher friends of mine. We found lots of different birds and spent time chasing them.

We then visited the old temple and walked over to Tippu’s drop. The view from here is superb. The temple itself is a small one and does't have too many carvings on it. Another thing that’s memorable about this place is the flowers ones finds all over. Some wild and some home-grown ones. They give a different charm to the whole place.

After spending some time here we decided to head back but not before eating some hot Maggie.