Nandi Hills

 I was recently going through a bunch of photos I had on my computer, trying to clear up junk. And I came across a set of photos from my first ever "nature trip".... And wow it's the best trip till date!

I badly wanted to go to some place like this and it took admirable efforts on my part to convince a bunch of people from my workplace that they lead boring lives and that they needed this kind of change. They left the choice to me, but not without a list of criteria: The place shouldn't be far from Bengaluru, there should be eating places close by (we had guys on board, I wasn't surprised), and we should be able to get back in time to catch some sleep, the next day was Monday.

I shortlisted a few places and everyone wanted Nandi Hills. Words of discouragement from people who have already been there notwithstanding, we went ahead. And I was glad we decided to.

Though it's not exactly as beautiful as Google Images would have us believe, it is definitely worth a visit. Especially if you love history and Nature.

I am guessing the place got it's name from the Shiva Temple on top of the hill, but Google about it and you'll get to read a lot of interesting stories. 

The temple is ancient (Wikipedia says it's 1300 years old and built in Dravidian style), and obviously houses the coolest of Hindu gods.

A lot of people actually visit this place just to see the temple. And well there is poor hygiene around the temple. But inside is wonderful. You can actually feel peace in there. And the pooja performed inside has a nice feel to it.... If you are an atheist, you can still visit just to see how temples looked centuries ago. 

Atop the hill is also Tipu Sultan's fort, and if you need a background on it, all you need to do is pretend to stand precariously (only pretend) on a nearby rock and an old, withering man who will call himself the guard will walk up to you and tell you how people have fallen to death from there (some 4000-odd feet above sea level) and will also go into flashback mode..... That is when you need to really pay attention and regret not being fluent in Kannada (if you are not a Kannadiga already). 

So as per his flashback, during Tipu Sultan's reign, those who committed grave crimes would be pushed down to death from here. Men would be sent to check if the offender is dead, and if he (I am guessing women were exceptions to this punishment) was breathing, or showed any sign of being alive, he would be carried back up and dropped again. Yup. Horrible. This fort has also been mentioned in descriptions of wars of the British Raj against Tipu Sultan.

Apart from history, you get beautiful views from the hilltop too!

Some of them are really breathtaking... For once you see the right combination of concrete and green.

So take a good camera along. 

I'd say be careful around the edges, the rock is a little too soft and there's the risk of you slipping and falling over the edge. If that happens, you can only spread your hands and hope they magically turn into wings!

Nandi Hills is definitely a good place to visit, if you don't mind boisterous fellow-visitors or monkeys stealing your food. 

Oh and carry lots of water if you are planning to climb all the way (there's a road and you can take a vehicle too, but where's the fun in that?)

Every travel blog I read on the Net recommended that we watch the sunrise from atop, but we managed to watch only the sunset. And it was beautiful. The temperature falls during dusk, and there is this little wall-of-sorts along the edge where you can sit and watch the sun splash its colours across the sky. 

A cool breeze, buddies around you in comfortable silence, and the sun in all its glory. The best form of meditation ever! But 15 minutes into this and I was dragged back to the rest of the crowd before it became properly dark. Would have loved to stay on till 7 PM. 

But when it's Mother Nature, she needs only a minute or two to remind us of what we are missing in the everyday chaos of our lives. Of how happiness lies in seemingly simple things, like taking in the sunset, lying down on grass and watching clouds float across the sky, letting the wind mess with your hair, a walk in the woods....

Hoping to catch Nandi Hills waking up to the sun some day :)