The Hill of Happiness, Nandi Hills
So what do you do when your friend gets bored at home and he’s got suicidal thoughts? You ask him to join you for an early morning unplanned Nandi Hills Trip near Bangalore. Wait a minute did I just say Nandi Hills? You sure damn right I did.
Much has been said about the beauty and charm of these hills and none can deny it. Every inch of these hills have been conquered, occupied and re-installed to make them the most accommodating, most accessible and most tourist friendly place in Karnataka and with crores of rupee being invested for further tourism development one can only imagine the number of people who visit this place during the weekends and weekdays alike. If you ask any college student or any IT professional in Bangalore whether or not they have been to Nandi Hills , 99% of them would say yes. As for me ironically, this was my first time visiting Nandi Hills and I really did not expect much since I knew when going on a short trip with a group of friends who were already half asleep and me and my friend went and pull them out from their warm beds, there was bound to be anarchy and anarchy it was.
Before I proceed let me tell you that Nandi is hills is situated approximately 60 Km from the city of Bangalore in the town ship of Chikballapur and getting there is an ease since the roads a superb and there are no hassles whatsoever. The only thing that shocked me was the number of people on bikes who were zipping away only to get stuck by the gates before climbing the hill because the gates opens only at 5:30 AM and looks like preference is given to motor vehicles cause when we reached the base of the hill, all bikers were marooned on both side of the roads and giving way to four wheeler.
Many stories are there about the origin of the name Nandi Hills; the one which seems like a more suitable name for me would be Ananda Giri or The Hill of Happiness, yet I hear stories about spots on Nandi Hills like the Tipu’s Drop where supposedly the Emperor Tipu Sultan threw his condemned prisoners to death from this very spot; doesn’t seem too happy at all if you ask me. Any way’s we reached Nandi Hills at around 6:30 AM and we obviously missed the sunrise.
As I said I was awestruck by the number of visitors; hoards and hoards of them road up the hill honking all the way to the top; I supposed it would not be the same on a weekday. The scene was chaotic; none the less they seem to enjoy it. I guess the chill morning breeze got to most of them especially to the ones who were on bikes therefore they could not stop shouting and honking.
Reaching the top there was an enormous queue and a huge crowd gathered at the ticket counter and seeing this I was about to say let’s just go back, but my friend was conniving enough and brave enough to lead us right through the gates without buying tickets. We heard a few shouts from the guys controlling the traffic at the entrance, yet we gave them a deaf ear and just walked passed in. I’d supposed they make enough to let a bunch of guy’s walk-in free once in a while 
. Entering in, the first thing to see is the “Amruth Sarovar “, an exquisite water lake filled with crystal clear water throughout the year.
Moving up the hill you will see the Tipu Sultan Summer House and a few flower nurseries maintained by the department of horticulture. Climbing further up the hill you meet well maintained gardens and then you see the “Tipu Drop” where criminals during Tipu’s reign were pushed down from this point to their death as punishment. The view from this point is breathtaking and you get a wonderful view of the villages below.
The Palar and the Arkavathi River takes their origin from Nandi Hills. Few more attractions is the ”Secret Passage” said to have been an escape route for kings during unforeseen attacks. The area also host temples, children playground, guest house and hotels. For more information on accommodation at Nandi Hills visit http://www.nandihills.co.in/Q_Links/Accommodation.html. Another interesting place to visit near Nandi Hills is Skandagiri Hill, a majestic looking hill which will surely test your endurance.
If you are looking for a weekend buzz in Bangalore and a place to relax, maybe with family or love ones, I would say Nandi Hills is a perfect place. A stone throw away from Bangalore, reaching there is an ease and you get everything that you would possibly want to make your weekend a more enjoyable and refreshing; more over you benefit from the sights and surrounding of this area and just savour in natures beauty at your doorstep.
Until next time have a good weekend my friends.
Cheers!
