A short drive to the backyard... Bangalore to Nandi Hills, Karnataka.

[varunc]

In my entire circle in Bangalore, if you ask people about Nandi Hills 9 out of 10 would have been to that place. The scale to which this small hill station on the outskirts of the city is famous is that folks go to this place almost every other weekend. More recently these 47 hairpin curves have become home for the randonneurs of the city to test their endurance on these steep slopes.

 

Nandi Hills or Nandidurg is an ancient hill fortress in southern India, in the Chikkaballapur district of Karnataka state. The hills are nestled near the town of Nandi. In traditional belief, the hills are the origin of the Arkavathy river.

 

Distance : 70 Kilometers

Route : Bangalore --> Airport Road --> Bangalore - Hyderabad highway NH-7 -->Nandi Cross --> Nandi Hills

Ride : Fiesta 1.6

Road condition : Excellent with less traffic as I started early.

Timings : 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. (Try to be there by 6 a.m.)

 

The place opens to public at 6:00 a.m. and expect a huge rush especially when the weather is nice or on long holiday weekends.

 

Places to visit: (Source Wiki)

• Tipu's Drop - The famous place from where Tipu Sultan had his condemned prisoners thrown to death.
• Tipu's Summer Palace and Fort
• Horse Way - A stone doorway in the fort on the North-eastern side, is believed to have been the horse way for helping soldiers to climb the wall on the horse back.
• Secret Escape Route - A secret passage on the west, is believed to have helped the kings to escape during unforeseen attacks.
• Temples - there are temples dedicated to Sri Bhoga Narasimha, Sri Ugra Narasimha and Sri Yoga Narasimha and you can see beautiful old temples.
   

Having done Bangalore to Hyderabad numerous times never visited Nandi Hills which is on the way. So on a long weekend, finally decided to get this of the checklist and planned an early morning drive. Started early morning at 5:00 a.m. from Electronic city and within 1 hour we were on the NH-7 cruising at 80 km/hr.

 

There is a speed breaker after crossing the airport road which we miss every time, braked hard and heard a loud thud and felt bad for the car. Moving on we diverted to left from the NH-7, where you can find a sign board to Nandi Hills. It is located around 25 kilometers from the Highway.

 

The road leading to the hillock is a very smooth, decent 2-way road on which you can cruise at 80 km/hr depending on the rush, but, we need to be careful of jaywalkers as we pass through small villages along the way.

 

P.S: With the increase in the number of people visiting this place, it is our responsibility to not damage the beauty by littering garbage and bottles all over.

[varunc]

Started climbing up the hill and soon the magic carpet of fog came to surround us

The first sight left me charmed as she was covered in a thin blanket of mist

Hill climb has 47 hairpin bends in total up to 8 kms until you reach the top most point of the Nandi hills

The sight was so breathtaking as to one time we could see the range of hills in the neighborhood and another time we could barely see 50 m experiencing this at both the extremes

The road is wide enough, well maintained and is a real test for all the amateur drivers on these steep curves

Being patient and considerate on these steep curves will help you encounter such situations

Knowing that we were late by at least 30 mins to reach the point, my lazy luck favored and i got a chance to be over the clouds

The scenery was so splendid and mesmerizing to drive through a forest where the mist accentuates the landscape feeling the crisp clean air.

We reached the top by 6 30 a.m. on that wonderful Saturday weather and was not surprised to find place filled with people. There were no shops or shacks on the top except for kids selling water bottles. The common sight was people getting their coffee/tea flasks from home and enjoying their cuppa soaking in the beautiful sight from the top.

Our drive was all set to pose as we reached the top most point

Bhoginandeshwara temple

Enjoyed the surrounding for a couple of hours including walking around the hillock and posing the mandatory 'Whatsapp' or 'Facebook' profile pics

We started back to Hyderabad around 10:00 a.m.

In the return journey, we stopped by trees and marigold farms just to click some photos

We had also spotted few monkeys fight during the stop and zoomed in for some captures

 

[Naveen1]

Nice work Varun.Short and crisp.

Heard that government is planning to stop the private vehicles to control the crowd.

Hope they wont do it till next year.Next time when I visit Bangalore I will cover this place.

[Gowtham]

Awesome pictures varun.Those hair pin bends are fun to drive.

Nice work Varun.Short and crisp.

Heard that government is planning to stop the private vehicles to control the crowd.

Hope they wont do it till next year.Next time when I visit Bangalore I will cover this place.

There are some news articles stating about the ban.But no idea if they implemented or not.:angry:

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/c...w/49131111.cms

[ujwal]

Are there any accommodations in or around nandi hills.. Anything like a cliff-side cottages for an overnight stay?

[karthik]

Are there any accommodations in or around nandi hills.. Anything like a cliff-side cottages for an overnight stay?

I am not sure about hill top accommodations.

But many accommodations are available at the foot hills.

[shammy]

I am not sure about hill top accommodations.

But many accommodations are available at the foot hills.

I heard from my friends that there is one hotel on top of the hills with beautiful view. Mayura pine. you can try this. You cannot expect much from this hotel but you can opt this for the view.

[shammy]

Are there any accommodations in or around nandi hills.. Anything like a cliff-side cottages for an overnight stay?

I heard from my friends that there is one hotel on top of the hills with beautiful view. Mayura pine. you can try this. You cannot expect much from this hotel but you can opt this for the view.

[ujwal]

I heard from my friends that there is one hotel on top of the hills with beautiful view. Mayura pine. you can try this. You cannot expect much from this hotel but you can opt this for the view.

Thanks a lot for the information.. I shall look into it.