Saturday, June 27, 2009

Nandi Hills


Place: Nandi Hills
Distance: Approximately 60-70kms
Route: Hebbal -> KodigehaLLi gate -> Bellary Road -> Devanahalli -> Sulthanpet -> Nandi Hills
Best time to visit: All year around, if you are going early in the morning or evening
Map:
Now that I have provided some information above, I will write my personal experience of this trip.
It all started with a simple mail again, asking friends "what's the plan for weekend?" and then a suggestion "To Nandi hills?, Night Bike ride?" Everybody was cautious and said driving in night would not be really safe, and they agreed for early morning drive. So we had set 4 am as the starting time from Vijayanangar. Though a person who never misses an opportunity to prove that he will never be punctual (me of course) was up and ready at 4 am, others were busy waiting for each other. Now I realize how terrible it feels to wait :). Finally the group assembled at main bus stop by 4.40am. It was too late to start :( Nevertheless we started with all excitement. I think this was our first such trip such early morning and on bike.
The West of Cord road looked beautiful with fresh air and breeze and inspired us to rip through. It did not take much time to reach Mekhri circle where one of our main planner or organizer joined us coming from old air port road. No wonder everybody was hungry, after getting up so early in the morning. But for our bad luck there were no shops opened so early. Concerned about whether we reach before sun rise, we drove faster; this concern did not bother us while we had a cup of tea on the way though.
While we crossed Yelahanka it had started drizzling but still we decided to move on. Thanks to the recent elections, the road was repaired and looked new rather. And apart from few kms, the road was beautiful till the peak to Nandi hills. This was the first time I also drove bike in a ghat section. It was really an amazing feeling. With such beautiful road, not many vehicles around, clouds touching the distant hills as if to decorate the tip of the hill, and the sweet air; turned out to be so soothing for the traffic jam and smoke affected s/w engineers.
The following photo essay would conclude the Nandi Hills trip. Hope readers enjoy this.

Hari, Sriram and Lawrence (3 Bikes) already reached Vijayanagar and waiting for Manasvi and Kumar
Road to Nandi Hills looked amazing and very new; Thanks to the recent elections.
                           I was sitting behind Lawrence having my heart in my mouth
Place where we could not resist stopping and clicking this beauty

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Highly enthusiastic group; game for a trip any time but making sure utmost care is taken

Towards the hill there were lot of monkeys on the way, when I stopped by and opened a biscuit packet, there were lot of them climbed down and came very close.

We were really hungry early in the morning but there was nothing available in shops other than these. I really wonder if someone takes cold drinks that early.




Early morning mist had resulted in chill cold weather; monkeys gave a warm hug to their babies..
Garden at Nandi Hills has a lot of beautiful flowers; which cannot go unnoticed..
When we reached the hill point, the view was exquisite and Lawrence did not leave a chance to hang his feet down the edge to relieve himself of his stress..
A couple seemed to have been having one of very beautiful days and enjoyed each other's company
A monkey too seemed to be enjoying the view; more than that it looked as if he is the king and ruling the world below







We sat there till the Sun really came up and cleared the fog; Soon after that we were ready to leave
After having a wonderful time on another wonderful trip, we headed back and on the way back I was just thinking "Where to? Next week..?"




11 comments:

  1. Another exciting trip... I am surprised by how smooth the roads look! The bikes look like fun (I've never been on a motorbike)! Did you rent them or do you own them?

    That picture of the monkey on top of the hill is fantastic. It reminds me of The Lion King! :)

    Keep traveling, writing, and snapping photos. I'll keep reading with an ice cold drink in hand (many Americans love cold drinks in the morning)! :)

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  2. Hello Prashant,
    Nice writeup!
    Is it ok with you if I mark the route you took on the map at www.tripnaksha.com? I will send you a link and you can review it. Or, you can create the route yourself, it's pretty simple and you don't even need to register for doing this. I am trying to make TripNaksha the best place to look for information about hikes, treks and drives in India, would appreciate any help from you!
    Would also appreciate if you could have a look at the website and give feedback!

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  3. Ajay, thanks for dropping by. You are free to use the map. Anyways it is google map so you would not require my permission to use the route on the map :)

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  4. Cool, thanks :). Also, you can embed the route (in tripnaksha) in your blog post - so it will add perspective to anybody who wants to do the same trip. Do try mapping any of your routes sometime.

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  5. Cool :)
    BTW, you can embed the map on your blog once you mark a route. Do consider marking your trips :)

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  6. Hi Prashant, check this route out - http://bit.ly/nandihills. I tried to map the route you took, is this correct? Also, can I put your blog post as an article on the website (It will be in your name and will link to your blog as well)?

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  7. Ajay, okay go ahead.. but please make sure you ask me before you upload the contents for other posts in my blog .. Thanks.. :)

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  8. Thanks Prashat! Could you please email me - that will be easier to communicate compared to blog comments :). Mine's below -

    ajay [at] tripnaksha [/dot] com

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  9. Hi Prashant, posted the review of your one day trip to Nandi Hills from Bangalore http://bit.ly/8HThm5 on TripNaksha. Linked to your blog post as well.

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  10. Hi There,

    Very Nice and informative blog with pics. Me and my hubbie are planning to visit Nandi Hills on our kinetic. I was wondering if the hill roads were safe to ride as I will be riding in parts. Did you guys switch off the engine downhill? Need some tips.

    Regards,

    Kusum

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    1. Hi Kusum,

      The road is in excellent condition, I went there twice in last one month. I didn't switch of the engine downhill. The ride will be awesome early in the morning or evening. Go there before 5 PM in the evening as the gate closed by 6 PM. All the best.

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