Welcome to Nandi Hills; Beauty at Karnataka
Also known as Nandidurga, Nandi Hills are small hillocks near Bangalore. It is located at a distance of 65 kilometer away from Bangalore and nestled at a height of 1478 meters above sea level. It was the famous summer resort of Tipu Sultan
because it remains blessed with pleasant climate every year. The hill has been named after the famous statue of mythical bull ‘Nandi’ who guards the outside of the Yoganandeeshwara Temple. The hillock is scattered with wide variety of flora species such as Coffee Arabica and Eucalyptus. Besides flora species, various species of birds and animals can also be spotted there.
How to Reach Nandi Hills
Chikkaballapur is the nearest railway station to Nandi Hills. It is located at a distance of 9 kilometers away from Nandi Hills. The railway station is well-connected to nearby cities such as Hyderabad, Bangalore and Mumbai. Taxis ply between Chikkaballapur Railway Station and Nandi Hills.
Bangalore International Airport is the nearest airport to Nandi Hills. Bangalore airport is well-connected to major cities such as Hyderabad, Pune and Mumbai. It is located at a distance of 58 kilometers from Nandi Hills. Taxis ply between Bangalore Airport and Nandi Hills.
The National Highway 7 connects Hyderabad and Nandi Hills. The road journey from Hyderabad to Nandi Hills will approximately take around 7 hours. State government and deluxe buses ply between Nandigrama, Bangalore and Chikkaballapur to Nandi hills.
Tourist Attractions on the Hills
- Tipu’s Drop – the famous place from where Tippu Sultan had his condemned prisoners thrown to death.
- Tipu’s Summer Palace and Fort – During the Ganga period, the Chikkaballapur chieftains built a fort. Tippu strengthened it further and also built a rest house. This used to be Tippus summer bungalow. It is not open to the general public.
- 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 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.
- Gavi Veerbhadra Swamy temple: on top of the hill, on the way to the Sultanpet, from Tippus palace, natural formation of huge boulders has been transformed into a magnificent temple.
- Children’s Playground – The Horticulture department maintains a lovely garden for children to play games like the slides, merry-go-round, swings etc.
- Nehru Nilaya – where Jawaharlal Nehru used to stay, now a guest house of the horticulture department of India.
- Gandhi House, where the Mahatma himself stayed, is under the management of DPAR (Protocol) Government of Karnataka and is reserved for the stay of important dignitaries.
- The Horticulture Department runs a vegetarian restaurant and the Karnataka Tourism Department runs a vegetarian / non-vegetarian restaurant “MAYURA”.
- Rivers – the rivers Pennar, Palar and Arkavati originate from these hills. Most of the sources have dried up. Amruth Sarovar is a beautiful water lake that brims with lucid water all the year round.
- Brahmashram – it is said that Sage Ramakrishna meditated here.
- Paragliding – Nandi Hills is one of the unique place in Karnataka which offers paragliding activity.
- Cycling/biking – Nandi Hills is cyclists paradise, around 400 meters of altitude gain in ~7 km of ride, The bikers/cyclists from Bangalore storm there on weekends and holidays. It’s a very good hill training spot for them.
Apart from these, there are other interesting places like Anjaneya temple, Nellikayi Basavanna, Antaragange, Baananthi Bande, etc.
Soon, tourists can travel from the foothills to the hill top, in a cable car – a long pending project which promises to give a majestic view of the hill and the earth below.
because it remains blessed with pleasant climate every year. The hill has been named after the famous statue of mythical bull ‘Nandi’ who guards the outside of the Yoganandeeshwara Temple. The hillock is scattered with wide variety of flora species such as Coffee Arabica and Eucalyptus. Besides flora species, various species of birds and animals can also be spotted there.
How to Reach Nandi Hills
Chikkaballapur is the nearest railway station to Nandi Hills. It is located at a distance of 9 kilometers away from Nandi Hills. The railway station is well-connected to nearby cities such as Hyderabad, Bangalore and Mumbai. Taxis ply between Chikkaballapur Railway Station and Nandi Hills.
Bangalore International Airport is the nearest airport to Nandi Hills. Bangalore airport is well-connected to major cities such as Hyderabad, Pune and Mumbai. It is located at a distance of 58 kilometers from Nandi Hills. Taxis ply between Bangalore Airport and Nandi Hills.
The National Highway 7 connects Hyderabad and Nandi Hills. The road journey from Hyderabad to Nandi Hills will approximately take around 7 hours. State government and deluxe buses ply between Nandigrama, Bangalore and Chikkaballapur to Nandi hills.
Tourist Attractions on the Hills
- Tipu’s Drop – the famous place from where Tippu Sultan had his condemned prisoners thrown to death.
- Tipu’s Summer Palace and Fort – During the Ganga period, the Chikkaballapur chieftains built a fort. Tippu strengthened it further and also built a rest house. This used to be Tippus summer bungalow. It is not open to the general public.
- 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 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.
- Gavi Veerbhadra Swamy temple: on top of the hill, on the way to the Sultanpet, from Tippus palace, natural formation of huge boulders has been transformed into a magnificent temple.
- Children’s Playground – The Horticulture department maintains a lovely garden for children to play games like the slides, merry-go-round, swings etc.
- Nehru Nilaya – where Jawaharlal Nehru used to stay, now a guest house of the horticulture department of India.
- Gandhi House, where the Mahatma himself stayed, is under the management of DPAR (Protocol) Government of Karnataka and is reserved for the stay of important dignitaries.
- The Horticulture Department runs a vegetarian restaurant and the Karnataka Tourism Department runs a vegetarian / non-vegetarian restaurant “MAYURA”.
- Rivers – the rivers Pennar, Palar and Arkavati originate from these hills. Most of the sources have dried up. Amruth Sarovar is a beautiful water lake that brims with lucid water all the year round.
- Brahmashram – it is said that Sage Ramakrishna meditated here.
- Paragliding – Nandi Hills is one of the unique place in Karnataka which offers paragliding activity.
- Cycling/biking – Nandi Hills is cyclists paradise, around 400 meters of altitude gain in ~7 km of ride, The bikers/cyclists from Bangalore storm there on weekends and holidays. It’s a very good hill training spot for them.
Apart from these, there are other interesting places like Anjaneya temple, Nellikayi Basavanna, Antaragange, Baananthi Bande, etc.
Soon, tourists can travel from the foothills to the hill top, in a cable car – a long pending project which promises to give a majestic view of the hill and the earth below.
