Nandi Hills is an ancient hill station built by the Ganga Dynasty in the Chikkaballapur district of Karnataka state. It is approximately 60 km from Bengaluru. The hills are near the town of Nandi.  Watching the sunrise at Nandi Hills is popular with tourists.  I got interested in this place, after seeing impressive Instagram clips of folks witnessing fluffy white clouds flowing underneath them.  I stopped by the place, on a recent road trip en route to Hyderabad. Local Hindu temples include the hilltop Yoga Nandeeshwara Temple, guarded by a huge statue of a bull. Here is the small aerial clip. I had to pause the flight due to heavy winds and a crash warning 🙂

Nandi Hills is a hill fortress in the south Indian state of Karnataka. Tipu Sultan Fort, a summer retreat of the 18th-century ruler, features stone carvings and wall paintings. Prisoners are said to have been thrown to their death from Tipu’s Drop, now known for its panoramic views.

There are many stories about the origin of the name Nandi Hills. During the Chola period, Nandi Hills was called Anandagiri meaning The Hill of Happiness. It is also perhaps called Nandi Hills because the hills resemble a sleeping bull. Another theory holds that the hill gets its name from an ancient, 1300-year-old, Dravidian-style temple, and the Nandi (bull), statue situated on this hill.

Nandi Hills is now a popular destination for hiking and trekking for beginners to intermediate levels. Trails in the area include the staircase-based trekking path which starts near Sultanpet village (Source: Wiki)