Nandi Hills

Hello friends! Let me introduce ourselves first, myself Mamta & my husband Ojas. We created this site for people who stays in Bangalore and wants to spend a weekend with their loved ones at a beautiful place, mainly in the comfort of greenery. So here is a guide for you as how to enjoy a weekend near to Bangalore by sharing our experience with you.

Nandi Hills (Nandidurg) is situated about 60 Kms from Bangalore. I remember it very well, it was 25^th March 2011 Friday evening, and cold wind started blowing with a dazzling rain. Late evening we were undecided about where we would be heading in the weekend and went to sleep early; then finally we settled on Nandi Hills. It’s really a great fun to decide a trip like this! Here is how the things went…

Early morning of 26^th March Saturday at 4 am we (me & my husband) decided to go to Nandi Hills by our bike .So we pack up all necessary things and started from our home (Indira Nagar) at around 5.30 am. It was completely dark outside and soothing cold. Don’t forget to take iPod for music in a journey. It’s near about 70 to 75 km from our home and took near about one and a half hour complete to reach there. The journey was pleasant and we reached the bottom of the hills also known as the Nandi Hill Cross  at around 7 am. We were still on road for the last 8 Kms of the journey which was completely uphill and reached the top at 7.20 am. A cold breeze was enchanting us and made us the feel of a hill station. The hill was completely in fog even though sun was there.

Finally after reaching there we astonished to see so many people waiting for ticket counter to open. Ticket counter got open exactly at 7.30 am, we then purchased the entrance tickets which were minimally priced at Rs 5/- per head & side by side took tea and kept helmet there in tea shop for Rs.5/-.

The first thing you see as soon as you enter is the Amrit Sarovar which is a small tank, nothing much to see here, so we moved on. Walking path situated to the left of the tank. This turned out to be a very good choice as we soon found ourselves walking along the fort walls which gave us some really amazing views of the land below. Finally we stopped at one place called Tipu’s Drop right behind the temple, apparently because Tipu Sultan used to punish people by throwing people down from this place. The spot and the views it offered was just too breathe taking because this place is without any fencing. Away from others, we sat down at one place. The view that was there was amazing; slowly the clouds went and the bright shining sun catched everyone’s eye. It’s really great to sit at the top of hill & enjoy all these things of nature especially with someone who is special to us.

 

  At around 9.40 am, we were feeling little hungry, so we took brunch of idly, wada & maggi. There side by one puppy was there, with him I played for some time, he shook hand with me!

After brunch at around 10.30 am, the next spot we saw was Nehru Nilaya, this has been nicely maintained; but no entry inside the building for outsiders. It’s now converted as public guest house by Government of Karnataka to stay & enjoy in the nature of this hill station. Only people of guest house can roam in the vicinity of nilaya. But it does provide some good photographic opportunities for outsiders with different variety of colourful flowers & lush green trees around.  There are also some seating and playing arrangements on the sides where we relaxed for some time before moving ahead. It was nothing to see after that, so we left from Nandi hills by 12 p.m. 

To the base of this hill there are seasonal fruit farming like chiku, grapes….etc. At that time fresh juicy grapes were there & we took around 1kg with us. It’s very excited to see the farms of these grapes. Finally we reached home by 1 pm, took a nice bath, cooked food together and enjoyed those juicy yummy grapes!

Really this surprise trip of us will always remain evergreen in our mind………!

Wayanad Trip

Hello friends! Let me introduce ourselves first, myself Mamta & my husband Ojas. We created this site for people who stays in Bangalore and wants to spend a weekend with their loved ones at a beautiful place, mainly in the comfort of greenery. So here is a guide for you as how to enjoy a weekend near to Bangalore by sharing our experience with you.

Our first Trip was in Month of January

BANGALORE-WAYANAD-CHAMUNDI HILLS-MYSORE-BANGALORE

Route Map –

 We went by Route ‘C’ .

About reaching there–

We went there by cab.

Stay-

‘Buena Vista Hut’ of Anil Kumar K.A. It’s a homestay in Wayanad.

We started at 11 pm on 7^th Jan 11 (Friday) and reached Waynad on the morning of 8^th at around 9 am. In between, we had to stop near Bandipur forest gate for one and half hours, as it opens exactly at 6 am. I slept when we halted near Bandipur Forest gate. After crossing Bandipur Forest, I was glad to see the green sleeves of this hill station of Wayanad with complete fog around. Almost every conceivable inch of the mist -wrapped undulating hills of Wayanad is veiled by lush rainforest that stuns the eye of the beholder with its varied shades of green. Beautiful orchids, spicy pepper, berries, coffee, cinnamon, fragrant cardamom, tall stands of bamboo and rubber are the very part of the spectacular land of Wayanad.

After reaching at the home stay, we got one beautiful hut to stay. We got freshen up and had a heavy breakfast there. At around 11 am the fog completely disappeared and we started our visit to different spots. By going through cab you are in advantage of seeing many spots with in less time and to spend time according to your wish. While going to different spots, we saw tea plantantations, almost everywhere. First place we visited was the Banasura Sagar Dam. It is located 21 km from Kalpetta, in Wayanad District of Kerala in the Western Ghats. It is the largest earthen dam in India and the second largest in Asia, and an ideal starting point for hikes into the surrounding scenic mountains there. We reach dam by trekking of around 35 min. After reaching there we had water, pine apple slices to quench our thirst. It’s very important to maintain energy level and hydrate body frequently. We took some snaps near dam; spend some time in garden near the dam. Boating is allowed in artificial lake created by dam but due to some technical problem, it was closed for maintenance. Always better to use sport shoes while going to such places. It took around 20 min to reach down.

Very interesting to see in Wayanad is Soochipara Waterfall  near Meppadi. In Malayalam, soochi means needle and para means rock, which is how the name soochippara is derived. To reach the waterfall, you have to cross the lush green tea gardens. So without wasting a single moment we had Kerala meals in a small restaurant on the way to waterfall. It’s my suggestion to all that enjoy the food of the place where you go, instead of taking eatables with you because it will make you to have more attraction towards that place.

One must see this nature’s site! This region is ideal for rock climbing. Soochipara can be reached by a scenic 2 kms nature walk. It took around half an hour to reach down to the fall. We were completely tired. But as soon as fall gets visible all tiredness goes off. Fall is about 200 meters (656 feet). The time we went there, the water force was good and many couples & family were there to enjoy this fall. We took bath in the fall, took snaps, spend some time there till 5.30 pm and returned. It took 45 min for us to come back to the cab. When we came to the cab we were completely wet and exhausted. We changed clothes and had hot maggi with a hot tea near the parking area. After that we had some shopping together and left from there at around 7.30 pm. We came back to our hut, had our dinner and went to sleep.

Really one can’t imagine the next day morning how beautiful and fresh we were feeling. It was completely foggy with dews on leaves and flowers. The place where we stayed was completely surrounded by coffee and spices plantations. Mr. Anil Kumar K.A., owner of that cottage made us to visit his coffee estate and to understand the medicinal advantage of this greenery in Wayanad. He took us to meet his parents near to the cottage. We got freshen up and got ready to leave for Bangalore at around 11 am, after taking our brunch and snaps together with them. When we were near Mysore, we planed to go to Chamundi Hills and to see the lightings of Mysore Palace, as it was a Sunday evening.

Chamunda Hills average elevation is 1,000 meters. After darshan of Chamundeshwari we were very hungry .We had Nariyal pani outside temple and immediately left for Mysore. At around 4 pm we reached one Maharashtrian restaurant named Purohit Hotel and had our lunch there. Fortunately it was Sunday! Every Sunday, government holidays and on dasara festival, Mysore palace is lit up with lights. Timing of lighting is 7:00 PM to 8:00 PM. We still had time so we saw the most famous church of Mysore in front of Mysore Silk sarees store of Government of Karnataka. We spend some time in church and in shopping of silk saree. At last we saw lightings of palace and left for Bangalore. We had parcel of Masala dosa at Kamath Hotel on the way to Bangalore. We reached home at around 11 pm, had dosa and immediately went to sleep.

         

      

                

Really Wayanad was a paradise to me… See it once and its green lush nature will remain in your memories forever………….:)