Nandi Betta – Ornithological Paradise (16th Feb 2014)

For someone who grew up in Bangalore during the 80s and 90s, Nandi Hills is not an unknown destination. This used to be one of the favoured locations for school outings and picnics as there were no theme parks or resorts back then(I am ancient, I know).  As a small kid, many a memorable picnic was spent here.

When I became a little older, I joined the Indian scouting association and was initiated into camping and trekking. The destinations moved further and further away and Nandi Hills became a distant memory. Gradually it became a destination that I would refer to for people visiting Bangalore, while I looked down upon it and did not travel myself.

Birding is an activity that I have stated taking interest recently. (That chicks always captured my attention from an young age, played a big part in me taking this up. ;) ) Nandi Hills kept popping up as a must to go destination for birding. I also recently learned from a colleague that there are stairs leading to the top. Already curious to find out what was the fuss about this place, this was the final push I needed to get up and go.

I called up my regular trekking partner Shyam and asked if he was game for short trek to Nandi? Since it was quite some time that he had visited Nandi hills; he readily agreed and a quick plan was made to hit the trail. Shaym’s friend, Prasanna, who overheard us planning, expressed interest to join us. Well, more the merrier, right?

It was thus, that a few of Sundays ago, the 3 of us found ourselves on the way to Nandi Hills early in the morning. I usually wake up at all ungodly hours on a trek day. Though it’s a major pain in the wrong place this is required so that breakfast & lunch is prepared and packed. However, this time around, I was able to sneak in a couple of extra hours of shut eye. Yippee!!!  No cooking required as food is available on the summit. J

Even so we had planned of starting the trip by 5:30 AM. Accordingly, I was up and ready by 5:15 and waiting for others. I still don’t know what inspired me to call Shyam to confirm he was on his way. Only then did I realize that I had actually placed a wake up call. All ready and nowhere to go. L By this time Achilles had woken up and was all frisky due the commotion of me getting ready. With nothing else to do, I decided to take him for a walk. Shyam and Prasanna had arrived by the time I finished the walk and we immediately started off.  

The drive was pleasant and uneventful and we reached the village of Sultanpalya at the base of the hill by 7:30 AM. We had to ask a few locals for the directions; this being our first visit, but it is not very difficult to locate the start of the stairs. You can drive all the way to the top of the hill, however not many are aware about the stairs and this route is seldom taken. Though there will be a sizable crowd on the top, you will hardly encounter anyone else on the trail.  

The stairs are lined by trees and forest on either side. There are also many Mantapas built that will provide you a place to sit and stretch legs, if required. At one of such place we settled down to have our breakfat, comprising of a few buns Shyam had brought.  A word of caution if you are carrying food, there are a lot of monkeys that are now habituated to humans and will try snatching the food out of your hands. It’s better to have a stout stick at hand to scare them.

The stairs are not very steep and it was a very easy climb. We kept a leisurely pace as I was spotting a lot of birds. Even so we were able to reach the top in an hour’s time. At the summit we came across quite a few birding and photography enthusiasts. It was fun seeing 10-12 people armed with cameras and lenses 2-3 feet long, scurrying behind a small bird. Once a bird is spotted and is in focus, all you can hear is the cameras firing off in rapid bursts, much like the rat-a-tat-of a machine gun.

I had a lot of fun in identifying the birds and saw a few exotic species. There were many which I was not able to identify due to my inexperience. I was as excited as a kid in a candy store, not knowing where to look and on what to concentrate. Half the time was spent running about here and there and pointing to anything that flew. I am sure that I was quite a spectacle till I finally ran out of energy a couple of hours later.

 We also took a long walk along the outer fort wall and visited the other places of interest on the top of the hill. By 12:30 we were hungry and had lunch of Masala Dosa and Bisebele Bath at Hotel Mayura which is run by KSTDC.  Though it’s a little pricier than regular darshni fare, the food was decent enough satisfy hunger pangs. We spent an hour more soaking in the sights and started back. The decent was very quick and we reached the base of the hill in around 20-25 mins. Then it was the long drive back home; my head still buzzing with sight and sounds of all the birds!

About Nandi Hills 

Nandi Hills is huge monolithic granite mass. This was originally known as “Anandagiri” meaning the hill of happiness. This is a fortified hillock and was later know by the name of Nandi Durga. It has been suggested that the name is derived from the Bhoga Nandeeshwara temple situated on the top of the hill. The fort was strengthed by Haider Ali & Tippu Sultan after they wrested it from the Marathas. This was considered impregnable and the storming of the fort by Lord Cornwallis in 1791 has been captured in history books. The places around the hills are also considered to be the sources of 5-6 rivers.

There are quite a few attractions at Nandi Hills and we were able to cover the following places.

1. Gavi Veerabhadra Swamy Temple: This is a small cave temple formed naturally by huge boulders. You come across this on the way to the top.
2. Tippu’s Summer Lodge: This is a bungalow that served as Tippu Sultan’s summer palace or hunting lodge when he was at the Nandi.
3. Amrutha Sarovara: A square water tank commissioned for Nandi Hills Water Works by Sir. Mirza Ismail, the Dewan of Mysore.
4. Tippu Drop: This is a steep cliff and it is said that Tippu executed the prisoners condemned to death by throwing them off the cliff face.
5. Bhoga Nandeeswara Temple: This is an ancient temple complex dating back to more than 1300 years. It houses the temples for Arunachaleswara, Uma Maheshwara and Bhoga Nandeeshwara. This temple was originally constructed by Queen Ratnavali from the Bana Dynasty. Later on the temple was renovated and had additions by the kings of Chola, Hoysala Pallava & Vijayanagara dynasties.
6. Arkavati River Source:  This was dried up during our visit. Only the board marking this as the source helped us identify this.
7. Gandhi Nilaya: This was a guest house where Mahatma Gandhi once stayed. This is now reserved for stay of important dignitaries.
8. Nehru Nilaya: This bungalow was used as the summer residence by Sir Mark Cubbon KCB. This also hosted the SAARC summit in 1986. This is now converted to a public guesthouse.
9. Euporean Graveyard: At Sultanpalya there is a graveyard where the officers of East India Company and their family are buried.

Directions

Nandi Hills is located in Chikkabalapura district. It is at a distance of around 60 kms from Bangalore. Travel towards Devanahalli on Bellary Road (Bangalore – Hyderabad highway) for about 40 kms. Turn left to go onto Nandi Hills Main road. After about 6 kms you will need to turn right to reach Sultanpalya. The left turn will lead to the road that will take you to the top of Nandi hills.

Trek Info

Terrain: Hill, you have steps leading all the way to the top.

Grade: Easy, (Even beginners can do this easily)

Distance:  ~2 kms. The hill is at a height of 4850 feet from the sea level.

Birding @ Nandi Hills

What can I say about this that the title of this post does not?  For an amateur & beginner birder like me, this was just way too much to handle. Bird calls all over the place, spotting bird after bird before you have a chance to note the features or identify the first one. It was sensory overload and I was overwhelmed. The few I was able to identify are

• Greater Coucal
• Laughing Dove
• House Sparrow
• Common Myna
• Pied Bushchat
• Oriental Magpie Robin
• Tailor Bird
• Red Vented Bulbul
• Indian Pitta
• Green Bee Eater
• Parakeet
• Alpine Swift
• Barn Swallow
• Ashy Drongo
• Oriental White Eye
• Tickell's Leaf Warbler
• Indian Blue Robin
• Asian Paradise Flycatcher - White Morph (This was a beauty)
• Red-Whiskered Bulbul
• Black Kite
• White Cheeked Barbet
• Indian Pond Heron

These were the ones I was able to successfully identify. Some many others are still flying around in my memories. Hopefully, I should be able to identify them during future visits.