Our Adventure to Nandi Hills: A Journey of Surprises and Laughter
It had been a while since Keshav visited Bangalore, and he was about to head back to his hometown. Having recently joined Samsung SDS, where most of the work is remote, staying in Bangalore no longer made sense for him. So, to make the most of his time in the city, we decided to plan a trip. The destination? Nandi Hills. None of us had been there before, and it was about time we checked out this famous spot.
The plan was simple: leave early, catch the sunrise, and enjoy a peaceful morning at the hilltop. Our group consisted of Keshav, his brother, Mohit, and myself. The excitement was palpable, even though we had heard mixed reviews about Nandi Hills. People often said it was overrated, with no spectacular views or much to see. But we were determined to make our own experience.
We decided to take my car for the trip and aimed to leave by 4 AM so that we could reach Nandi Hills by around 5:30 AM. I woke up at 4 AM, full of excitement, even though I had lived in Bangalore for over two years and had never visited Nandi Hills myself. The morning was cool, and the anticipation of the sunrise made the early start worth it.
The challenge? Waking up everyone else.
Keshav and his brother were already up, but Mohit, as usual, was still fast asleep. We tried calling him multiple times, but his phone was on Do Not Disturb mode—something he had forgotten to disable. After numerous unsuccessful attempts to rouse him, we decided to leave without him. It wasn’t the ideal start, but we figured we’d meet him later.
By 4:15 AM, we were on the road, with the city still shrouded in darkness. As expected, Bangalore’s notorious traffic was already in full swing. At 4 AM, seriously? I thought we were in the clear, but the Hebbal Flyover had a surprise in store for us. It was slow-moving, and we couldn’t understand why there was so much congestion at that hour. Eventually, we passed the traffic and headed towards Nandi Hills.
The cool breeze was refreshing as we kept the windows down and cruised through the early morning roads. We started reminiscing about old memories, laughing at inside jokes, and getting to know Keshav’s brother better. It felt like one of those perfect road trips that was more about the journey than the destination.
Then came the twist.
We took a wrong turn, thinking we were still on the right path. Instead of heading straight to Nandi Hills, we veered off to the right, which led us on a loop around the entire hill. This detour added another 30 minutes to our drive, but eventually, we reached the entrance to Nandi Hills. The sight that greeted us was a little overwhelming: a long line of cars waiting to climb the hill. There were about 200 cars in line, all trying to ascend the winding roads of the hill. And to make matters more interesting, two-wheelers were bypassing us from the right, squeezing through the narrow gaps to avoid the wait. It was a single-lane road, so only one car could go up at a time.
Hunger set in, and while we were stuck in the long line, Keshav decided to take matters into his own hands. He got out of the slow-moving car and grabbed us some tea and snacks. There we were, sipping tea in the car while waiting in a traffic jam at 5 AM. We joked that we should’ve brought bikes instead of the car—at least we would’ve saved time. The weather, though, was perfect—cold and refreshing. But just as we were getting comfortable, the rain started. We quickly took back our words; the car was definitely the better choice after all.
Finally, after another 30 minutes of slow progress, we made it to the top of Nandi Hills. The weather had become even more unpredictable, and the fog was so thick that we could barely see a few meters ahead. The road to the top was steep, and the hairpin bends made it feel like a true hill station drive. But with the fog and rain, we couldn’t see much of the beautiful views that we had hoped for. We honked at every corner, just in case another car was coming from the other side, as the road was so narrow.
When we reached the top, we parked the car and stepped out into the misty morning. The security guards and police officers were busy directing cars into parking spots, and the whole place had an eerie, quiet vibe. The fog was so dense that we couldn’t see the sunrise at all—just trees and more fog. The anticipation quickly turned to disappointment, but we made the best of it by laughing at the situation. We ate the snacks Keshav had brought and continued talking about random things.
It didn’t take long for us to realize that the whole experience was indeed overrated. No sunrise, no sweeping views—just fog, trees, and cold weather. But we weren’t ready to let the trip be a total bust. We decided to take some photos and head back down.
On the way back, our stomachs were growling. We spotted a few roadside eateries that looked promising, and decided to stop at Adyar Ananda Bhavan (A2B) near Rani Circle. The breakfast was delicious, and it felt good to relax after the adventure. While we were enjoying our food, we struck up a conversation with a group of four men sitting at the table next to ours. They were in their 40s or 50s and seemed to be on a road trip as a reunion. They had started their journey from Nagpur and were on their way to Kanyakumari.
Curious about our travels, they asked for some road trip recommendations. It felt nice to share what we knew and swap travel stories with fellow explorers. It was a reminder that no matter where we go, the journey is as much about the people you meet along the way as it is about the destination.
After breakfast, Keshav took the wheel for the drive back to Bangalore. The mood was light, and we continued to talk about future trips and other places we wanted to explore. The return journey was as fun as the drive to Nandi Hills, and by the time we got back, we were all in good spirits, even if the trip didn’t exactly go as planned.
In the end, our trip to Nandi Hills might not have been what we expected, but it was a memorable adventure filled with laughs, a little bit of chaos, and plenty of good stories to tell.
