Nandi Hills - Sunrise View

 Nandi hills is a perfect point for nature lovers who are ready to sacrifice their early morning sleep for a beautiful sunrise view. It is just one hour far from Yelhanka and almost one and half hour from Krishnarajapura and Whitefield road. It is a perfect weekend getway from Bengaluru. It is a lovely place for trecking. Also don't miss the Sree Boganandeswara temple at Nandi village, at foothills of Nandi hills (which we missed) for its architectural beauty.

Sunrise View at Nandi Hills

Our visit to Nandi hills was on a weekday. We expected a very less crowd. But to our surprise, by the time we reached there (6:20 AM, on a weekday) the parking was almost full and there was a good crowd with people from all age group staring at the sky not to miss the sunrise.  To experience the view, one must plan to reach their by the exact sunrise time  or ahead of it as the beautiful view exist only for a short window time after which the sun appears normal.  

View from top of Nandi Hills

Apart from the view, there is also an ancient Nandeswara temple on the hills which is an added advantage for devotional people.  The day we visited, there was a video shooting going on and few visitors were taking selfies with a a female lead actor. We were wondering what it could have been. But later , in our buisness visit to someone's house, we found out the same video telecasting in the TV and we came to know it was a kannada serial.  Due to its proximity to Bengaluru, this place must be a regular place for movie or TV shootings.

Another interesting hosts you must meet and experience at nandi hills are the monkeys over there. There are quite a number of monkeys there. But the unusual thing I observed is that the monkeys are not aggressive. A monkey saw a juice bottle in a visitors hand. Instead of grabbing it, it was requesting it from the  vistor by following him and pleading it with its hand. It was quite funny. I regret not taking a photo of it.

Over all, Nandi hills is quite famous among benglurians. It is worth to plan a morning visit during sunrise time. With the sunrise view, a  trail for view around the mountain, a trecking path , a temple and  a small children play area and a restaurant, one can spend their early morning and can be back before noon. Dont forget to visit Sree Boganadeswara temple at foothills of Nandi Hills on your way back home. Please find the link below to get an overview of the Boganandeswara temples architectural beauty.

google photos of Sree Boganandeswara temple

Talakona Waterfalls

Talakona waterfalls, the highest waterfalls of Andhra Pradesh is located in Chittoor district. It is 1 1/2  hr from tirupati. 

There is no food available right from the entrance. One need to take their own food in to the place or there is also an option of ordering food at the entrance. But the food ordered is delivered only once we exit the place. The vehicles are allowed to travel for up to a kilometer after which the walking trail starts. One can visit Lord Siddeswara temple which is located within this vehicle route.

Walk Trail
It is a beautiful one day natural trail into the nature. While the greenery around and the water stream flowing down provides us a visual treat, the sound of the waterfalls creates a sense of excitement throughout the walk trail. Monkeys throughout the trail generate a sense of caution too. A 20 minute walk will get you to the amazing waterfall. July to November is the best season for the adults to visit as the rains in the mountains bring a heavy downpour into the waterfalls giving us the best view. However, the heavy water flow also makes it a place of caution in this season. December to March will have relatively low water flowing but it makes the place less dangerous and is suitable for families with children to visit.

Lepakshi - bengaluru weekend getaway

Our visit to Lepakshi was a day visit as our place is just 125 km away  from it. Lepakshi, located in Ananthapur district, Andhra pradesh is very closer to Benagaluru. Infact, The Bengaluru- Hyderabad  route touches the entrance for Lepakshi. It can be a good one day hang out place for bengalureans, especially for people intrested in historical monuments.

Dated to 16th century, this belongs to the rayalas time. The magnificient Nandhi structure carved out of a single stone which lies at Lepakshi has become the face of the place. If you are fond of taking pictures or selfies, this is the right place for you at Lepakshi. Kids also get excited with its view as my own 5 year old boy did.

The next attraction is the Big Vulture structure built on a hill. The structure seems to be a recently built one, to symbolize the word "le-pakshi"meaning "wake-o-bird". There is a small hiking path with steps to reach the Vulture structure. From the peak of the hill, one can get a better view of the entire lepakshi, the nandhi and the veeerabadhra swamy temple.

The real heritage of Rayalas can be seen in the Veerabadhra  Swamy temple. The ancient monument is richly decorated with stone and pillar carvings depicting the skill of the rayala time artisans. The temple is very spacious. Dont forget to watch the roof of the temple where you can find the paintings which were dated to rayala times. It gives us a glimpse of the people , their life style and their dressing style during rayalas age, 16 th century.

In summary, Lepakshi, a central govt protected structure can be a weekend gateway to benglureans, who are tired of the the routine shopping malls and hang out places within city. For children, it will be a great education tour to introduce them to  the richness of our ancient india.