Bike trip to Nandi Hills
“Bike trip”, the name itself is sufficient for any traveller to be excited. It had been 15 days since I got my bike in Bangalore and the only thing which my bike saw was the Bangalore traffic from home to office and back! Also its been 2 weeks since I had taken time for myself. The previous weekend was the convocation which was way too hectic and is a story for another time and my weekdays are super busy because of the bootcamp. I cannot afford to lose this coming weekend. I had to leave. I had to go somewhere. Also there was this increasing urge to test my bike on 5th gear and to show it some refreshing scenic views apart from the traffic jam.
Why Nandi hills?
I had been to Nandi hills last summer and I could not enter the fort because we were late. I remember the breathtaking views along its way with clouds covering the entire region.
The plan was to leave on Sunday and watch the sunrise. Sahu was to join me on this expedition and I was to pick him up in the morning. One advice, travel with the people who make you fell amazing. I completed all my bootcamp homework by Saturday late night and didn’t sleep. I started my journey from home at 4:15 AM. Picked up Sahu and left for Nandi hills from Bangalore by 4:45 AM. Yeah! We were quite late for the sunrise!

- Bangalore to Nandi hills: 70 Km
- Its an ancient hill fortress built by Tipu Sultan.
It was my first bike trip and I didn’t realize how cold it would be in the morning on bike. I was there with no preparation. I imagined it to be any other bike ride. 20% charged phone, no power bank, umbrella, jacket, torch or anything else. I just wore a T-shirt and was freezing after driving for 15 Km. Sahu to the rescue. He had an extra hoodie and I was saved from the chilling cold. Lesson learnt. Never travel on bike trip unprepared. In fact the first thing I did on reaching home was to order a biking gear.
We stopped at few places in the middle. Had tea. I had never valued tea this much until then. A hot sweet beverage after battling with chilly winds is a bliss. An interesting thing I learnt on a stall was the metaphorical use of ‘Paneer’.


Regarding the biking experience, it was prodigious! Had never drove this powerful bike at this time of the day for that long! Also it was my first time on the highway on bike. Lane changing with the indicator and controlling the bike at 120 were some of the things I learnt. Its pretty scary in the beginning when you start the journey and you drive this fast due to adrenalin but there is some fear hidden inside your mind. I know that I have successfully overcome this after this trip.
Way to Nandi hills from Bangalore is approx 80% straight highway and 20% mountain ride. The major fun lies in the 20%. There was a sudden drop in temperature when we escaped the highways to venture into the mountains. The mountains are lush green and reminded me of the Himachal. We had songs on full volume. The bike ride their was just fabulous.
We reached the top, visited the fort. The best location was the Tipu drop. Its at a very high point in the fort from where the ruler use to make his enemies jump to death.

