From Bangalore I made a day trip to the nearby Nandi Hills, an ancient hill fortress / hill station. The hills rise dramatically from the flat plains, and afford wonderful views of the surrounding countryside.
There are several paths to explore, and a large swath of the unique peninsular gneiss rock also found at Lalbagh gardens.
You can see how happy I am to be outdoors and hiking around!
At the edge of the gneiss outcropping, there is a fence in progress, to prevent the kind of potentially perilous behavior these teens are indulging in. The rock is slippery, so I exercised due caution. At the right of this picture, you can see very old fortifications:
The walls have small spy holes / rifle ports.
Yet another spectacular view:
As I hiked around in the lush environment, I kept encountering plants I’m familiar with as houseplants, like this Hypoestes:
This temple was built into and extended out from the rock:
Appropriately, there’s a large Nandi statue on the Hill; here’s the signage:
And the tree, covered with offerings:
And the Nandi:
The statue is regularly anointed with butter, into which are pressed flowers:
Also nearby is a small Muneswara temple under a spreading banyan tree:
There are some small guesthouses and restaurants available:
As well as a large Horticultural Guest House and formal gardens to stroll in.
The weather was ideal, with pleasant temperatures and cool breezes. It was another very good day in India.
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