We finally made it outside of the city and managed to experience some of India’s natural beauty this past weekend. Thanks to the active planning and help of our coworker Lakshmi, we somehow agreed to and carried out plans to wake up at 3am on a Saturday to make it to Nandi Hills and walk 6km up the hill while the sun rose. Although the ‘trek’ was essentially walking up a paved road while motorcycles and cars flew past us for an hour or so, the scenery and surroundings made it very worth it. 

We were joined by Lakshmi’s friend Pritham, who works for a government agency which was responsible for the conservation of India’s wildlife and also holds a PhD in Zoology, making the trip much more interesting, as he had been many times before and knew of a number of interesting stops and sights to see on the way up. The sights mainly consisted of a  dense fog, but the fog in itself was quite the sight and it made it even more satisfying once we got to the top and the fog started to dissipate.

Pritham and the fog

Probably the most interesting thing upon reaching the top were the hordes of delinquent monkeys. I wasn’t really aware of this as the first thing I did upon seeing three or four was approach them slowly thinking they’d run away, but once 4 or 5 more joined them and they started approaching me I was told it would be smart to get out of there. Apparently making eye contact makes them think you want something to do with them. Not recommended.  

Not to be trusted!

For something which many of our coworkers and friends described as pretty unimpressive, the hills offered quite a bit to see. This makes me even more excited for the other trips ahead, where I’m told I’ll be truly impressed.