Nandi Hills, India: Difference between revisions

View of Nandi hills from Nandi town at the base.

Nandidrug or Nandidurg is a hill fortress of southern India, in the Kolar District of Karnataka state. It is 4851 ft. (1478 meters) above sea level. Nandidrug hill, known commonly as Nandi Hills, is the source of the Penner,Ponnaiyar and Palar rivers. Nandi Hills gets its name from an ancient Nandi temple situated on this hill. This temple has a thousand year old sculpture of Nandi. An ancient lord Shiva and Parvati temple also adorns this hill.

Nandidurg was traditionally held impregnable, and its storming by Lord Cornwallis in 1791 was one of the most notable incidents of the first war against Tipu Sultan of Mysore. It was formerly a favorite resort for British Raj officials during the hot season. Francis Cunningham built the summer residence here for Sir Mark Cubbon.

Tourism

The hills are now a popular tourist spot during summer. The state horticulture department maintains a garden for the tourists. The pressure of tourists on the environment here is great with a considerable problem of litter, noise and physical disturbance.

Biodiversity

The vegetation of the hills is typical of high hills. Inside the fort at the summit, many of the large trees are planted exotics such as Eucalyptus and the undergrowth consists of Coffea arabica along with some native species. The forest acts as a substrate for cloud condensation and every morning the trees are covered in water. This allows for many moist forest species of plants and animals. The hills are very rich in birdlife making it a very popular location for birdwatchers and bird photographers. The evergreen forest patch on top of the hill being a favoured wintering location for many migrant species of warblers, flycatchers and thrushes. The forest patch is also home for a relict population of the Nilgiri Woodpigeon. A breeding pair of Shaheen Falcon, the resident race of the Peregrine Falcon is also often seen at the Nandi Hills. The Malabar Whistling Thrush, Uropeltid snakes and Pill millipedes which are otherwise known only from the Western Ghats ranges are also found here.

The hill slopes are the home of the Yellow-throated Bulbul, a species endemic to the hills of peninsular India.

Nandi Hills in pictures

Panorama from the base. The main fort hill is to the right

A panoramic view from Nandi Hills

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  The foundation stone of the waterworks at Nandi Hills.
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  The foundation of the road to Nandi Hills.
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  Watercolor view by Colin Mackenzie of the fortress of Nandidrug during the British siege of 1791.
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  Northern view from Nandi Hills
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  View of the forest patch from above. This is the habitat of the Nilgiri Wood Pigeon. A Peninsular Rock Agama basks on the rock in the foreground.
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  In the early mornings, cloud condensation brings in water, increasing the growth of mosses and lichens. Here a millipede feeds on the detritus on the tree.
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  The scrub covered hill slopes, habitat of the Yellow-throated Bulbul.
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  The steps leading from the fort entrance to the summit are surrounded by vegetation that forms ideal habitat for various species of wintering thrushes and warblers.

External links

• The siege of Nandi fort by Lord Cornwallis
• The birds of Nandi hills

This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. {{cite encyclopedia}}: Missing or empty |title= (help) 13°20′N 77°39′E