Trekking in the hills

The last weekend took me about 60 kilometers from Bangalore, to a quite serene, hilly location. To be more specific, this area was somewhere behind Nandi Hills. The terrain was rugged and the vegetation comprised shrubs and bushes with thick branches. Small hills were scattered almost everywhere. Some hills appeared as if they had been sprinkled over by rocks and boulders, just like dry fruits over a sundae. Others, appeared lush green because of the thick vegetation that covered them. A few low trees, unevenly distributed in the area, provided much needed shade.

Semi-dry terrain


Lush green hills

The trek began at around 9:00 am, the sun was staring down at us. The terrain, at some places comprising sand, stones and rocks was quite slippery. Wild flowers were in full bloom and insects of all sizes buzzed around them. The absence of many birds, inclined my interest towards flowers and insects. Some hills like the one above were covered in a blanket of thick vegetation. With a closer look at these plants, I found that they were lantana plants. It appeared as if their flowers had flashy colours spray painted on them. Other flowers belonged to small weeds which were found scattered everywhere. Collectively, all the flowers looked like a broken cascade of colourful shades.

Wild Flowers

I spotted a few ' Small Green Bee Eaters ' which were gliding from branch to branch, periodically darting into the air for a snack. A sluggish-looking ' Indian Roller ', was perched on a wire. It took to the air, giving me a glimpse of it's rich blue hues. Every glance inside a bush revealed a hidden dove, probably a ' Spotted Dove '. Around every corner, ' Indian Robins ' hopped around. On many tree branches, ' Purple Rumped Sunbirds ' and ' Tickell's Flower Peckers ' could be heard. The whistling melodies of bulbuls could be heard in bushes, as they foraged. In the air, mynas called to one another as they flew in couples.

As we trekked, we crossed many dry streams and then, came across a small pond, where we refreshed ourselves. A glass of refreshing lime juice was enough to bring me back on my feet.I began exploring the pond.Finding a green patch of very small plants beside the tank, I began studying it. It was an area where excess moisture had accumulated, turning it into a ' mini marsh '. I stepped on the plants to try and find creatures. As I stamped the marsh, little frogs jumped out in all directions to avoid my foot. I managed to get a photograph of one of them. A dragonfly hovering low over the pond, was trying to lay it's eggs.

Frog

Walking further, away from the pond, I found a small hole in the ground, about 3 cm in diameter, which was lined with leaves and twigs and covered on top with a thin web. When i peeked inside, I saw a spider scurry deeper. I didn't know what spider it was but, the design of it's lair gave me an idea of it's hunting habits. Presumably, this spider waits for it's prey to wander very close to it's well-camouflaged home and then, springs out with great speed to catch it. There were many small locusts around. Under some rocks I also found lizards, called Rock Agama, which would come up on the rocks to bask in the sun. A few large Garden Lizards were also clinging on tree trunks.

A spider's hole

Rock Agama

I was satisfied with this trek, not many people are allowed to trek here. As the trek came to an end, I began gazing into the vastness of this beautiful place. Far away, hills continued to crowd the area. I could hear the call of a ' Grey Francolin ', slowly, being absorbed into the evening air. The sun, now behind us, was preparing for it's descent into the horizon, lighting up the tips of the hills in it's path. The vastness of this area, had a charm of it's own.