After 33,000-strong crowd on a day, Nandi Hills to be off-limits on Dec 31

As the New Year approaches, lots of people are heading to Nandi Hills. On Friday (December 29), a massive crowd of 33,000 people visited this hill spot, which is situated 60 km away from Bengaluru.

To keep things safe during New Year's celebrations, the Chikkaballapur district is not allowing entry to the hills from the evening of December 31 to early January 1. All bookings for that day are cancelled, and people won't be allowed to stay overnight on December 31.

Long waits

Manjunath, the special officer in charge of Nandi Hills, confirmed a big turnout on Friday to The Times of India. He said there has been a steady increase in visitors all week, leading to long waits for people at the entry gates.

Manjunath thinks the hills are popular at this time of the year because of the misty weather and cooler temperatures. People are showing up super early, around 2 am, to catch the beautiful sunrise. Some are also coming later in the day to witness an equally captivating sunset.

The staff at the hill station are surprised by the huge rush at the end of the year. Friday saw more than 4,600 motorcycles, 3,600 cars, and 60 buses (including 30 from KSRTC carrying school kids) arriving at Nandi Hills, according to Manjunath.