When Grades 9 and 10 students from Nalapad Academy joined us for their very first trek yesterday, they came not just for the adventure of climbing a hill but also with a curiosity to understand the geography of the land and to build a deeper connection with nature.
The destination was Minchukallu Betta, a hill not too far from Bengaluru, but worlds apart from the everyday rhythm of the city.
The trail was alive with post-monsoon energy. Everything around us was green, the paddy fields in the valley, the dense overgrowth along the path, even the bushes that seemed to spill over the trail. The sun was hot and the climb wasn’t easy, but the students were bursting with excitement.
Each time they turned a corner and looked back at the view, there was a new “wow” in the air. By the time we reached the top, many of them were already saying the same thing: “This was amazing, we want to do longer treks!”
But this trek was about much more than the climb. Along the way, we shared stories with the students, stories of the land beneath their feet, and how it came to be. We spoke of how the supercontinent Pangea broke apart, how Gondwanaland drifted, how the Indian subcontinent moved northwards over millions of years. We told them about the volcanic eruptions that formed the Deccan Traps, and about the granite that has been here for billions of years, giving Bengaluru its very name.
Suddenly, the rocks they were sitting on weren’t just rocks anymore but timekeepers, holding secrets of the Earth’s past.
And then we carried the story forward into human history. We spoke of the Stone Age, of ancient settlements, of the dynasties that rose and fell, the Cholas, the Hoysalas. We shared how Kempegowda built the lakes that shaped Bengaluru, and how later rulers, the Mughals, the Wodeyars, Tipu Sultan, the British, all left their mark.
What struck the students most was how all of this history was tied to the very place they live in today. They were amazed that just a short drive from the city, the land could tell so many stories.
The students listened with wide eyes. They were curious, asking question after question, trying to piece together what they were hearing with what they were seeing. Many of them admitted that they had never thought about Bengaluru in this way before.
Teachers too were equally taken in. They said the trek was not just refreshing but deeply meaningful, and that they would love for more students to experience this kind of learning outside the classroom.
For our team, trekking with Nalapad Academy was an absolute delight. We loved how much the students embraced the outdoors, how they allowed themselves to be surprised, how they kept asking questions even as they caught their breath.
We left feeling grateful to have shared this day with them. More than anything, we felt that this was just the beginning. The outdoors has so much more to offer, and these young trekkers are already eager to discover it.
