Nandi Hills is an ancient hill station built by Ganga Dynasty in the Chikkaballapur district of Karnataka state. It is 10 km from Chickballapur town and approximately 60 km from Bengaluru. The hills are near the town Nandi. In traditional belief, the hills are the origin of the Arkavathy river, Ponnaiyar River, Palar River, Papagni River and Penna River. Watching the sunrise at Nandi Hills is popular with tourists. The first ever SAARC summit hosted by India was held at Nandi Hills in 1986.

Western Ganga was an important ruling dynasty of ancient Karnataka in India which lasted from about 350 to 1000 CE. They are known as "Western Gangas" to distinguish them from the Eastern Gangas who in later centuries ruled over Kalinga. The general belief is that the Western Gangas began their rule during a time when multiple native clans asserted their freedom due to the weakening of the Pallava empire in South India, a geo-political event sometimes attributed to the southern conquests of Samudra Gupta. The Western Ganga sovereignty lasted from about 350 to 550 CE, initially ruling from Kolar and later, moving their capital to Talakadu on the banks of the Kaveri River in modern Mysore district.