andhra pradesh,  Travel

One Day trip to Srisailam

Srisailam is a small town tucked in the Nalamalla forests, Andhra Pradesh. Srisailam holds a very special place in Hinduism. It is famous for Mallikarjuna Temple, which is one of the 12 Jyotirlinga. It is also called the kedar of the south. I’m a Shiva follower and I was really looking forward to visit this temple ever since the day I came to Hyderabad. I feel really happy and calm when I visit a temple and the feeling is on another level when visiting a temple with so much importance in Hinduism. I’ve written this post, to tell you how to reach Srisailam and what to do in Srisailam apart from visiting the temple.

One Day trip to Srisailam from Hyderabad
One of the entrance to Mallikarjun Jyotirlinga, Srisailam

Hyderabad to Srisailam

The distance from Hyderabad to Srisailam is around 220 KMs. The road from Hyderabad to Srisailam is in a really good condition. Also, the road journey is a scenic one. Specially, the Ghats area is a good ride. The road to Srisailam passes through Nagarjunsagar Srisailam Tiger Reserve, which is the largest tiger reserve in India. There are restrictions on entry time to this tiger reserve. As per the board at the entrance, the vehicles are not allowed to enter between 10 PM – 6 AM. So, if you are planning to go to Srisailam by your own vehicle, ensure that you enter the gate before 9 PM. This means, you need to leave from Hyderabad before 6 PM.

Buses

Telangana Road transport runs a good number of buses from Hyderabad to Srisailam. The buses can be boarded from JBS Secunderabad and MGBS.
As per the there official site, the first bus leaves at 3:45 AM from MGBS, after that we can get a bus to srisailam after every 30-40 minutes. It is advised to book well in advance through http://www.tsrtconline.in/.
There are different categories of buses to opt from. We had booked on a super luxury bus and the ticket price was ₹360. Our bus was to leave at 5:30 AM from MGBS. We reached MGBS on time and the bus left around 5:50 AM.

On the way to Srisailam

The bus took one pit stop in between for breakfast. The place at which the bus stopped, provided a variety of food items to choose from.
The scenic beauty along the road was really awesome.
In between, we came across Dindi reservoir, but the bus didn’t stop there. It looked like a good place to take a break. So, if you’re going by your own vehicle don’t forget to stop at this point. For more information, you can search for dindi reservoir on google. Anyways, the bus was approaching the Nalamalla hills and I was expecting a good view around the forest area.

View of plains from the ghat road

The forest area provided a very good view. I felt that a bike trip to Srisailam is the best way to enjoy the beauty of the road.

Srisailam

The bus reached the srisailam bus stop at about 12:15 PM. Upon enquiring I found out that its good to visit the Sri Bhramaramba Mallikarjuna Temple during the evening Aarti. So, I decided to see other places first and then to visit the temple in the evening. I first went to eat something in the market. The eateries were giving only south Indian food, the food was overpriced.

Boating at Krishna river

After having food We decided to go for boating. To reach the boating point we can take the Ropeway. The Ropeway took us down towards the banks of Krishna river, where we can enjoy the boating and closer view of the Srisailam dam. We can take a combined ticket for ropeway and boating at the ropeway ticket counter.

Ropeway to boating point
The boating is done over the Srisailam reservoir which is formed by the Krishna river. The boat takes you around the reservoir. The boat went very near to the dam and suddenly the engine stopped, I got scared, but then the boat driver came out of his cabin and started telling about the history of Srisailam and the Srisailam dam, but all in vain because he was speaking in Telugu. I was hoping that he’ll translate in English or Hindi after completing in Telugu but that didn’t happen. He restarted the engine and started cruising towards the starting point.

Boating at Krishna river

The holy dip at patalganga – Krishna River

Once we were back at the boating starting point, it was time to get a holy dip at the Krishna river. It is also called as Paatal Ganga. Few people told me that its good to visit temples after taking a holy dip at the palatal Ganga. So, I moved towards the ghat made near the river to have the holy dip.
By the time we completed the boating and holy dip at palatal Ganga, it was 4:00 PM. Now, it was time to visit the temple. My friend is not a very religious kind of guy, so instead of visiting the temple, he chooses to go on a short tour of srisailam city.

Krishna river Srisailam

Srisailam Dam

The Srisailam Dam is built on the Krishna river. Its one of the largest dam in south india. It is really scenic to watch this Dam, especially during night. It not only serves its purpose of irrigation and power generation, but is also one of tourist attractions of Srisailam. Its really amazing to see the dam when floodgates are opened in monsoon.

Sakshi Ganapati temple

We come across this temple while on the way to Srisailam. It is located 3 KMs before srisailam. The idol of lord Ganesha in this temple is carved out of black stone. It is believed that you must visit this temple before visiting Sri Mallikarjuna Swamy temple. Sakshi in Hindi means Witness. So, this temple is a kind of witness that you visited Lord shiva at Srisailam.

Chenchu Lakshmi Tribal Museum

This museum is dedicated to the tribal culture. The museum tries to represent the culture with nice information boards, sculptures, houses. Its a very good initiative to understand the lifestyle and culture of the various tribes of Andhra Pradesh.

Akkamahadevi Caves

The Akkamahadevi caves are located across the krishna river in the nallamalla forest. To reach the caves, we need to take a boat from the Patalganga. The boat takes around 1.5 Hours to reach the Akkamahadevi caves from Patalganga. The ticket price is ₹400 and you’ll be able to get the ticket for the boat at the ropeway ticketing counter. Complete trip from Patalganga to Akkamahadevi caves will take anywhere between 4-5 Hours.

Info:– There are auto rickshaws available in the main Srisailam area that take you on a short Srisailam tour for ₹ 150. They take you to the main tourist attractions of Srisailam.

Also Read:- Visit to Bhramaramba Mallikarjuna Temple, srisailam

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