Srisailam
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Srisailam is a town in the Rayalaseema region of Andhra Pradesh, India. Home to a Jyotirlinga (Hindu shrine to Shiva), it is about 245 km from Hyderabad and 132 km from Nandyal.
Get in
[edit]By bus or train
[edit]
Srisailam is about 232 km from Hyderabad, the capital of Telangana, and there are buses connecting the town with Hyderabad, Vijayawada, Guntur, Markapur and Kurnool. For service from Hyderabad to Srisailam, tickets and reservations can be made at the Central Bus Station Hyderabad. The approximate travel time from Hyderabad to Srisailam is 6 hours. From Kurnool, it will take around 5 hours via Atmakur and Doranala. You can get Express buses every hour from 5AM to 11:30PM from Kurnool. For those who are planning from Chennai you can either go from Kurnool, Nellore or Tirupati. From Kurnool, there are many buses to Srisailam. You can reach Kurnool by Kachiguda express which starts from Chennai Egmore railway station. There is no railway station in Srisailam. From Tirupati also there are frequent buses which pass through Nellore. It is better to go to Nellore and catch the Srisailam bus from there.
By private vehicle/taxi
[edit]If hiring a private taxi, ensure that the driver has experience driving in ghat sections and doesn't have the habit of drinking alcohol. Mannanur, which is around 120 km from Hyderabad, is the place where the Nallamala hills start. After 60-70 km of driving through the forest, you'll reach Eegalapenta. From there, it becomes difficult to drive as there are numerous hairpin bends and a kilometre of the stretch has a lot of potholes. You can have a good look at the Srisailam Dam from there.
Get around
[edit]
For nature lovers, the Srisailam trip leaves immense pleasure as you travel through deep forests. From Dornala to Srisailam you will find excellent views and the road is full of curves and U-turns.
See and do
[edit]
- Akkamahadevi Caves (To reach the caves you need to go to Patala Ganga. You can reach Patala Ganga by ropeway and ride a boat from there to reach the caves. After travelling 16 km (for more than an hour) on the Krishna River with high mountains on either side and walking for some distance, you will reach the caves. There will be a guide with you in the boat who will lead in.). You need to take a candle with you as the caves are 80 feet deep and very dark. Andhra Pradesh Tourism Development boats need to be reserved in advance in the early hours on the date of the journey. The ticket cost is ₹180. A minimum of 18 members are to be there for the boats to be started. You can also engage in a private boat. The trip to Akkamahadevi caves is scheduled once a day at 10 in the morning. On the way to the caves; stop at Kadalivanam (though difficult to reach), this is a place for practising yoga for munis, rishis and yatis to this day.
- Chatrapati Shivaji Spurti Kendram. Exhibits on the Maratha ruler Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj.
- Chenchu Lakshmi Museum. A museum with exhibits on tribal people of Andhra Pradesh.
- Ista Kameswari Temple (from Srisailam you need to travel 16 km into the deep forest which is very adventurous. Don't try to go in your own vehicle because the way is sprinkled with huge rocks and water. Engage a terrain vehicle from Srisailam. If you have a team of 10 they will charge ₹1200. Or else you can share with others in which case you will be charged ₹300. Bargain the amount with the drivers.). After reaching the temple try to cross the temple and you will find a very good place with waterfalls and valleys, which are very beautiful.
- Lingala Gattu. This is a rocky Krishna river bank, where every rock is said to be an image of Lord Shiva. Hence the name Lingala Gattu.
- 1 Nagarjuna Sagar Dam (10 km before the Shiva temple). A massive irrigation project on the River Krishna, Nagarjuna Sagar has a rich and interesting past. It was a valley in the Nallamala range of the Eastern Ghats with civilizations dating back to thousands of years. Recorded history, however, assigns the first signs to the later Satavahanas and subsequently the Ikshvakus in the third century. The Sriparvata and Vijayapuri of yore were really temples where the famous savant and philosopher Acharya Nagarjuna preached the message of the Buddha.
- 2 Nagarjunsagar-Srisailam Tiger Reserve. The largest tiger reserve in India, straddles the border between Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. Three forest rest houses and 40-bed capacity dormitories for tourists.
- Patala Ganga. People take a holy bath here. The water is supposed to be very pure and has healing properties for skin diseases.
- 3 Sri Brahmarambika Mallikarjuna Swamy Temple.
- Sakshi Ganapati. efore visiting Srisailam everyone will have a darshan of Sakshi Ganapati near Srisailam. It is said that Ganapati will note down the names of the visiting devotees.
- Srisailam Sikharam. From where you can have a bird's eye view of all of Srisailam.
Buy
[edit]You can buy pure Girijan (Tribal) honey, AGMARK-certified honey which is supplied by the government of Andhra Pradesh. It is regarded as very pure and tasty. You can get it at Chenchu Lakshmi Tribal Museum. Don't buy it elsewhere.
Eat
[edit]As a temple town, only vegetarian food is available. Delicious food varieties are available in the temple-run annadana satram (free kitchen) and restaurants along with street food. It is advised, for people to keep hydrated by eating food with high carbohydrates and drinking lots of water while on treks in the hills and camping in the forests.
Sleep
[edit]There are lots of budget hotels and lodges around the Mallikarjuna Swami Temple in Srisailam. Most of these do not require any prior reservation except during peak seasons and festivals, and most Mondays. The Andhra Pradesh Tourism Department runs a few hotels by the name Ganga Sadan, Gouri Sadan and Punnami Guest House. These are clean and well-maintained and are within the budget of most pilgrims. There are also some lodges and choultries that cater to particular communities.