A Jaunt to Nagarjunsagar and Amaravathi

Nagarjunasagar -(Also known as Nagarjuna Konda where Buddhism Nurtured to it's greatest extent) the tallest and biggest masonry dam in the world accross the river Krishna, is about 150 kms, away from the metropolitan city of Hyderabad. It creates the third largest man-made lake in the world. Nearby Nagarjunakonda is known for its extensive ruins of Buddhist Stupas, Viharas and a university that flourished under Acharya Nagarjuna, the great Buddhist savant, scholar and philosopher who migrated to Nagarjunakonda from Amaravati to spread the message of the Buddha.

Interestingly excavations conducted here have also revealed Brahmanical temples, which reveal the friendship that existed here centuries ago between the two faiths. Now though the actual site of the excavations have been flooded with the waters of the migty river, the relies of the ruins have been reconstructed and kept in an Island Museum, the largest of its kind in the world and are in an excellent state of preservation-thanks to the efforts of the Archaeological Survey of India. Today Nagarjunakonda along with Nagarjunasagar attracts many tourists from South East Asian Countries and also from all over India.

Altitude: 244 meters, Area:39 sq. kms., Climate: (deg C) Summer- Max 39.4, Min 20, Winter- Max 22, Min 13.8., Rainfall: 89 cms., Best Season: July to March.

Places Of Interest: Nagarjunasagar: Left Canal (Lal Bahadur Canal), Model Dam, Pylon, Right Bank Tunnel (Jawahar Tunnel), View Point. Nargarjunakonda: Archaeological Museum, Mahastupa, Bodhisri Chaitya, Simhala Vihara, Mahisaka Vihara, Brahusutiya, Vihara, Ashwamedha and Royal Bath.

Excursions: Ethipothala Waterfalls. A Very good picnic spot with deep valleys and cave temples.

Reach - By Air: Nearest airport- Hyderabad. By Rail: Macherla- 27 kms. By Road: Hyderabad- 149 kms, Amravati- 179 kms, Bangalore- 619 kms, Bombay- 888 kms, Calcutta- 1422 kms, Delhi- 1602 kms, Guntur- 145 kms, Kurnool- 261 kms, Macherla- 27 kms, Madras- 546 kms, Tirupati- 493 kms, Vijayawada- 177 kms, Vishakhapatnam- 543 kms.

Jaunt to Srisailam - One of Jyotirlinga's

The temple at Srisailam is dedicated to Lord Shiva and is considered as one of his twelve Jyotirlingas. Srisailam, also known as Sriparvata is situated in the Rishabgiri Hills on the Southern banks of the river Krishna in Kurnool district of Andhra Pradesh. Mention of Srisailam as Sriparvata has been made in the immortal epic of the Hindus - the "Mahabharata".

Climate: (deg C)-Summer- 38 Deg.C. 30 Deg.C. Winter- 26 Deg.C. 20 Deg.C., Rainfall: seasonal, Best Season: September to February. Places Of Interest: Damsite, Hatekeswaram, Pathalaganga, Mallikarjuna Swamy Temple, Sakshi Ganapathi Sikharam.

Excursions: Alampur- 27 kms, Dindi Reservoir- 64 kms, Kurnool- 180 kms, Nagarjunasagar- 180 kms, Papanasam- 2 kms, Sangameswar- 18 kms.

Reach - By Air: Nearest airport is at Hyderabad- 232 kms linked with Bangalore, Bhubaneswar, Bombay, Calcutta, Delhi, Madras, Nagpur, Vishakapatnam. By Rail: Nearest railhead is Markapur Road. Other railheads are Nandyal, Kurnool and Hyderabad- 232 kms. By Road: Atmakur- 113 kms, Anantapur- 325 kms, Bangalore- 538 kms, Bombay- 971 kms, Calcutta- 1491 kms, Delhi- 1685 kms, Dornal- 49 kms, Hyderabad- 232 kms, Kurnool- 180 kms, Madras- 568 kms, Nagarjunasagar- 180 kms, Nandyal- 158 kms, Tirupati- 436 kms, Vijayawada- 248 kms, Visakhapatnam- 614 kms.

A Jaunt to Vizag - Romantic beaches for lovers

Lapped by the Bay of Bengal, on the eastern part of Andhra Pradesh lies the beach city, Vishakapatnam. Ages ago there stood a temple on the shores dedicated to Vaisaka, the God of Valour in the Hindu pantheon. The mighty sea has since swept away the shrine, but the name survived for identifying the now sprawling City of Visakhapatnam.

Altitude: 4.5 mts., Climate: (deg C) Summer- Max.39, Min.28. Winter- Max.29, min.19., Rainfall: 89 cms., Best Season: All round the year.

Places Of Interest: Andhra University Building- 4 kms, Dolphin's Nose, Sri Venkateswara, Konda, Hindusthan Shipyard, Simachalam Temple, The Three Hillocks, Indira Gandhi Zoological Gardens, Port, Visakha refinery.

Excursions: Anantagiri- 88 kms, Araku Valley- 120 kms, Arasavalli- 110 kms, Bheemunipatnam- 29 kms, Borra Caves- 90 kms, Chintapalli- 165 kms, Coringa- 177 kms, Draksharama- 176 kms, Kakinada 165 kms, Kalingapatnam- 143 kms, Kondakarla Ava- 48 kms, Sankaram- 45 kms, Vizianagaram- 60 kms, Yanam- 213 kms.

Reach - By Air: Linked with Calcutta, Hyderabad and Madras, Bombay and Calcutta. By Rail: Well connected with all the important cities of India. By Road: Araku Valley- 120 kms, Arasavalli- 110 kms, Bhubaneshwar- 426 kms, Calcutta- 879 kms, Cuttack- 444 kms, Delhi- 1861 kms, Hyderabad- 637 kms, Kakinad- 165 kms, Koraput- 198 kms, Madras- 799 kms, Rajamundhry- 199 kms, Tirupati- 746 kms, Vijayawada- 366 kms, Vizianagaram- 60 kms, Warangal- 619 kms.

A Jaunt to Warangal

Warangal was the ancient capital of the Kakatiya rulers. It was here that the fort was constructed by king Ganapathi in 1199 A.D and completed by Rudramadevi in the year 1261. The thousand pillard temple with its star shaped shrines dedicated to Shiva, Vishnu and Surya, the famous Ramappa temple & lake, the Pakhal lake are worth visiting. It is known for Thousand Pillar Temple. A fine specimen of Kakatiya architecture and sculpture, the Thousand Pillar temple as the name implies has many pillars, all efficient carved. The temple is built in Chalukyan Style. The Nandi here has beautiful finishing.

Area: 54.98 sq.kms, Altitude: 1,700 feet, Climate: (deg C) Summer- Max 39.6, Min 23.2. Winter- Max 30, Min 13.5., Rainfall: 82.5 cms ( June to September ), Best Season: September to February.

Places of Interest: Thousand Pillar Temple, Fort-Warangal, Bhadrakali Temple, Planetarium.

Excursions: Laknavaram Lake, Pakhal Lake and Wildlife Sanctuary- 60 kms, Ramappa Lake- 65 kms, Yadagirigutta- 64 kms, Yadagirigutta- 72 kms.

Reach - By Air: Nearest Airport is Hyderabad- 141 kms and other major cities. By Rail: Connected with all important cities. By Road: Amaravati- 319 kms, Bangalore- 707 kms, Bombay- 880 kms, Hyderabad- 141 kms, Madras- 686 kms, Nagpur- 478 kms, Nizamabad- 199 kms, Tirupati- 633 kms, Vijayawada- 253 kms.

Jaunt to Vijayawada (Bejawada)

Vijayawada or the "City of Victory" so called because it is believed that Arjuna, the Pandava Prince was rewarded for his penance, which he did on Indrakiladri Hill. Today, with excellent communications, perhaps the best in the South where railways are concerned. Vijayawada on the banks of the holy river Krishna attracts many piligrims as well for its temple dedicated to Durra. The city is also a base for visiting the Buddhist excavations at Amaravati, which is less than 70 kms, away. Also accessible from Vijayawada are the towns of Kuchipudi, Mangalagiri and Kondapalli which are famous for dance, temple and handicrafts respectively. So altogether Vijayawada presents a colourful and varied picture and can be termed as a business cum pilgrim cum tourist center.

Altitude: 125 meters, Climate: (deg C) Summer- Max 45, Min 28. Winter- Max 32, Min 18., Best Season: September to February.

Places Of Interest: Akkana & Madanna Caves, Gandhi Hill, Haxrathbal Mosque, Kanakadurga temple, Mary's Temple, Milk Powder Factory, Mogalrajapuram Caves, Prakasam Barrage, Victoria Jubilee Regional Museum.

Excursions: Agripalli- 40 kms, Amaravati- 66 kms, Chilkalapudi- 71 kms, Gudivada- 45 kms, Hamsala Devi- 85 kms, Kandapalli- 16 kms, Kuchipudi- 60 kms, Mangalagir- 12 kms, Manginapuri- 83 kms.

Reach - By Air: Connected to Hyderabad & Rajamundary. By Rail: Connected with the major cities. By Road: Amaravati- 66 kms, Bhubaneswar- 792 kms, Bombay- 1010 kms, Calcutta- 1245 kms, Delhi- 1724 kms, Hyderabad- 271 kms, Madras- 433 kms, Rajahmundhry- 167 kms, Tirupati- 380 kms, Vishakapatnam- 366 kms, Warangal- 253 kms.

Tirumala,Tirupati- Lord Venkateswara's Place

Tirupati is one of the important pilgrim centre in India. It is famous for the shrine of the seven hills, dedicated to Lord Venkateshwara, of Tirumala- 13 kms. The principal deity of this temple is Lord Venkateswara also known as Balaji. The temple is a masterpiece of Dravidian architecture with its gopuram facing east. The vimana is completely covered with gold plate and this is known as Ananda Nilayam. The statues of Krishnadevaraya and his consort can be seen in the temple. The Brahmostavam or annual festival is celebrated in September. Akasaganga Waterfalls,Papanasam Waterfalls, Varahaswamy Temple, Perumallapalli.

Altitude: 150 meters. 860 meters., Climate: (deg C) Summer- Max. 43 Deg.C. Min 22.3 Deg.C. Max. 40 Deg.C. Min. 22 Deg.C. Winter- Max. 32 Deg.C. Min 14.9 Deg.C. Max. 30 Deg.C. Min. 13 Deg.C., Best Season: Throughout the year.

Places of Interest: Lord Venkateswaram Temple, Govindarajaswamy Temple, Kapilathiraham, Kodandaraswamy Temple, Padmavati Temple.

Excursions: Chandragiri- 11 kms, Kalahasthi- 37 kms, Kalyani Dam- 18 kms, Narayana Vanam- 36 kms, Kailesanathakona- 43 kms, Nagalapuram- 65 kms, Horsley Hills- 145 kms, Kanchipuram- 112 kms, Perumallapalli- 8 kms.

Reach - By Air: Tirupati is connected by Vayudoot Services with Hyderabad. By Rail: Connected by rail with Hyderabad, Madras, Madurai, Puri. By Rail: Ahobolam- 272 kms, Bangalore- 248 kms, Horsley Hill-145 kms, Hyderabad- 617 kms, Kalahasti- 36 kms, Lepakshi- 379 kms, Madras- 151 kms, Srisailam- 436 kms, Vijayawada- 380 kms.