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.