Sheetal and I made our first road trip with Ilisa in August 2007. Sheetal's parents also joined us on the trip. Nagarjuna Sagar is a weekend destination about 160KM away from Hyderabad. It is famous for a large dam and some historical ruins of a Buddhist monastery from 3-4 century AD at Nagarjuna Konda, an island in the dam's reservoir. We have put up some photos here.
Planning:
The journey from Hyderabad to Nagarjuna Sagar takes between 3 and 4 hours depending on the time of the day, almost half of the time being spent in getting out of the city. You can do the trip in a single day, but we preferred an overnight trip to ensure it doesn't get too hectic.
We booked rooms (A/C standard, 1500/- for double occupancy) at 'Vijay Vihar'. The hotel is run by AP Tourism and we did the bookings through their Yatri Nivas office near Paradise. It is a decent hotel with clean rooms, clean bathrooms and an excellent location right on the banks of the reservoir. Our rooms had balconies with a great view of the same. The lunch is typically South Indian buffet only- decent enough to survive for a few days. For dinner, food needs to be preordered as there aren't too many guests. We ordered North Indian curries and phulkas, and they were pretty tasty. Breakfast is included as part of the package- standard South Indian fare which is decent as well. They serve milk in flasks- so that took care of Ilisa's requirements in our case.
I topped the fuel tank on the eve of the journey, which would be enough for me to get back home without needing a refill. We also bought lots of snacks and biscuits to keep us busy during the journey and made sure we carry enough water for 4 adults for the journey. We also packed sufficient stuff that Ilisa could consume including milk and water to last us for about 5 hours. And yes, we burnt enough music CDs to make sure things don't get monotonous during the journey.
Journey:
We started at 1000 in the morning, giving ourselves and Ilisa enough sleep and allowing us to get ready at leisure. It took a good hour and a half to reach the outskirts of the city itself. The route we took out of the city from our home in Srinagar Colony was via Banajara Hills Road No. 1, Masab Tank, Lakdi Ka Pul, Abids, Koti, Chaderghat, Malakpet, Dilsukh Nagar and finally LB Nagar. At LB Nagar we hit a cross road where we took a right to go towards Nagarjuna Sagar (straight here would take us to Ramoji Film City). The tricky part is to not miss the left turn as soon as we take the right- it is a pretty nondescript road that just comes up out of the blue and is easy to miss.
Things are a breeze once you make the turn though- no turnings all the way to Nagarjuna Sagar :). One of the cool things we found was a small airfield on the right around ten minutes after taking the turn, when a couple of small planes whizzed right over our heads! The road itself is great to drive on with a smooth surface at most places. It passes through open fields most of the time, but hits small villages every now and then. And yes, there are countless number of sheep all over the road. It was bizarre to just stop in the middle of what appeared to be an empty road a few moments back when hundreds of sheep would just pop up on the road from nowhere. There was a huge upside to these 'sheep'ish appearances- Ilisa going "baa baa" with a 1000W smile on her face!
While it is an undivided road, I didn't find the road unsafe at any place except one village an hour into the journey. Here the road curved to the left as it elevated but there was no banking. Predictably it is an accident zone, and there is a large board to warn you of the same. The bright side though is that once you make the turn you are on an elevated road with lush green fields below you on the left and a large water body on the left.
The weather was cool and pleasant throughout the journey, but changed dramatically once we reached within a few kilometers of Nagarjuna Sagar when it became warm and humid! We reached the hotel (which comes before you reach the dam) at about 1330.
We headed for the dam after lunch, under the false impression that the gates were open. The dam itself is about 10 minutes drive from the hotel. We cannot drive over the dam as such, and can only go near the power station at the base of the dam on the left bank. Look out for a road going to the right just before the bridge to cross the river. There was a security guy stopping us from going down saying only official vehicles are allowed :(. We were a little disappointed but it turned out this was just the guy's way of asking for 'chai-pani' to let us go down. I grudgingly parted with a 50/- note and found myself at the gate of the power station. While the gates to that were really closed, we got a good look at the dam from the gate itself. It was not as overwhelming as I thought it would be, but is an impressive structure like any other dam on a big river. There is a board saying photography is prohibited, but everyone was clicking and the security guys didn't look too bothered- so I did the same. After some time ogling at the dam and having some refreshments (Mosambi juice for 5/- was pretty good), we visited a temple a few meters up the road to get our feet wet in the river water at its bathing ghat. It was good fun trying to convince Ilisa to put her feet in water- she spent the first half of our time there refusing to put her feet in water, and spent the other half cribbing about us taking her out of the water :). There is a broken bridge next to the temple that goes till around midway to the river (and is by definition attractive to walk upon), but the entrance was fenced off to prevent accidents.
We then headed towards Ethipothala falls, and ran into a family of monkeys as soon as we crossed the bridge. Sheetal was surprisingly adventurous in trying to click them with her window rolled down, but two steps from a mother monkey towards the car were enough to roll the windows back up and restore things to normalcy (read screams of "Mummy!" and "Phani!"). The road to the falls goes through some isolated stretches that felt lonely even at 1600 when we were going towards the falls, so I made up my mind that I would not be waiting for a sound and light show at the falls that starts at 1900 or so. The road was also pretty narrow, especially once we took a left turn off the main road to reach the falls. There is a toll both at the turning (15/-) as the area is a reserved forest.
The falls are very beautiful. You can either view them from a hill opposite to them after paying an entrance fees (15/-), or choose to go down the hill to the base of the falls. We stuck to the former as we were with Ilisa, but even otherwise I was discouraged from going down by several friends as the route is dirty and slippery. The viewing point is a small park, so apart from getting a good look (and photos) of the falls, we also got a chance to let Ilisa run loose. She picked up a fancy for bottle caps of all things and demonstrated amazing tenacity in holding two fistfuls of them even as she was climbing steps that would need her to use her hands for support :). We headed back at around 1730 to ensure a smooth journey, but faced a few cars in the other direction suggesting most people find the sound and light attractive.
We had a pleasant surprise on the way back- 6 of the dams 26 gates were open! So we got some snaps of the water rushing out as well, and managed to get to the power station this time round without any 'obstacles'. We returned to the hotel after half an hour to get some rest after a fairly long day. We really felt close to nature even within the hotel compound- pitch dark in all directions, continuous sounds of crickets and all sorts of insects and zillions of mosquitoes baying for your blood. Thankfully the AC and the mosquito repellant in the room were doing a great job, so we got some good sleep.
Next morning, we headed out to catch the ferry to Nagarjuna Konda after breakfast at 0830. The drive is along the same route as the falls to some point, but there is a turn to the right around 3 KM after the bridge. The leg after the turn is pretty amazing as the road looks straight into the dam at several places! The river turns left right after the dam, so this road along the right bank is very close to the base of the dam. We got some great pictures before continuing for the launch station to catch the ferry. We were asked to reach the station at 0900 in order to catch the first ferry, but it turned out there was no boat till 1030! So it was 1.5 hours of near boredom waiting in a queue for the booking counter to open. And when they finally opened the counter, it was total chaos as folks jumped the queue from everywhere. I somehow managed to struggle my way through it all and bought the tickets (60/- per adult for the ferry, and 7/- for the museum and ruins on the island). Worse was yet to come, as the ferry didn't have fixed seats but loose chairs that could be dragged around to suit your convenience. So we had everyone trying to nudge everyone else to the side so that they could sit next to the railing on the upper deck and get an unrestricted view! On top of it there are no life jackets whatsoever on the boat, so we technically took a big risk by going on it considering none of us know swimming and that the reservoir is supposed to contain crocodiles.
The people factor and the inevitable noise generated aside, the ride was smooth and pretty scenic. It takes about an hour to reach the island, after which you get an hour to see around and then an hours ride back. Unfortunately, an hour is too less to see all the stuff on the island as the landing point, museum and the ruins are spread across a fairly large area. It took us almost 10 minutes to reach the museum, and the ruins were a further 15-30 minutes ahead depending on how many you want to see and how fast you can walk. The museum is small but good with lots of stuff from 4-5th century and some from the 1st century as well. Almost all the content is artifacts from various Buddhist monasteries and the Stupa that existed at the area. The ruins were pretty interesting too, but we couldn't make it to all of them as carrying Ilisa in the warm and humid weather was pretty tiring. There are restrooms and snack bars on the island, and they sell water and soft drinks on the boat as well. The ride back was uneventful, as we decided to take a inside seat rather than jostle with people for the 'window' seat. Ilisa provided all the entertainment though with amazing attempts to compete with Sheetal's mom in drinking Frooti with a straw.
Once back safely on dry land, we drove to hotel to grab some lunch and then started for Hyderabad around 1400. The was some rain on the way, but it didn't affect us in any way other than perhaps bringing the speed down from 80 to 60. Ilisa slept through the journey as we reached LB Nagar around 1600. The last 20 kilometers from there to home was excruciating though, as my driving fatigue finally showed up in the chaos of Hyderabad's traffic. It was almost 1800 by the time we got home.
All in all it was a great road trip, the first one we did with Ilisa (not counting the ones we did while she was traveling inside Sheetal ;-) ). Nagarjuna Sagar is definitely worth a visit. I would even say the place is a great weekend getaway for people living in Hyderabad, especially relaxing second time onwards when you don't need to fit Nagarjuna Konda in to the plan.
-Phani
Planning:
The journey from Hyderabad to Nagarjuna Sagar takes between 3 and 4 hours depending on the time of the day, almost half of the time being spent in getting out of the city. You can do the trip in a single day, but we preferred an overnight trip to ensure it doesn't get too hectic.
We booked rooms (A/C standard, 1500/- for double occupancy) at 'Vijay Vihar'. The hotel is run by AP Tourism and we did the bookings through their Yatri Nivas office near Paradise. It is a decent hotel with clean rooms, clean bathrooms and an excellent location right on the banks of the reservoir. Our rooms had balconies with a great view of the same. The lunch is typically South Indian buffet only- decent enough to survive for a few days. For dinner, food needs to be preordered as there aren't too many guests. We ordered North Indian curries and phulkas, and they were pretty tasty. Breakfast is included as part of the package- standard South Indian fare which is decent as well. They serve milk in flasks- so that took care of Ilisa's requirements in our case.
I topped the fuel tank on the eve of the journey, which would be enough for me to get back home without needing a refill. We also bought lots of snacks and biscuits to keep us busy during the journey and made sure we carry enough water for 4 adults for the journey. We also packed sufficient stuff that Ilisa could consume including milk and water to last us for about 5 hours. And yes, we burnt enough music CDs to make sure things don't get monotonous during the journey.
Journey:
We started at 1000 in the morning, giving ourselves and Ilisa enough sleep and allowing us to get ready at leisure. It took a good hour and a half to reach the outskirts of the city itself. The route we took out of the city from our home in Srinagar Colony was via Banajara Hills Road No. 1, Masab Tank, Lakdi Ka Pul, Abids, Koti, Chaderghat, Malakpet, Dilsukh Nagar and finally LB Nagar. At LB Nagar we hit a cross road where we took a right to go towards Nagarjuna Sagar (straight here would take us to Ramoji Film City). The tricky part is to not miss the left turn as soon as we take the right- it is a pretty nondescript road that just comes up out of the blue and is easy to miss.
Things are a breeze once you make the turn though- no turnings all the way to Nagarjuna Sagar :). One of the cool things we found was a small airfield on the right around ten minutes after taking the turn, when a couple of small planes whizzed right over our heads! The road itself is great to drive on with a smooth surface at most places. It passes through open fields most of the time, but hits small villages every now and then. And yes, there are countless number of sheep all over the road. It was bizarre to just stop in the middle of what appeared to be an empty road a few moments back when hundreds of sheep would just pop up on the road from nowhere. There was a huge upside to these 'sheep'ish appearances- Ilisa going "baa baa" with a 1000W smile on her face!
While it is an undivided road, I didn't find the road unsafe at any place except one village an hour into the journey. Here the road curved to the left as it elevated but there was no banking. Predictably it is an accident zone, and there is a large board to warn you of the same. The bright side though is that once you make the turn you are on an elevated road with lush green fields below you on the left and a large water body on the left.
The weather was cool and pleasant throughout the journey, but changed dramatically once we reached within a few kilometers of Nagarjuna Sagar when it became warm and humid! We reached the hotel (which comes before you reach the dam) at about 1330.
We headed for the dam after lunch, under the false impression that the gates were open. The dam itself is about 10 minutes drive from the hotel. We cannot drive over the dam as such, and can only go near the power station at the base of the dam on the left bank. Look out for a road going to the right just before the bridge to cross the river. There was a security guy stopping us from going down saying only official vehicles are allowed :(. We were a little disappointed but it turned out this was just the guy's way of asking for 'chai-pani' to let us go down. I grudgingly parted with a 50/- note and found myself at the gate of the power station. While the gates to that were really closed, we got a good look at the dam from the gate itself. It was not as overwhelming as I thought it would be, but is an impressive structure like any other dam on a big river. There is a board saying photography is prohibited, but everyone was clicking and the security guys didn't look too bothered- so I did the same. After some time ogling at the dam and having some refreshments (Mosambi juice for 5/- was pretty good), we visited a temple a few meters up the road to get our feet wet in the river water at its bathing ghat. It was good fun trying to convince Ilisa to put her feet in water- she spent the first half of our time there refusing to put her feet in water, and spent the other half cribbing about us taking her out of the water :). There is a broken bridge next to the temple that goes till around midway to the river (and is by definition attractive to walk upon), but the entrance was fenced off to prevent accidents.
We then headed towards Ethipothala falls, and ran into a family of monkeys as soon as we crossed the bridge. Sheetal was surprisingly adventurous in trying to click them with her window rolled down, but two steps from a mother monkey towards the car were enough to roll the windows back up and restore things to normalcy (read screams of "Mummy!" and "Phani!"). The road to the falls goes through some isolated stretches that felt lonely even at 1600 when we were going towards the falls, so I made up my mind that I would not be waiting for a sound and light show at the falls that starts at 1900 or so. The road was also pretty narrow, especially once we took a left turn off the main road to reach the falls. There is a toll both at the turning (15/-) as the area is a reserved forest.
The falls are very beautiful. You can either view them from a hill opposite to them after paying an entrance fees (15/-), or choose to go down the hill to the base of the falls. We stuck to the former as we were with Ilisa, but even otherwise I was discouraged from going down by several friends as the route is dirty and slippery. The viewing point is a small park, so apart from getting a good look (and photos) of the falls, we also got a chance to let Ilisa run loose. She picked up a fancy for bottle caps of all things and demonstrated amazing tenacity in holding two fistfuls of them even as she was climbing steps that would need her to use her hands for support :). We headed back at around 1730 to ensure a smooth journey, but faced a few cars in the other direction suggesting most people find the sound and light attractive.
We had a pleasant surprise on the way back- 6 of the dams 26 gates were open! So we got some snaps of the water rushing out as well, and managed to get to the power station this time round without any 'obstacles'. We returned to the hotel after half an hour to get some rest after a fairly long day. We really felt close to nature even within the hotel compound- pitch dark in all directions, continuous sounds of crickets and all sorts of insects and zillions of mosquitoes baying for your blood. Thankfully the AC and the mosquito repellant in the room were doing a great job, so we got some good sleep.
Next morning, we headed out to catch the ferry to Nagarjuna Konda after breakfast at 0830. The drive is along the same route as the falls to some point, but there is a turn to the right around 3 KM after the bridge. The leg after the turn is pretty amazing as the road looks straight into the dam at several places! The river turns left right after the dam, so this road along the right bank is very close to the base of the dam. We got some great pictures before continuing for the launch station to catch the ferry. We were asked to reach the station at 0900 in order to catch the first ferry, but it turned out there was no boat till 1030! So it was 1.5 hours of near boredom waiting in a queue for the booking counter to open. And when they finally opened the counter, it was total chaos as folks jumped the queue from everywhere. I somehow managed to struggle my way through it all and bought the tickets (60/- per adult for the ferry, and 7/- for the museum and ruins on the island). Worse was yet to come, as the ferry didn't have fixed seats but loose chairs that could be dragged around to suit your convenience. So we had everyone trying to nudge everyone else to the side so that they could sit next to the railing on the upper deck and get an unrestricted view! On top of it there are no life jackets whatsoever on the boat, so we technically took a big risk by going on it considering none of us know swimming and that the reservoir is supposed to contain crocodiles.
The people factor and the inevitable noise generated aside, the ride was smooth and pretty scenic. It takes about an hour to reach the island, after which you get an hour to see around and then an hours ride back. Unfortunately, an hour is too less to see all the stuff on the island as the landing point, museum and the ruins are spread across a fairly large area. It took us almost 10 minutes to reach the museum, and the ruins were a further 15-30 minutes ahead depending on how many you want to see and how fast you can walk. The museum is small but good with lots of stuff from 4-5th century and some from the 1st century as well. Almost all the content is artifacts from various Buddhist monasteries and the Stupa that existed at the area. The ruins were pretty interesting too, but we couldn't make it to all of them as carrying Ilisa in the warm and humid weather was pretty tiring. There are restrooms and snack bars on the island, and they sell water and soft drinks on the boat as well. The ride back was uneventful, as we decided to take a inside seat rather than jostle with people for the 'window' seat. Ilisa provided all the entertainment though with amazing attempts to compete with Sheetal's mom in drinking Frooti with a straw.
Once back safely on dry land, we drove to hotel to grab some lunch and then started for Hyderabad around 1400. The was some rain on the way, but it didn't affect us in any way other than perhaps bringing the speed down from 80 to 60. Ilisa slept through the journey as we reached LB Nagar around 1600. The last 20 kilometers from there to home was excruciating though, as my driving fatigue finally showed up in the chaos of Hyderabad's traffic. It was almost 1800 by the time we got home.
All in all it was a great road trip, the first one we did with Ilisa (not counting the ones we did while she was traveling inside Sheetal ;-) ). Nagarjuna Sagar is definitely worth a visit. I would even say the place is a great weekend getaway for people living in Hyderabad, especially relaxing second time onwards when you don't need to fit Nagarjuna Konda in to the plan.
-Phani
