Srisailam is a holy temple town located on the mountains of Nallamala mountain range in the Kurnool district of Andhra Pradesh. Lord Mallikarjuna Swamy temple is one of the Dwadasa Jyotirlingas (i.e the 12 illuminated lingas). Goddess Brahmarambica Devi temple located within the same temple premises is one of the 'ashtadasa shaktipeethams' (i.e the 18 power packed temples of Goddess Parvati).
The presence of both 'jyothirlinga' and 'shakti peetham' within the same premises is the uniqueness of the temple which made it one of the most holy pilgrim places. Devotees from across the country visit the temple and it is heavily flooded with devotees on festive days like Maha Shivaratri and during the sacred Hindu month of Kartikam.
Srisailam is located at a distance of around 250 Km from Hyderabad and is well connected with many important places of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. There are frequent Road Transport Corporation (RTC) buses operated by A.P and Telangana. However, a car drive through the ghat roads of Nallamala Forest more enjoyable and equally thrilling.
On the first day of Kartika Masam i.e the next day after Deepavali, we went on a road trip to Srisailam from Hyderabad in our own car. It was a pleasant sunny day and we left at around 11.30 a.m. On the way, you come across Dindi Reservoir. We could see some travelers halted at this place, so we too stopped for a while to have the look at the reservoir. But I think, it's just time waste and there is nothing much to enjoy at this place.
We continued our ride after having garam chai (hot tea) at a local road side dhaba. It was afternoon when we entered the ghat road of Nallamala forest. There was no much traffic. My 8 year old daughter got thrilled when our car journeyed through the ghat roads. She was more thrilled on seeing our forefathers, hehe, I mean troops of monkeys through out the journey. We almost reached a height and the view below was awesome. The road through the journey is smooth and even, of course with speed breakers, so we had a smooth drive. There are no dhabas or road side vendors all along the ghat road. We could see some travelers taking a break for refreshment amidst nature in the forest. Travelers need to be careful during heavy rainfalls as the boulders many fall down on the ghat road. After a long long ride through the dense forests on either side of the ghat road, there we could see the Srisailam Dam. It was awesome.
Many travelers halted at this view point. We too stopped here for a while, had tea, took few shots of the scenic beauty and continued our drive through winding roads and then across the road bridge.Before entering into Srisailam, we had the darshan of Sakshi Ganapati. We continued our drive. On entering into Srisailam, you can see the huge seating statue of Lord Dakshinamurty.
It was evening, by the time we reached SriVidya Sivananda Trust where we had reasonably good accommodation and pure vegetarian food. (This is one of the best accommodations for Brahmins, particularly Telugu Brahmins where you get home-made food and homely stay).
After refreshing ourselves we visited the temple at around 6.30 p.m. As it was the first day of Kartika Masam, the line was too long for free darshan. We took tickets for Seeghra Darshan @ Rs.150/- per person at the counter and were seated in one of the compartments. It took nearly two hours for us to have the darshan of Lord Mallikarjuna.
It is customary to stay overnight in Srisailam. The next day, we started our return journey at around 1 p.m and on the way we visited few places like Mallamma temple, Go Garbham cave, Bheemuni padalu, Chenchu Lakshmi Tribal Museum and Paladhara Panchadhara.
On our return journey through Nallamala forest, the sky turned reddish orange as the sun set.
That was indeed an exciting and enjoyable road trip to Srisailam from Hyderabad.
Coming up with my next posts exclusively on Mallikarjuna Swamy temple.
The presence of both 'jyothirlinga' and 'shakti peetham' within the same premises is the uniqueness of the temple which made it one of the most holy pilgrim places. Devotees from across the country visit the temple and it is heavily flooded with devotees on festive days like Maha Shivaratri and during the sacred Hindu month of Kartikam.
Srisailam is located at a distance of around 250 Km from Hyderabad and is well connected with many important places of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. There are frequent Road Transport Corporation (RTC) buses operated by A.P and Telangana. However, a car drive through the ghat roads of Nallamala Forest more enjoyable and equally thrilling.
On the first day of Kartika Masam i.e the next day after Deepavali, we went on a road trip to Srisailam from Hyderabad in our own car. It was a pleasant sunny day and we left at around 11.30 a.m. On the way, you come across Dindi Reservoir. We could see some travelers halted at this place, so we too stopped for a while to have the look at the reservoir. But I think, it's just time waste and there is nothing much to enjoy at this place.
We continued our ride after having garam chai (hot tea) at a local road side dhaba. It was afternoon when we entered the ghat road of Nallamala forest. There was no much traffic. My 8 year old daughter got thrilled when our car journeyed through the ghat roads. She was more thrilled on seeing our forefathers, hehe, I mean troops of monkeys through out the journey. We almost reached a height and the view below was awesome. The road through the journey is smooth and even, of course with speed breakers, so we had a smooth drive. There are no dhabas or road side vendors all along the ghat road. We could see some travelers taking a break for refreshment amidst nature in the forest. Travelers need to be careful during heavy rainfalls as the boulders many fall down on the ghat road. After a long long ride through the dense forests on either side of the ghat road, there we could see the Srisailam Dam. It was awesome.
Many travelers halted at this view point. We too stopped here for a while, had tea, took few shots of the scenic beauty and continued our drive through winding roads and then across the road bridge.Before entering into Srisailam, we had the darshan of Sakshi Ganapati. We continued our drive. On entering into Srisailam, you can see the huge seating statue of Lord Dakshinamurty.
It was evening, by the time we reached SriVidya Sivananda Trust where we had reasonably good accommodation and pure vegetarian food. (This is one of the best accommodations for Brahmins, particularly Telugu Brahmins where you get home-made food and homely stay).
After refreshing ourselves we visited the temple at around 6.30 p.m. As it was the first day of Kartika Masam, the line was too long for free darshan. We took tickets for Seeghra Darshan @ Rs.150/- per person at the counter and were seated in one of the compartments. It took nearly two hours for us to have the darshan of Lord Mallikarjuna.
It is customary to stay overnight in Srisailam. The next day, we started our return journey at around 1 p.m and on the way we visited few places like Mallamma temple, Go Garbham cave, Bheemuni padalu, Chenchu Lakshmi Tribal Museum and Paladhara Panchadhara.
On our return journey through Nallamala forest, the sky turned reddish orange as the sun set.
That was indeed an exciting and enjoyable road trip to Srisailam from Hyderabad.
Coming up with my next posts exclusively on Mallikarjuna Swamy temple.
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