[ravi@64bhp]

Two of us are planning to ride to Araku this weekend on bikes. We are not interested in the regular Vijayawada-Rajamundry-Anakapalle-Araku route. We are very much interested in taking the following route.

Hyderabad-Warangal-Narsampet-Illendu-Badhrachalam-Sileru-Paderu-Araku.

The route between Sileru and Paderu is a dense forest and is a naxal infested area. I would like to know if we can ride on bikes in this route. Are there any incidents where naxals stopped the regular travelers?

Also, How is the route between Warangal and Illendu? We are not preferring the Suryapet-Khamma route as the roads are being widened.

Any updates and suggestions on the road conditions is highly appreciated.

[ravi@64bhp]

Surprising that nobody has done this route from Hyderabad. I have done some inquiries and seems it can be doable in daytime. There have been heavy rains for the past two days in north andhra area. We, a group of three, are starting on Sunday morning to Bhadrachalam. We plan to stay there for the night and start early in the morning towards Sileru. From Sileru we take route to Paderu through the dense forest and reach Araku by night.

With incessant rain forecast, lets see how things go.

[blackstallion76]

Hi,

I am travelling from Bhadrachalam to Vizag in my Scorpio on Oct 30 with my family.
There are two options to drive.

Route 1:
Bhadrachalam - Chinturu - Mothugudem - Sileru - Kuyyuru - Vizag

Route 2:
Bhadrachalam - Chinturu - Rampachodavaram - Kukonur - Rajamandry - Annavaram - Vizag

Which is the preferred route as the route 1 is said to be east godavari agency area?

Please help.

[airguitar]

Guys - One of these days, we will be driving from Bhadrachalam to Araku. From Sileru, there seem to be 2 roads - one via Paderu ( shorter route ) and the other one via Balimela + Jalaput. The second is longer, but of course, it has the Duduma waterfall and the Jalaput reservoir.

a) Is it advisable to take the Bhadrachalam - Balimela - Jalaput road to Araku ? (safetywise ) ?

b) Google maps shows 9 hours or so for this. Does that compare right to actual experience ?

c) How are the road conditions ?

d) Are we better off reaching Araku through Paderu and then attempting Jalaput from the Araku side the next day ?

Thanks in advance.

[vnabhi]

Originally Posted by airguitar

a) Is it advisable to take the Bhadrachalam - Balimela - Jalaput road to Araku ? (safetywise ) ?

b) Google maps shows 9 hours or so for this. Does that compare right to actual experience ?

c) How are the road conditions ?

d) Are we better off reaching Araku through Paderu and then attempting Jalaput from the Araku side the next day ?

Thanks in advance.

Both routes are very scenic, but unfortunately pass through naxal infested areas. Therefore not many have traveled on either route, and there is no reliable update on the road condition. I'm not sure if the areas are still naxal infested though.

I have however traveled from Araku to Vizag via Paderu (longer route to
Vizag but more scenic). That was more than 15 years ago and the road was good, just like any ghat road.

It might be better if you take the route via Paderu. A small detour at Chintapalli will take you to Lambasingi, which became famous due to snowfall a few years ago.

[airguitar]

Originally Posted by vnabhi

Both routes are very scenic, but unfortunately pass through naxal infested areas. Therefore not many have traveled on either route, and there is no reliable update on the road condition. I'm not sure if the areas are still naxal infested though.

I have however traveled from Araku to Vizag via Paderu (longer route to
Vizag but more scenic). That was more than 15 years ago and the road was good, just like any ghat road.

It might be better if you take the route via Paderu. A small detour at Chintapalli will take you to Lambasingi, which became famous due to snowfall a few years ago.

Thank you - the routes do seem beautiful. We'll keep you posted on how the trip goes. Lambasingi is beautiful

[luvurride]

Originally Posted by airguitar

c) How are the road conditions ?

d) Are we better off reaching Araku through Paderu and then attempting Jalaput from the Araku side the next day ?

Thanks in advance.

Originally Posted by vnabhi

Both routes are very scenic, but unfortunately pass through naxal infested areas. Therefore not many have traveled on either route, and there is no reliable update on the road condition. I'm not sure if the areas are still naxal infested though.

I drove from Araku to Bhadrachalam via Sileru last Sunday. We visited Lambasingi also midway. I did post a query seeking the road and safety conditions last week in the HYD-VZG thread, but didn't get any response. Hence I enquired locals and taxi drivers about the Naxal activity while at Araku and enroute at Chintapalle and they brushed it off saying that they don't harm you unless you are on their hitlist!

So took the risk. It was safe, but totally deserted for most part until we hit the NH30 from Rajahmundry near Chinturu. It was just me, wife and kid and was definitely a bit scary since it was almost dusk by the time we crossed Sileru. We were stopped by policemen at Sileru for regular check and vehicle documents check. Those helpful gentlemen reassured us that it was safe to travel further, so we took the risk. But it was a thrilling ride nonetheless! APSRTC has buses plying in this route I hear (but with minimal frequency). I would have probably encountered only 10-15 vehicles through this entire Sileru-Chinturu stretch.

The fly in the ointment is the section just after Chintapalle to Sileru. Pretty bad road conditions and most of the ghat section have given away to huge potholes as well. I couldn't drive beyond 40kmph. Being a single lane makes it worse as you have to get down or bully with opposite vehicles. After Sileru, the road surface is fantastic, but there are sudden spots where the road has caved in which will catch you by surprise - especially the straight stretch along the Odisha border. The Araku-Chintapalle is decent with some average stretches midway.

We didn't find Lambasingi any different - the reason could be because we went there by around 2pm. I was told by local shopkeepers that the nights are when the temperature drops to 2-3 degrees.

Hope this helps.

[poised2drive]

Had done a 2 day trip to Bhadrachalam and Sileru.

The road taken was Vijayawada-Tiruvuru-Kothagudem-Bhadrachalam-Chinthuru-Mothkugudem ( Lower Sileru)-Sileru-Mothkugudem ( Lower Sileru)-Maaredumilli-RC Varam-Rajamahendri-Nallajerla-Bheemadolu-Vijayawada.

The Jagdalpur Highway from Vijayawada to Bhadrachalam was impressive, apart from some bad patches on Godavari Bridge. The Road from Bhadrachalam to Lower Sileru was fantastic. The road from lower Sileru to Upper Sileru was scenicc, barring a few bad spots, but the road becomes bad before entering Sileru.

While returning, we diverted towards Rajamahendri after crossing ( Lower Sileru) and the decisio was bad.

The road through Maredumulli and RC Varam to Rajamahendri was bad with annoying traffic and lot of potholes.

And the new bridge on Godavari at Rajamahendri was under repair and less I talk about it, the better.

Do not go that way. Take the Highway through Ravulapalem from Rajamahendri to Vijayawada.

Even the Eluru-Vijayawada stretch contains multiple constructions going on.

Take due note of it