[vnabhi]

@autotranny, I'd suggest Vizag. But it takes up an entire day to travel, say around 11 hours.

I suggest you book Rushikonda APTDC resort and chill there for a day, or drive around on the coast towards Vizag or Bhimili.

On day 3, you could do a drive to Borra caves and Araku, and return same night to Rushikonda. On the final day, drive back to Hyderabad.

[deepv]

Originally Posted by autotranny

...
Any suggestions experts ?

Originally Posted by mobike008

...
All of the above are good for just one night. Two nights would be an overkill

Another option for your timeframe .. Maredumilli !!!
Its nice secluded place in the midst of forrest between Rajahmundry and Bhadrachalam. You can take either route, almost the same time (though distance wise Bhadrachalam is 100km short). We did it around same time last year.

Check out the following for more info/details:
* http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/route-...ml#post3062473
* http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/travel...s-still-2.html

-Deep

[Scarlet_Rider]

Hello Folks,

Has anyone been to Ananthagiri Hills near Vikarabad recently? Would be great if someone can share recent updates on the following:

• Road conditions.
• Feedback on the AP Tourism resort. (Food, activities, etc.)
• Any other resorts there apart from the above.
• Places to eat.

Office colleagues are planning for a full day outing and many wanted to know about Ananthagiri Hills. Are there any activities there like trekking?

If the road conditions are bad, we will avoid the place and settle down for some other resorts like Pragati, Songs of Earth, etc. Please feel free to provide suggestions on other resorts as well.

Regards and Keep Revving,

Rahul Waghmare.

[9tMax]

Originally Posted by Scarlet_Rider

Hello Folks,

Has anyone been to Ananthagiri Hills near Vikarabad recently? Would be great if someone can share recent updates on the following:

• Road conditions.
• Feedback on the AP Tourism resort. (Food, activities, etc.)
• Any other resorts there apart from the above.
• Places to eat.

Rahul Waghmare.

Was there just a couple of weeks back.
Road conditions: Nothing great but totally drivable. No potholes, but uneven surface at many places due to the patch-work repairing. Nothing much to worry about.
APTDC: Rooms are ok. Food is also ok. No idea of activities, as we didn't try to find out.
Alternatives: This is the only available place as far as stay or food is concerned. There is nothing else on the hill, except for a small temple and a few shops around that temple. But these are also a couple of km down the vikarabad - tandur road.

[hyd_traveller]

Bidar : A Day Trip

Me and my friend decided to do a day trip to Bidar. So, the 2 of us with our respective wives started at 9:00am from Madinaguda and went via Patancheru (ORR did not suit us because of the location of starting point).

Toll at Patancheru for the Patancheru - Sangareddy 4-laned highway is 22/- for one trip one way and 33/- for multiple trips in any direction. Chose the 33/- as we were to return the same day.

The road varies from good stretches to bad stretches (top layer missing) but hardly any potholes were there and those too which were there were easily avoidable. Uneventful travel.

Reached Zaheerabad at 10:30 and took a tea break and reached Bidar (Fort City) at 11:15.

Spent time at the Madrasa of Mahmud Gawan. Got it opened from the staff on duty who allowed us to climb to the roof which gave us a grand stand view of the area and the fort city. There was no entry ticket there and we parked the car on the road itself.

Next we went to the fort and spent some time there. Go to the rear side of the fort and your eyes are feasted to some amazing valley view. No entry or parking ticket at the fort.

Then we went to Nanak Jhira Gurdwara. After praying and seeking the blessings, we had a quick small meal at the langar as it is a prasad. Aloo Baingan Sabzi with Moong Dal and Roti and Chawal was on offer. Simple homely delicious tasty food. Tea was also available.

Then it was time to return.

We again stopped at Zaheerabad for our actual lunch. We chose to have it at S Amrik Singh Dhaba which is located on Bombay - Hyderabad Highway on the left side just after we turned on the highway from Bidar Road. The place was suggested to me by Rajesh_Rawal. Thanks RR!

We ordered one Butter Chicken with tandoori roti. 1 means full bird and not full plate, half means half bird and not half plate. Full bird butter chicken was 400 bucks and roti 10 bucks each. The Singh family really showered us with love and lots of butter. Bursting stomachs, we started back.

Started from Zaheerabad at 2:30 and we were back by 4pm. Halted for 10 minutes enroute due to a heavy hail storm which reduced visibility to zero.

The total run, going and coming and local movement was 250km.

[racer_ash]

^^ Sorry for going offtopic. But arent two way tolls valid for 24 hours. In your ticket, the validity is only till end of the day.

I am pretty sure fo the 24 hr validity of toll because on my recent trip to Guntur, we had purchased 2 way tolls because we planned to return to Hyd just after attending a midnight wedding (next day technically but less than 24 hrs from the time of pruchase of ticket)

[a4anurag]

Originally Posted by racer_ash

^^ Sorry for going offtopic. But arent two way tolls valid for 24 hours. In your ticket, the validity is only till end of the day.

I have been using this route (Suchitra - Isnapur industrial estate) and toll from the last 3 years continuously, a multiple journey ticket is valid for the day till 23:59:59 even if you buy the ticket at 23:59:58.

Once the clock ticks 00:00:00, the ticket bought is invalid and another one has to be bought.

Anurag.

[racer_ash]

Guys..need some advise. Wifey, me and my infant daughter are planning a family trip in the first week of June. Now this time is such that there would either be rain or there would be summer heat. We have 4 days at our disposal and plan for a place which is more like a weekend retreat. We really dont mind if there are no activities to do.

I have read that Horsley hills is a very good destination. We plan to drive down to this place from Hyderabad (since connectivity is not so good). Here are some questions from my end.

1) What is the weather at Horsley hills during the first week of June. We would prefer moderate climate (in the range of 25-30 degrees during the day)? Would rainy seson start by this time??
2) Stay options. I know there is a Haritha guest house there. Are there any other resort options or some othet decent hotels?
3) How to book these aforesaid hotels?
3) Things to do. This is not very important. But we would not want to spend two whole days simply lying around in our accomodation. We really want to have a tryst with nature and some kind of wildlife (not goats and cows, but proper wildlife).

Please help me with your suggestions.

Thanks in advance

P.S: Asking so much in advance because if this doesnt work out, I need to make arrangements for some hill station somewhere up North and I prefer booking well in advance to save on airfares.

[hyd_traveller]

Originally Posted by racer_ash

Wifey, me and my infant daughter are planning a family trip in the first week of June.

1) What is the weather at Horsley hills during the first week of June. We would prefer moderate climate (in the range of 25-30 degrees during the day)? Would rainy seson start by this time??
2) Stay options. I know there is a Haritha guest house there. Are there any other resort options or some othet decent hotels?
3) How to book these aforesaid hotels?
3) Things to do. This is not very important. But we would not want to spend two whole days simply lying around in our accomodation. We really want to have a tryst with nature and some kind of wildlife (not goats and cows, but proper wildlife).

Horsley Hills :

1) 1st week of June is not monsoon, it is the end of summers so expect hot and sultry weather with some pre-monsoon showers in the plains of Andhra & Karnataka. The weather at the hill will obviously be cooler.

2) Haritha is the best bet there. Book well in advance. Cancellation entails 10% charges (or so I think) which is not much risk.

3) Strongly suggest Haritha only.

4) No wildlife.

Let me warn you that Horsley Hill attracts stags over the weekends who come there to get drunk. I do not think it is appropriate for a couple unless you are part of a group.

Why not think Araku Valley? Slightly longer travel time but a much better hill destination. You also have Vizag near there to add as another destination.

[mobike008]

+1 to Hyd Traveller.

Horsley Hills is just a place on a slightly elevated surface with absolutely nothing to do it seems.

I too would suggest Vizag + Araku Valley so you can enjoy the beach, borra caves and a beautiful drive till Vizag on 4 lane roads.

[SILVERWOOD]

Originally Posted by hyd_traveller

Let me warn you that Horsley Hill attracts stags over the weekends who come there to get drunk. I do not think it is appropriate for a couple unless you are part of a group.

Why not think Araku Valley? Slightly longer travel time but a much better hill destination. You also have Vizag near there to add as another destination.

+1 Bajaj Sahb.I was about to suggest racer_ash the same thing. Why not Araku Valley.?

Nefarious activities are very common in all state run hotels across India barring Goa, Rajasthan and couple of other states which thrives on tourism.Horsley Hills is one such place frequented by local politicians and their cronies for gambling and getting drunk.

I stayed in mayura OOTY (KSTDC) couple of months back and it was no different.Many rooms were occupied by politicians and their cronies and these guys were creating ruckus in the middle of the night.My suggestion is do not venture in to Horsley Hills unless you are in a big group.

Waseem

[racer_ash]

Thanks all for your suggestions. None of the review in Trip Advisor mentioned about unruly activities in Horsley hills but thanks to you guys, I am aware of it now. I visited Araku during my college days during a so-caled Study tour of Vizag. Yeah, its a good place. Will try that if nothing else works out.

Could you guys suggest any other options apart from Araku. We Hydeez are really short of good weekend getaways. Sometimes it makes me jealous of my friends in Bangalore who have lots of options and upload lots of pics of their so-called weekend retreats on FB.

[Scarlet_Rider]

I had been to Horsley Hills in the last week of May 2011 with my wife and our 9 month old son. The day temperatures were pleasant compared to Hyderabad but it was not that cool. On our last day there, it rained and was foggy. Check out my travelogue for more details: Hyderabad to Horsley Hills in The Viceroy

Room bookings can be done online through the AP Tourism website.

There were a lot of families there when we went. We did not encounter any issues with drunken folks. It probably depends on where you choose your accommodation as different type of rooms are spread widely across the resort. People who come to drink usually prefer the cheapest available rooms I guess. There are other places to visit around Horsley Hills that I missed out. You can get details of these from the above thread. Do keep us posted on your decision.

[hellmet]

What would be a cool(er) place to go to about 300KM from Hyderabad, by motorcycle? No temples, or historical monuments, just natural beauty.

It's been a long time since a vacation and my bike's asking for it's first highway ride.

What do you guys suggest?

[PVS]

Originally Posted by racer_ash

Could you guys suggest any other options apart from Araku. We Hydeez are really short of good weekend getaways. Sometimes it makes me jealous of my friends in Bangalore who have lots of options and upload lots of pics of their so-called weekend retreats on FB.

Laknavaram - Interested? - http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/travel...aknavaram.html