[SUBRU]

Any one travelled recently? If so wanted to know the latest road conditions and any specific routes to avoid?

[rg12]

I drove to Srisailam in September via this route:
Bangalore - Kurnool - Atmakur - Dornala - Srisailam

Bangalore to Kurnool is a comfortable drive on NH44. After taking right from NH44 (before Kurnool), road condition is ok till Srisailam (except the forest road). I returned from the same route too.

Started at 4 am from Whitefield and reached Srisailam at 1 pm (including break time of 40 mins). While return, started from Srisailam around 7 am and reached Bangalore at 4:30 pm.

[csateesh]

Originally Posted by rg12

Bangalore to Kurnool is a comfortable drive on NH44. After taking right from NH44 (before Kurnool), road condition is ok till Srisailam (except the forest road). I returned from the same route too.

Thanks for the details. Any reco for accommodation in Srisailam ?

[rg12]

Originally Posted by csateesh

Thanks for the details. Any reco for accommodation in Srisailam ?

Difficult to get good options. But Hotel Srisaila's Nest (https://www.hotelsrisailasnest.com/) is a decent one.

[SUBRU]

Drove to Srisailam and back over the weekend.

Bangalore - Kurnool - Atmakur - Dornala - Srisailam

Kurnool-Atmakur stretch is quite narrow inside the forest hardly 1.5 lane and had to get off the road which was quite deep at some places. Most of the stretch road quality is quite ok but takes a lot of time as we have to get off the road and get back.

Dornala - Srisailam is excellent tarmac.

[sixersiddu]

Originally Posted by SUBRU

Kurnool-Atmakur stretch is quite narrow inside the forest hardly 1.5 lane and had to get off the road which was quite deep at some places. Most of the stretch road quality is quite ok but takes a lot of time as we have to get off the road and get back.

.

Yes its painful with the truck traffic. I did this in November last year. While returning I spoke to the localites of Dornala and took this route alternatively. Dornala -> Markapur -> Cumbum -> Giddalur -> Banaganapalle -> Peapully(join NH 44). Excellent roads all the way and very minimal traffic. This can be a better alternative.

[manjubp]

Hi

Planning a drive to Srisailam and further. On return planning to visit Ahobilam. Any one travelled recently? and suggestion/recommendation on road and food would be appreciated.

[SoumenD]

Surprising to see there is no volvo service on this route(Bangalore-Sri Sailam), hence planning to drive down. Plan is to start early from Bangalore and halt in Kurnool as we have to meet some friends.

Next day morning drive to Sri Sailam from there. Upto Kurnool am aware having done earlier as well, but am not sure how the road condition is from Kurnool till Sri Sailam. Can someone who did it recently throw some light?

[SoumenD]

Just back from a 3 day trip to Sri Sailam. We were 4 adults and 1 child in the Jazz CVT. Took Bangalore-Kurnool-Sri Sailam route. Since we had 2 senior citizens and 1 small kid, took it slow and didn’t drive all the way during onward journey. Trip update:

Day 1: (Bangalore to Kurnool-375kms): Started leisurely at 9:00AM & crossed Airport toll at 10:20AM. Took brunch break around 10:45AM at a restaurant on the highway.



After a sumptuous meal left at 12:15PM. Road was ultra smooth typical NH44 and you can maintain great pace.Could use cruise control(80-90kph) for a good part. Took 2nd pit stop around 4:30PM. This was around 40kms before Kurnool IIRC. Was short one for stretching and coffee/tea. Around 615INR was deducted in toll over 4-5 toll booths.



Will take ~6 hours for the 375kms(distance from my home) if you are doing typical 80-90kph average with 1 break. Reached Kurnool by 5:30PM & was greeted by mad hooligan traffic under the flyover. There was some rally, so some roads were blocked. We booked stay at Hotel Maurya Inn for the night. Nice 3* hotel with great service & ample parking.





Day 2:(Kurnool to Sri Sailam-180kms)
Started at 11AM after heavy breakfast. Kurnool onwards its a two-way traffic. Roads are good for first 80kms post which jungle twisties start. 2 check points collect 50INR each. Inside forest, roads are narrow and its good enough for only 1 bus at a time maybe. APSRTC buses ply heavily and they usually drive fast honking the daylights out of you. Its better to give them way if you love your car. But the route is ultra-scenic. Didn’t click any pictures as there was hardly any bays to park car safely but absolutely loved the scenery all the way till Sri Sailam. Due to ghats & Narrow roads will take 4-4.5 hours for the 180kms. Reached around 3:30PM

Sri Sailam Town: First thing that strikes you is how clean the town is. I was mighty impressed how beautifully it’s maintained. Jazzy blessed by Bholenath



Very limited options for stay though. AP tourism department has HARITHA, that’s the only OK option. Booked the Deluxe AC rooms and they too are strictly Ok-ish. Government employees typical lazy behaviour is evident and sadly the rooms are not in great shape although they are very spacious with balcony and all. Parking space is fine, 10-12 cars inside the premises and enough space just outside as well. There’s a canteen in the premises which serves basic meals at specific timings(8-10AM breakfast, 12-3PM lunch, 7-10PM dinner). Freshened up, had lunch and were ready for temple visit by 6PM when the premises open.

Mallikarjuna Swamy Temple: Took the 300 INR sheegra darshanam ticket and it was quick. Reached the jyotirlingam within like 10 minutes but they won’t let you see the idol for more than 5-10 seconds like any other pilgrimage. If you want to do abhishekam, make sure you make online booking atleast 2 days in advance, I didn’t know about it and hence we couldn’t. Bhog is served in a huge canteen setup for free and it was very tasty(we had evening snack).

Returned hotel by 9ish, had dinner in the canteen & retired for the day.

Day 3:(Sri Sailam to Bangalore-555km)

Was up around 5:30AM , showered & got ready for early morning visit at 6AM. Being a Monday, crowd was expectedly high so again got the same sheeghra darshanam ticket. Took around 30 minutes this time. Post that headed to Sakshi Ganesh temple. A visit here is kinda ritual if you visit the main temple. Its a smaller temple and would typically take shorter time. You can do a puja here for 300INR.

Returned back to hotel at 8:30AM and finished breakfast (part of AC room package). Today the plan was to drive all the way. So we checked out around 10:30AM & started return journey.



Reached Kurnool by 3PM & took lunch break. Was a heavy meal as we didn’t want to take any more longer breaks.



Started at 5PM and by 9:30PM was close to bangalore airport. It was raining heavily for almost 60-70kms so took a short stretch break for tea/coffee. Post that entered bangalore around 10:15 PM and were greeted by usual airport traffic. Took another hour to reach home by 11:15PM.

Trip Stats:

Distance: 1100kms
Toll : 1230INR on fastag & 200INR in forest checkpoints

Note: There’s a dam on Krishna River & ropeway if you’re interested in sightseeing.

[Passatman]

Originally Posted by sixersiddu

Yes its painful with the truck traffic. I did this in November last year. While returning I spoke to the localites of Dornala and took this route alternatively. Dornala -> Markapur -> Cumbum -> Giddalur -> Banaganapalle -> Peapully(join NH 44). Excellent roads all the way and very minimal traffic. This can be a better alternative.

Hi! This seems to almost the same distance ( maybe > by 10-15 kms ) and am considering this for my weekend Blr -Srisailam drive. Hope the scenic score is good too!
An early morn start should get us to Peapully by 7.30ish i guess as I normally reach Kurnool by 8.00. Is it a 2 way road till Giddalur? Giddalur - Markapur would be good I guess as it is the connecting highway between Cudappah and Guntur/ Vijaywada and have driven about 20 years back on this road beyond Vinukonda to VJA.
Any more tips/ caution on this route ? Food options would be Zero i guess.

[sixersiddu]

Originally Posted by Passatman

Is it a 2 way road till Giddalur? Giddalur - Markapur would be good I guess as it is the connecting highway between Cudappah and Guntur/ Vijaywada and have driven about 20 years back on this road beyond Vinukonda to VJA.
Any more tips/ caution on this route ? Food options would be Zero i guess.

Yes it is a 2-way road. Giddalur - Gajulapalli is a scenic route with excellent condition. Road between Gajulapalli - Banaganapalli is bit narrow as it passes through the villages. Banaganapalle - Peapully is excellent wide road.

Yes food options are nearly zero. You may get decent options only in Banaganapalli or Giddalur. I am not sure on the forest restrictions so it is better to do this during day time! Mind you, Road between Dornala and Srisailam is closed during the night anyway, so you need to drive during day time only.

[Passatman]

Thanks for the detailed info! Sets my mind to rest, and can confidently plan ahead. Will revert with any updates after return. Thanks again!

[rajshenoy]

Planning to visit Srisailam next week with family. I scanned the thread and the route is pretty clear to me from Bangalore, however need inputs on places to eat(pure veg) as I can see rural areas after Kurnool.


We are planning to start from Bangalore early morning(5am) and google says the journey takes around 10 hours, so I would like to know couple of pit stops for breakfast and lunch as I am not sure if I can reach my destination before lunch.

[ValarMorghulis]

Originally Posted by rajshenoy

Planning to visit Srisailam next week with family. I scanned the thread and the route is pretty clear to me from Bangalore, however need inputs on places to eat(pure veg) as I can see rural areas after Kurnool.


We are planning to start from Bangalore early morning(5am) and google says the journey takes around 10 hours, so I would like to know couple of pit stops for breakfast and lunch as I am not sure if I can reach my destination before lunch.

We did this trip last year in Aug and there were hardly any places to eat. Literally you can count them on your fingertips, especially once you move away from the highway. I would suggest stocking up and keeping an eager eye out, at least a couple of hours before you actually want to eat.

[rajshenoy]

Originally Posted by ValarMorghulis

We did this trip last year in Aug and there were hardly any places to eat. Literally you can count them on your fingertips, especially once you move away from the highway. I would suggest stocking up and keeping an eager eye out, at least a couple of hours before you actually want to eat.

Thanks, so looks like its better to carry some food just to be safe