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15th March 2012, 03:10
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| BHPian  | Trip to the Thick Jungles of Maredumilli and Lord Shiva temple of Draksharam After the previous Gokarna trip that we had done in February 3rd week, we were planning to visit Mukhurthi National Park and Silent valley. However, due to sudden commitments in a coastal town in Andhra Pradesh (Mandapet) we had to change our plans. The commitment we had was just for Sunday Night. Just for this single commitment, we had to change our plans. So we decided to club this with a trip of our own to the deep jungles of Maredumilli. We wanted to explore whatever we could of these unknown, unexplored and thick jungles which is also an Agency Area Plan was made and last minute bookings were done in the Forest guest house Vana Vihari in Maredumilli. We started from Hyderabad at 9 PM hoping to reach Maredumilli by 8 AM. This was the worst possible case that we had assumed. But Hyderabad - Vijayawada highway made it the worst possible start that we could have. First Hurdle: We realized that one of our tyres had constant air pressure loss. I have shown the tyre to a couple of tyre shops and none of them could find a puncture. So I think there is a problem with some valve and it is not a punture. However the good news is that even though there is air pressure drop, it does not drop below 21 PSI. So we decided to go really slowly not exceeding 80 kmph. We decided to take the risk and proceed which should not be done. However, I was confident that the tyre would be able to take the load. The next hurdle: There was a big accident after 50 kms from Ramoji Film City. Huge traffic jam caused as a delay of 2.5 hours. By 2 30 Am, we had just crossed the 120 km mark from Hyderabad. The accident was caused by an Ikon travelling in the wrong direction. 3 people died in the incident. The Ikon hit head on to a Truck carrying LPG gas. Even though this was fatal, it was luck that there was no blast from the gas cylinders carried by the truck. The truck lost the front axle and there was none of Ikon that was left. There are many diversions on the Hyderabad - Vijayawada Highway. The ikon might have missed one such diversion and still speeding thinking he was in the correct lane. And the result is a fatal accident. So advice to anyone travelling on this highway, be very careful. The Last hurdle: After crossing this, praying to God we continued. However at 5 AM, we suddenly hit a thick dense fog. That combined with dust created a deadly combination with visibility of less than 10 mtrs. So we had to stop on the side, wait for some bus to overtake us and then follow the bus slowly. We finally reached Vijayawada at 6 AM. Since we knew the routes, we directly headed towards NH5. This is an excellent 4 laned highway. The road surface is smooth. Oops, there is one more hurdle: The problem with this is lot of people travel in the opposite direction especially closer to Vijayawada. Also Trucks are parked on one lane where ever there is a tea stall early in the morning. So our hopes to gain some distance evaporated. Some pics of the beautiful NH5. Smooth Surface, inviting to cruise   Final Destination!!!!  Early morning fog is beautiful.  Then we entered the Godavari Districts. I am from coastal Andhra pradesh and I really love the beauty of the Godavari Districts. Both east and west godavari districts have beautiful green cover of paddy fields. Godavari and Krishna districts are worth exploring. They may not be the most accessible. They are not even developed as tourist places. But if developed, there is tremendous potential in this region especially in the months from July to December. Godavari and Krishna Districts really becomes green during this time. In the course of this travelogue, I will mention a few places which are must visit places in this region for the interested team-bhpians. Coming back to my travelogue, we finally reached Rajahmundry by 9 AM and then took the diversion after by passing the city towards Maredumilli. The initial part of the road is in pretty bad shape, but then after a few kms, the roads are really smooth and very well laid and in great condition. I would love drive a BMW on these twisties. Some more pics: Inviting Roads  A Bridge Enroute  My Beauty  Beautiful Canals enroute  After travelling a few more kms, we crossed a place called Rampachodavaram, there is a beautiful Reservoir called Bhupathipalem Reservoir. When we saw the reservoir, it reminded of a scene from horror movies. The was a layer of Fog on the water. Emerging from the fog and in the middle of the river was a single tree with its shadow in the water. I bet that if anyone travels to this place in the midnight on a full moon day, that person will be scared no matter who it is. Pic of the lone tree  Another pic of the reservoir  After crossing this place, one slowly enters the thick forests. During summers there are constant forest fires in this region. In addition to this, people constantly put fire in these forests to collect wood once the tree falls down. This is primarily a tribal area if one goes into these jungles.  We finally reached the forest guest house called Vana vihari. We got a Hill top guest house booked for ourselves Pic of the Guest house  Way to the Hill Top Guest house  My Ride taking rest near the guest house  Maredumilli is deep into the forests. To reach Maredumilli, there is another route that can be done during day time. Hyderabad - Bhadrachalam - Maredumilli. This is more than 100 kms shorter than original route. However, this road must be done only during day time, and should be done only when one plans to reaches Maredumilli before 7 PM. In this stretch, there is a stretch of 50kms between Chinturu and Maredumilli which is through deep jungles. Apparently, this is area sees a lot of wild animals. Also around these areas are Agency Areas (naxalite areas). Since there are wild animals in this regions, there is not too much trouble with Naxals here. But they do move around in these regions some times. However, the Bhadrachalam to Maredumilli road is in really good condition. It is through forests and a 2 laned road. I am not sure of the conditions of Hyd - Bhadrachalam road as I have done that about 6 years back. Also we have seen that the police station in Maredumilli is built like a barrack. There is huge fencing on the walls. In addition to this, there is big fencing on the first and second floors of the Police station which is colored in pink. There are also holes in first and second floors probably to rest the guns and fire in case it is required. People travelling here are strongly advised not venture out in the night especially into the woods. More information of this region in my next post tomorrow Last edited by himavanth_m : 15th March 2012 at 03:13. |
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15th March 2012, 09:32
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| Senior - BHPian  Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Mumbai
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15th March 2012, 10:45
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| BHPian | Re: Trip to the Thick Jungles of Maredumilli and Lord Shiva temple of Draksharam Quote:
Advance bookings need to be made at FRH. Link to the FRH Guest house Vana Vihari - Eco Tourism Information Center - Maredumilli - East Godavari In the Link there is a phone number +91 9494151617. Call him and you can book in advance. Also there is no Room Service, but there is a restaurant in there to eat. The Food taste is really good but all orders have to be made atleast 1 hour in advance and this hotel closes at 8 PM. They only serve Bamboo chicken, Plate Meals, Chicken Curry and Chicken Fry. AC rooms cost is 1000Rs per night. Make sure to carry BSNL phones to this place as no other network has service here. Also 5kms from Maredumilli is Jungle star night camping site. One can book here as well. I have not seen any other rest house in Maredumilli. However, there is another guest house in a place called Rampachodavaram which is approximately 20kms away from Maredumilli. Rampachodavaram has excellent waterfalls and it would be good to stay there as well. If anyone is interested to further explore this region, my suggestion is to go to the following two places: Note: I have done these places when I was young, so I do not know about road conditions now. But these were beautiful when I went there. 1 Sileru Reservoir: There is upper Sileru project which is a hydel power project, is an excellent place to visit in Aug - Nov months. The road is beautiful. One needs to go to Bhadrachalam, and from there head towards Sileru. It s approximately 150km from Bhadrachalam. Alternatively, it is about 170 kms from Rajahmundry. 2. Lammasingi This place is around 100 kms from Sileru. Alternatively, it is 180kms from Rajahmundry. The specialty of this place is that even in hot summer, the temperature is really cool due to some strange weather phenomenon. Just 10 kms away from this place, the temperature in summer becomes hot again. If anyone interested (Video in Telugu), there is a video about Lammasingi But refrain from traveling in and around these two places in the night. These are inbetween thick forests. And these forests are Agency areas with lot of naxalites in these regions. Continuing my Travelogue: After reaching guest house at 12 Noon, we checked into our rooms. We ordered our Lunch and took rest for couple of hours as we had a hectic journey. Then we had a nice sumptuous meal and headed out for seeing around. We went towards Chinturu ( on the Bhadrachalam highway) The firstplace we went was Jalatarangini Waterfalls. There is absolutely no water in this waterfalls. So there is no point going there now. Some pics of this waterfalls    From the above pics it looks like this place would be really beautiful during rains. However, if one has time, one can trek up these falls. On this route, one can go to the following places. 1. Jalatarangini Falls 2. Tiger Camp/Night camp 3. Karthikavanam 4. Nandanavana 5. Medicinal plants information and conservation center 6. Twin waterfalls of Amruta dhara and Krishna Dhara. Again we went here but there was no water now during summer. We did not click any pics here. Due to lack of time we could only Jalatarangini falls. The rest of the time we just enjoyed the drive through the jungles and taking some pics whereever possible. Beautiful Bhadrachalam - Maredumilli Road:  Another Pic of the same road:  My Safari Parked in front of the Medicinal Plants conservation center.  Someone had done plantations in the forest. These planted trees were really green and the rest of the trees around were dry. Makes for a beautiful pic  Since it was getting dark, we wanted to head out of forests. We wanted to have a second glance at Bhupathipalem reservoir. So we headed to that place Some more pics of the spillway and the reservoir   After enjoying the forests, we headed back to our forest guest house. Again we had Bamboo Chicken and Plate mealls and went to sleep. There is nothing much to do around in the night. So one tends to sleep early and wake up early. So we slept early and then got up early too the next day. More in my next post. Last edited by himavanth_m : 15th March 2012 at 10:50. | |
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21st March 2012, 01:44
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| BHPian  | Re: Trip to the Thick Jungles of Maredumilli and Lord Shiva temple of Draksharam Quote:
Ca you provide more specs of this place. Thanks in advance | |
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21st March 2012, 01:46
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21st March 2012, 01:47
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| BHPian | Re: Trip to the Thick Jungles of Maredumilli and Lord Shiva temple of Draksharam Sorry for the delay as I was out over the weekend. The next morning it was time to pack up from Maredumilli and reach Mandapeta for our commitments. On the way, we wanted to check out a few places. So we left the hotel at 9 AM. Pic of Safari in the early morning Mist  Beautiful sun rise  As soon as we left we within 15 minutes we were stranded and there was no way out. A huge tree fell on the road blocking the complete road. The tree that delayed our journey  Since it would take atleast an hour for people to come and cut the tree, we decided to head back to Maredumilli, have breakfast and take some pics. Some of the pics on the Maredumilli - Bhadrachalam route:      After the pics, we headed back towards our destination. On the way we wanted to go to Rampachodavaram. Rampachodavaram has a beautiful waterfalls. If planned properly, tourists can see the tribal dance 'Vela' and 'Kommu' here in this place. These forests are untouched. It is also known that the famous freedom fighter, Alluri Sita Rama Raju, fought for freedom from this village. Hence these forests are also known as Alluri Sita Ramaraju Forests. Quote from Wikipedia: Alluri Sita Rama Raju led the ill-fated "Rampa Rebellion" of 1922–24, during which a band of tribal leaders and other sympathizers fought against the British Raj. He was referred to as "Manyam Veerudu" ("Hero of the Jungles") by the local people. Another quote from Wiki: Sita Rama Raju led the movement in the border areas of the East Godavari and Visakhapatnam districts of Andhra Pradesh. Inspired by the patriotic zeal of revolutionaries in Bengal, Raju raided police stations in and around Chintapalle, Rampachodavaram, Dammanapalli, Krishna-devi-peta, Rajavommangi, Addateegala, Narsipatnam and Annavaram. But to reach waterfalls the road is in a bad shape. Source: Alluri Sita Rama Raju - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Some pics of the route to the waterfalls.   Closer to the waterfalls, the route becomes narrower. We had to pay 10 Rs as entry fee.  We finally reached the waterfalls. The waterfalls had very little water. but this amount of water was enough for us to get into the falls. The water was really cold and it was falling with some force. We had fun for about an hour here enjoying in the water. Due to the force of the water, we could not be under water for long. We had to jump out within a few minutes take some air and again get back in. Imagine how much fun it would be in November with more water in these falls. I will definitely plan to go back again to these waterfalls after monsoons.  We finally Managed to reach the waterfalls and get under the water.   After spending time here, we headed back towards Mandapet. On the way we wanted to make one more detour to the famous temple of Draksharam. More about it in my next post Last edited by himavanth_m : 21st March 2012 at 01:52. |
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21st March 2012, 01:55
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| BHPian | Re: Trip to the Thick Jungles of Maredumilli and Lord Shiva temple of Draksharam Quote:
Quote:
However, April is not the right time to visit these places. It will be very hot and humid. Even at Lambasingi, the temperatures will be cool only in night and early morning. The rest of the time it will be quite hot. The best time to visit this place is October and November after the monsoons die down. Right now there is no water in Godavari River. So all the falls have pretty much dried up here. Yes, Maredumilli is on the Hyd - Bhadrachalam - kakinada road. You should not be worried in any part of this road. However, night driving should be avoided as Bhadrachalam - Chinturu - Maredumilli stretch sees wild animals venturing out in the night. Also to the North of Maredumilli , is Sileru which is notorious for Naxalites. There might be some trees might that fall on the causing road blocking . Being at night during such situations can be scary. Hope this helps. Please let me know if you have any other specific queries and I will be glad to help Last edited by himavanth_m : 21st March 2012 at 01:57. | ||
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21st March 2012, 01:59
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21st March 2012, 21:55
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| BHPian | Re: Trip to the Thick Jungles of Maredumilli and Lord Shiva temple of Draksharam After a quick visit to the Rampa falls, it was time to head towards Draksharamam. Andhra Pradesh is famously called Trilinga desa because of 3 famous Lord Shiv temples 1. Sri Sailam 2. Kaleshwaram 3. Draksharamam I will only talk about Draksharamam in this post as I have visited Draksharamam in this trip. Draksharamam is a temple of lord Shiva. This temple is on the banks of River Godavari. The town in which this temple lies is also called Dakshina Kasi. It is one of the 18 Shakti Peethas in India. This is the tallist Spatik Linga (Made of limestone) which is about 2 floors high. There are two levels in this temple and one can go to both the levels. Legend says that the inner part of the temple was supposed to be studded with diamonds but when Aurangazeb plundered the temple, all the diamonds turned to stones. Legend also says that the lord here is very powerful. One must have done some good things in the past life due to which that person was lucky enough to get the Darshan of Lord Shiva at Draksharamam in this life. It is said that a visit to this temple is also enough to wash away all the sins of this life. There is also a Ravi Tree in front one of the four entrances to the temple. There is a Shiv Linga in the Base of the tree. One is supposed to pray to Lord Shiva here as well. More Information to Draksharamam can be found in the following Links: Draksharamam - Pancharama Lingam Draksharama - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Beautiful Pics of the Temple:   Pic from the 2nd Floor of the temple  View of the temple from outside  Pic of the Sacred Ravi Tree  Pic of the Godavari River in front of the temple  I would like to finish this travelogue with this pic of Green paddy fields which truly describe the Godavari Districts of Andhra Pradesh  After the visit to Draksharamam temple, we went to fulfill our commitments and headed back to Hyderabad. We finally reached Hyderabad the next day morning. Though my travelogue is finished, I would like to give some additional information about some of the beautiful places in the Godavari districts in my next post. |
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