[mobike008]

Date: March 22nd
Who: Me, Wifey, Mom
Destination: Warangal Fort, 1000-Pillar Temple. Warangal is a combination of 3 towns ( Hanmakonda, Kazipet and one more city that i am not able to recall now)
Route: Hyd->Bibinagar->Ghatkesar->Alair->Kazipet->Hanmakonda
Car: Accent Viva CRDi ( 25K done )
Distance: 315KMS ( Up-and-Down)
FE: 18L, 17.5 KMPL

I have been thinking of posting this trip details which happened a couple of months ago. But, being the good old lazy guy, i was not up to doing it. Finally, i coaxed myself to get this one up and finally here it is.

After a lot of contemplating over a few weekends of travelling out of hyderabad and come back either the same day or next day. Having been to almost all the nearby places and after talking to a few friends, i honed down on Warangal, one place that i haven't been to ever in my life.

On Mar 21st night, I called a friend who's native town is Warangal and asked for directions and places to visit and he mentioned that its a decent sized town and certainly worth a visit. And, the 1000-pillar temple located in this town was quite popular and then there is NIT ( National Institute of Technology) a popular college.

We got up at 6am which is so unusual for me ( I can never manage to drag myself out of bed before 8:00AM) and we got freshened up and planned to head out by 7am but eventually started at 7:45AM, which is still pretty good by the standards of previous out-of-town trips. I had topped up the tank and checked air-pressure the previous night so there was no stops for these neccessities.

Surprisingly, the weather was terrific. no sun, quite cloudy, breezy, also a little cool which was a perfect receipe for a long drive.

We hit the highway around 8:30AM and that day being a holiday due to Holi, the traffic was sparse and in some areas was almost non-existent. I was continously driving at 120kmph-140kmph and we made some good ground. Around 9:30 AM, we stopped on the shoulder of the highway nearby some green shrubs to have our breakfast that was packed at home ( Cheese Sandwiches,Green Chutney Sandwiches along with Lay chips and washed it down with some cool water and then a hot tea at a roadside tea-stall).

Burp,Burp! now we were all set to continue and i was surprised that we reached the outskirts of warangal at 10:30 AM and after a few phone calls to my friend for direction ( who incidentally was on his way to Warangal too) and we headed straight for the 1000-Pillar temple.

One funny incident while reaching this temple that i can recall now was when we asked people in the town directions for this temple they couldnt understand as i was asking in English ( 1000 Pillar Temple) but when i said the same in telugu " veye stambala gudi" they caught on to it immediately and pointed out the directions.

Well, the first impression of the temple was kind of OK because after the hype built about the temple, I was expecting gigantic pillars and something unusual. But, sadly, it was quite a normal looking temple and ofcourse, with pillars which were 1000 in numbers ( though i didn't have the patience nor inclination to count them)

After the darshan in temple, we decided to go to the Warangal Fort, which when we reached there found that it was in shambles. I mean there was no complete structure of the fort but broken walls was what left of it. We spent some time in the garden walking around and snacking on peanuts and then decided to head back to Hyderabad after a stop in a hotel for lunch as our tummies were growling.

Again called my friend and asked him which hotel offers a good lunch. He mentioned 2 hotels ( Ashoka and another one) and both are supposedly 3-star hotels and we found Ashoka on our route back and had a memorable lunch in chilled environs after the hot summer sun ( Palak Paneer, Malai Kofta, Kulchas, Rotis, Masala Papad, Veg Pulao, soft drinks and Lassi to wash down the meal).

Surprisingly, even my mom liked the food and coming from her its really a compliment as she is extremely fastidious about what and where she eats ( dislikes un-hygiene and crowdy places) and i am exactly the opposite, i love eating in roadside dhabas and small popular resturants and she detests the same.

Finally, when the bill came was surprised to see the amount, it was approximately only Rs.500 and this made the meal even more memorable. He He!

Now the time was around 3pm and we were heading out of that town, we saw a bunch of folks standing on the road-side selling water-melons and we picked up a few and enjoyed the juicy fruit during one of the breaks a little later.

The drive back was also uneventful and as while going the traffic was limited which helped us in reaching home by 5:30pm.

We found the trip memorable for a few reasons- Beautiful weather, No traffic, Amazing Lunch and pleasantly surprised to see the quite well developed city of warangal with broad roads and a neat layout!

Alright, now enough of my rambling and its time for some random pictures of this trip

[suren181]

Good one Avi. Looks like you had a good time. But whats with the vegan menu for lunch? Was it so 'cos you had visited a temple that day? Silly question, but knowing you, prompted me to ask .

Nice pics and the close up of your beast's headlight has come out great. Do blur the background of that snap and it'd look even more amazing to use as an avataar.

[rkg]

when ASI dismantled the part of 1000 piller temple they found sand and water wells in its foundation. It is an engineering marvel . how they constructed it on sand foundation in baffling.
here is a link with more photos

Veyyi Stambhala Gudi ('1000-Pillar Temple'), a Symbol of Indian Culture. Thanks Ancestors!

the old name of wanrangal is Ekasilanagaram( single stone city, it seems it was carved out of single rock)

It is also called as Orugallu

After Kakatiya's lost to Alladin Khilgi's commander Malik kafar, the city was destroyed.

the minister of last kakatiya king Pratapa rudra was called Yugandhar. it is folklore legend about his attempt to liberate pratapa rundra from Khigi's captivity

[suren181]

Originally Posted by suren181

Nice pics and the close up of your beast's headlight has come out great. Do blur the background of that snap and it'd look even more amazing to use as an avataar.

Meant something like this Avi. Notice the Truck and the Auto are missing now.

[akroy]

Nice crisp travelogue mobike008, you could have tried Yadagirigutta or Bhongir fort as well.
Nice pics too

The route is quite nostalgic for me and reminded me of my school days as I did a few times with my dad on his lambretta in late 80s and Vespa in the early 90s (till Bhongir and sometimes till Yadagirigutta, a small detour from the highway). My dad's Survey Camp (Survey of India has a big area there) used to be somewhere after Bhongir town (after Bhongir fort) and I used to visit with my dad during the winter vacations.

Those days it used to be a nice 2 laned highway. How about now?

Abhi

[vnabhi]

Nice travelogue, Avi. Reminds me of my trip in October.
I too was a tad disappointed with the 1000 pillar temple--I expected something as big as the Konarak temple. Even we found the temple only after seeking advice in Telugu. There is not a single sign at the turning leading to the temple via that narrow street.
We missed the fort, but did visit the Bhadrakali temple beside the lake. This was just 3 kms away from the 1000 pillar temple.
What amazed me about Warangal were the broad roads and the laid back life style.
We also wanted to visit Yadagiri Gutta on the way back, but learnt that the temple is closed from 12 noon till 5 pm, so we gave that a miss.

[zoomingbhat]

Nice travelogue mobike008,
The color is mind blowing,Hope my father had gone for that color

[mobike008]

@Suren, don't you know me too well? Yes, i never would like to eat veggie food outside but based on my friends advice that VF is better than NVF so decided to eat the same. No such inhibitions that i visited a temple etc.

Thanks a bunch for the mod in PS, looks like your slowly becoming a champ in PS, need to pick your brains for some tips

@Abhi, thanks, the roads are quite broad now and from what i know this highway is usually sparse of traffic so driving is bliss. I visited Bhongir and yadirgutta times the number of hair on my head ( mind you got a full head! ) so decided to drop that. Even i travelled on my dad's lambretta when i was young to yadirgutta several times, aren't those days the best?

@Venu, we wanted to check out the other temple too but after the fort, our mind was completely on food-so had to miss out on that one.

[TrueDreamer]

Thats a nice travelogue Mobike Was the nandi under some shelter the main one? Was it the same one pictured in the film Varsham ?

[mobike008]

Originally Posted by TrueDreamer

Thats a nice travelogue Mobike Was the nandi under some shelter the main one? Was it the same one pictured in the film Varsham ?

Yup, it was under a shelter. Don't know about it being filmed as i don't watch telugu movies

[PVS]

Hi Avi

That was a neat and concise write up on your Warangal Trip. I believe, if you had some more time, you would have visisted the Ramappa temple, about 70 Kms away on the NH 202 towards Bhopalapatnam. The drive and the ancient temple- both are worth a visit>

[mobike008]

Originally Posted by PVS

Hi Avi

That was a neat and concise write up on your Warangal Trip. I believe, if you had some more time, you would have visisted the Ramappa temple, about 70 Kms away on the NH 202 towards Bhopalapatnam. The drive and the ancient temple- both are worth a visit>

Thanks PVS, I never knew about this temple. Maybe i will visit it next time i visit warangal.

[VJ_MAVRICK]

Nice pics and travelogue there mobike. The highway is looking good with a 4 lane too.

[Zappo]

Oho! So when I was in Goa you were visiting this place! sahi hai. And, nice colorful pics. I think these places make sense when you bunch them together with other site seeing venues. Going that far just to visit a single location can at times bring dissatisfaction.

[mobike008]

Originally Posted by Zappo

Oho! So when I was in Goa you were visiting this place! sahi hai. And, nice colorful pics. I think these places make sense when you bunch them together with other site seeing venues. Going that far just to visit a single location can at times bring dissatisfaction.

Well, there are times when i travelled 50kms one-way to eat tandoori roti, dal and egg burji at a highway dhaba. So i think i am close to that when i club 2 locations for 300kms

@VJ, thanks for your comments