[Fordmanchau]

Originally Posted by mobike008

Via. Kurnool? Why?

From Kurnool it will take around 5 hours via Atmakur and Doranala. So it should be around 200kms or so.

Just asking, people have been talking so much about the kurnool route to Srisailam.
200kms is the total distance from Hyd-Srisailam??

[IndianNomad]

Originally Posted by Fordmanchau

Just asking, people have been talking so much about the kurnool route to Srisailam.
200kms is the total distance from Hyd-Srisailam??

Hyderabad - Srisailam 240Kms
Srisailam - Kurnool 182Kms
Kurnool - Hyderabad 224Kms

Srisailam to Kurnool 182Kms took me 3hr 30mins

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/travel...ml#post1299105

[Fordmanchau]

Okay, so happen to go to Srisailam again after around two years. This trip was very sudden, no before hand planning done. Just a casual question asked by my wife, "if we can go to Srisailam this weekend?" to which I casually replied, "okay, no problem". This "okay" was also born out of the frustration that we haven't been able to goto Shirdi and Triambakeshwar till now.

And the next message I got that the room bookings has been done at the Haritha Resort, Srisailam through the online channel at
APTDC - ANDHRA PRADESH TOURISM DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION OFFICIAL WEBSITE: Destinations, Hyderabad, Tirupati, Visakhapatnam, Puttaparthi, Rajahmundry, Vijayawada, Warangal, Themes, Heritage, Nature, Wildlife, Religion, Beaches, Adventure, Fairs & Festi

All this finished by wednesday of the last week i.e , 4th May 2011. We were to start on Saturday at around 2p.m after my office which finishes at 1p.m on saturday every week.
Boss being out of station, meant I left early, got the tank filled went home, had lunch and started by 2:30 p.m. A friend of us also came along.
Took the Shamshabad airport route, entered through NH7 side and exited the the other side onto the Srisailam highway. The roads till Maheshwaram is a wonderful 6 lane and after that it's back to single lane highway but roads were fairly good and have been patched newly.
some pics of the road. As you can see, the roads are newly patched up and you will find only a very small portions of rough road, and a very few potholes too all through.

[Fordmanchau]

Some more pics enroute and we also happened to catch the beautiful sunset over the Nallamalla forest range. The drive in evening through the forest under the fading sunlight was awesome, the traffic was also relatively thin.















We were there at the APTDC Haritha resort exactly in 3hrs 59 minutes, with a total moving time of 3hrs 49 minutes We parked inside, went to the reception. Checking in took some time as we went to different rooms to check the conditions, plus we wanted one extra room for the friend as we booked only one room initially.They accommodated us in the new block that has been built but not officially inaugurated yet. The a/c in these rooms being new, we were more than happy to take this room although the room sizes are a little smaller than the rooms in the old block.
Meanwhile wife went to enquire about the tickets for darshan and pooja for which we were here. Clicked few snaps of the temple at night.

[Fordmanchau]

So after having quite a few glasses of lemon soda at the Bandi's there, came back to the hotel and went to the restaurant.
Want to know what's on the menu?
Simple, plain South Indian Thali "buffet" along with special curd rice ,topped with a cockroach
The buffet was expensive, mind you, for the cockroach that accompanied my curd rice. Top that with "NO ROOM SERVICE" and you can guess how the restaurant scene is there at the Haritha Resort.
Best is to stay there and have food outside and buy some snacks and water bottle for yourself to last through the night.
We planned to get up at 6 in the morning to go for pooja. But it was so hot outside,and the A/c was so damn cool, that we ended sleeping till 8 a.m. Finally, got up and ready and left for pooja by 8:30 a.m. Took all the ingredients, bought the ticket, spoke to the Pandit who promised to come by 9:30a.m. Waited for him till 10:30 a.m after calling him several times on his cell, when he finally turned up.
Pooja went well and we were free by 11:30 a.m. Went back to the hotel and it was so hot, that we were literally jumping on the road till we collected our footwear.
Came back to the hotel, took bath , got ready and it was time to check out. While wife was settling the bill ,I cleaned the car and took some snaps of the resort.


Front view from the gate.

New block from the outside.

Reception

The parking area

New block from the inside

Old blocks



Restaurant and my car parked alongside



After all the formalities, went outside to have lunch at one of the restaurants. Three thalis, 2 two water bottles, extra curd costed just Rs. 150/- (including a dosa that we gave to a beggar). Then a again , another round of lemon soda, this time with bisleri water and we started off for Hyderabad exactly at 1 p.m.
Some customary pics of the dam and around.

[Fordmanchau]

Some photos as we returned through the same route.
View of the river

A accident we saw enroute


Wife was attracted by the blooming Gulmohar trees along the road.









A unique stone arrangement


As it happens,"curiosity kills the cat", happened with me, got lured by the fantastic 6 lane road into the old part of hyderabad as I have not explored this side of the city. Didn't take the left to the Airport and entered the city via the old highway road into Shah-Ali banda, Pathergatthi and finally to Charminar. Pathetic traffic, got stuck in the jam and it took away all the time we had made up. We crossed the airport turning within 3.5hrs. But this jam in the old city took away 1 hr. But i'll not complain much, atleast got to see the Charminar again. Look closely in the photo, so many people are up there looking down on us





So it took us 4hrs 35 minutes for the return journey. Finally got home. I swear it was so hot outside.
Journey over now time for some details in the next post.

I know, you guys must be wondering that I didn't do any sight seeing. It's beacuse it was so damn hot outside. Plus we had come specifically for the puja. We might just go again with parents, when they will be here next and then probably have a good sightseeing at Srisailam.

[9tMax]

Srisailam, surprisingly appears to be hotter than Hyderabad, don't know why. Being situated on a hill it should have been more pleasant climate there.
So how is the stretch near Dindi now? That also has been relaid freshly? Or is it still in the same old tattered condition like before?

[Fordmanchau]

Originally Posted by 9tMax

Srisailam, surprisingly appears to be hotter than Hyderabad, don't know why. Being situated on a hill it should have been more pleasant climate there.

Yes, it was hot, but may not be more than Hyderabad. But it surely was very humid. You need to have lots of water to save yourself from being dehydrated.

Originally Posted by 9tMax

So how is the stretch near Dindi now? That also has been relaid freshly? Or is it still in the same old tattered condition like before?

Stretch near Dindi is also fine. Not the whole stretch has been relaid, but roads are fairly good all through. You know, I saw the milestone which said "Dindi- 5km", thereafter couldn't make out where the place is. APTDC has a wonderful resort there called "coconut country". Will try and find out about it.

[Fordmanchau]

HYDERABAD TO SRISAILAM

Distance & Speed Stats
Distance : 228 kms
Total Time : 3hrs 59 minutes
Moving Time : 3hrs 49 minutes
Link to google maps
2011-05-07 14:27 - Google Maps

SRISAILAM TO HYDERABAD
Distance & Speed Stats
Distance - 216 kms
Total Time - 4hrs. 35 minutes
Moving Time- 4 hrs 10 minutes.
Link to google maps
2011-05-08 12:54 - Google Maps

TOTAL Distance = 228+216 = 444 kms
TOTAL FUEL = 33.76 litres
Mileage = 13.90 kmpl.

[gajadonga]

Nice pictures of the roads and updates on the conditions.
When I traveled back from Srisailam took the Charminar route I think the
roads have become pretty busy.
Point taken to take the PVNR elevated road to get back into the city.

[9tMax]

Originally Posted by Fordmanchau

APTDC has a wonderful resort there called "coconut country". Will try and find out about it.

That Dindi, where APTDC has opened a resort recently, I think is somewhere near Rajamundry. Because I remember reading somewhere that it is on the banks of Godavari. Even I was trying to locate it, last time when I was passing through RJM, but could not locate it.

[ranjitp1]

Nice TL.

Just a point to be noted,if you try taking the Airport road to reach NH7 from Srisailam highway,chances are that you wouldnt be allowed.Reason because the road is a private road that belongs to GMR and their stand is that it is to be used exclusively for airport going people else the road would be choc-a-bloc with daily traffic leading to jams for the airport going public.The check post at the Srisailam road entry would ask you and if they are suspicious that you are not going to the airport,then they would not let you in.However the funny thing is that there are no questions asked if you enter the airport road from NH7 towards Srisailam.So if at all you are stopped,make sure you tell them you are either going to the airport or to Novotel.

[DKG]

Now the outer ring road crosses the airport and goes up to Vijayawada highway too so you should be able to go beyond the airport entrance, get onto the ORR, cross over to Srisailam road and get off. I haven't taken note of the entrances and exits on the ORR but this should be possible

[Fordmanchau]

Originally Posted by gajadonga

When I traveled back from Srisailam took the Charminar route I think the
roads have become pretty busy.
Point taken to take the PVNR elevated road to get back into the city.

Thanks Gajadonga.
Actually, the old city route is 12kms shorter than the airport route and if anybody stays close to the old city area, he should take the route. But anybody who stays close to Mehdipatnam ,masab Tank, Banjara hills area and beyond should take the PVNR expressway route to the city. That would save a lot of time and headache too.

Originally Posted by 9tMax

That Dindi, where APTDC has opened a resort recently, I think is somewhere near Rajamundry. Because I remember reading somewhere that it is on the banks of Godavari. Even I was trying to locate it, last time when I was passing through RJM, but could not locate it.

Yes, 9tmax, I searched for the Coconut Country Resort of APTDC and it is indeed at Dindi near Rajamundhry on the East Godavari area. I was confusing that Dindi with the Dindi enroute to Srisailam

Originally Posted by ranjitp1

Just a point to be noted,if you try taking the Airport road to reach NH7 from Srisailam highway,chances are that you wouldnt be allowed.Reason because the road is a private road that belongs to GMR and their stand is that it is to be used exclusively for airport going people

Yes Ranjit, what you mentioned is indeed true, but I have taken that route and have not been stopped. Also, it would be difficult to practise that in reality until and unless they start checking for flight tickets for all the cars passing through that road. And, would they stop a car which has come to pick up a passenger and doesn't have a flight ticket?

Originally Posted by DKG

Now the outer ring road crosses the airport and goes up to Vijayawada highway too so you should be able to go beyond the airport entrance, get onto the ORR, cross over to Srisailam road and get off. I haven't taken note of the entrances and exits on the ORR but this should be possible

When returning from Srisailam, before the airport turnoff , I saw the board markings of the ORR towards Bangalore/NH7/Vijaywada, etc. So my guess is it is ready and it looked that way too. So even if you are not allowed through ariport, you can now always take the ORR to join at NH7 and take the PVNR expressway to city.

[mobike008]

Nice trip Manish. I see that Haritha Resort in Srisailam hasnt changed a wee bit. Last I stayed there was during in a trip in my Santro way back in 2006 and I liked the place, neat and clean.

However, the same cannot be said for the restuarant. For that matter, getting a decent and tasty veggie thali in entire srisailam is an uphill task.

Been there many times and ate at almost every restuarant there and found the food to be average at all places.