[vnabhi]

Originally Posted by deepv

Ppl,

I am planning to go to Nagarjunasagar as well from Srisailam, this weekend.
Which one would be better route for Srisailam -> N'sagar:
1. through Dornala - Macherla (175 km), or
2. through Mannanur - Back to Kawalakurti T junction - Devarkonda (220 km).

On #2, its possible to make some shortcuts instead of going to Kawalakurti Road, however just to be on safe side (& good road) the above looks better.

Otherwise, on #1 side if the road conditions are OK, I won't mind taking that route as I haven't gone there.
It appears ghat sections are good as well, though I got feedback from some friends last year that roads were quite narrow and/or in bad condition.

While returning from N'sagar, I believe it should be better to take (Halia - Nalgonda - NH9, 172 km) route rather than Nagarjuna Sagar Road (161 km).
Any insights?

I've been through both routes, but that was way back in 2007. Route 1 is more scenic upto Dornala, but after that the road is narrow in the vicinity of Yerragondlapalem upto Macherla. It is also quite desolate. The road sometimes dips into causeways over some of which water flows across. This was in December 2007. Now in monsoons the water would be deeper in those spots, unless the road has been elevated.

So the tried and tested route is the one via Mananur, Dindi, Devarakonda and Mallepalle. There is a shortcut between Dindi and Devarakonda, but the road is narrow. A single truck in front of you would be a major pain to overtake. So stick to the wider, though longer main road.

[hyd_traveller]

Originally Posted by deepv

I am planning to go to Nagarjunasagar as well from Srisailam, this weekend.
Which one would be better route for Srisailam -> N'sagar:
1. through Dornala - Macherla (175 km), or
2. through Mannanur - Back to Kawalakurti T junction - Devarkonda (220 km).

On #2, its possible to make some shortcuts instead of going to Kawalakurti Road, however just to be on safe side (& good road) the above looks better.

Otherwise, on #1 side if the road conditions are OK, I won't mind taking that route as I haven't gone there.
It appears ghat sections are good as well, though I got feedback from some friends last year that roads were quite narrow and/or in bad condition.

Originally Posted by vnabhi

Route 1 is more scenic upto Dornala, but after that the road is narrow in the vicinity of Yerragondlapalem upto Macherla. It is also quite desolate. The road sometimes dips into causeways over some of which water flows across. This was in December 2007. Now in monsoons the water would be deeper in those spots, unless the road has been elevated.

So the tried and tested route is the one via Mananur, Dindi, Devarakonda and Mallepalle. There is a shortcut between Dindi and Devarakonda, but the road is narrow. A single truck in front of you would be a major pain to overtake. So stick to the wider, though longer main road.

Route 1 was in terrible condition in November 2012. Faced huge pot holes (better to call them moon craters) and non existent roads. It had no pit stops. Would not recommend it unless ground situation has improved and you have positive feedback about it. The 5 hours / ~175 km driving drained me out totally.

Have never ventured on Route 2 so no comment.

Originally Posted by deepv

I am planning to go to Nagarjunasagar as well from Srisailam, this weekend.

While returning from N'sagar, I believe it should be better to take (Halia - Nalgonda - NH9, 172 km) route rather than Nagarjuna Sagar Road (161 km).
Any insights?

I also want to know about this route? Anyone tried please revert.

Else, you please let me know by Sunday evening as I am going on Monday morning.

[deepv]

Originally Posted by hyd_traveller

Route 1 was in terrible condition in November 2012.
....

Have never ventured on Route 2 so no comment.

Looks like #2 is preferable, some of my friends also cribbed about #1 they did in September last year.

Originally Posted by hyd_traveller

I also want to know about this route? Anyone tried please revert.

Else, you please let me know by Sunday evening as I am going on Monday morning.

Sure .. I will.

But how is the traditional 'N'sagar Road' route, looks like hyd-teamBHP team did a run a couple of months back?
I have never done this on car and the one time I went was also more than 5 years back, while I have used Vijaywada highway a couple of times in past year so kind of acquainted with half of the pathway.
However if 'N'sagar Road' route is as (or almost) peaceful as Srisailam one then I would opt for that.

[ranjitp1]

Originally Posted by deepv

Looks like #2 is preferable, some of my friends also cribbed about #1 they did in September last year.



Sure .. I will.

But how is the traditional 'N'sagar Road' route, looks like hyd-teamBHP team did a run a couple of months back?
I have never done this on car and the one time I went was also more than 5 years back, while I have used Vijaywada highway a couple of times in past year so kind of acquainted with half of the pathway.
However if 'N'sagar Road' route is as (or almost) peaceful as Srisailam one then I would opt for that.

No problems with the LB NagarX ROad-Sagar Road-Ibrahimpatnam-NSagar road.Depending on where in Hyd you are starting from,you can opt for the ORR as well.

[hyd_traveller]

Originally Posted by ranjitp1

No problems with the LB NagarX ROad-Sagar Road-Ibrahimpatnam-NSagar road.Depending on where in Hyd you are starting from,you can opt for the ORR as well.

DeepV, do look carefully at
PVNRE-ORR-SagarRoad-Ibrahimpatnam-NSD (30 km more)
vs.
Abids-Malakpet-SagarRoad-Ibrahimpatnam-NSD

Though the first route is 30km extra, you will be on PVNRE-NH7-ORR for around 50km.

[vnabhi]

Originally Posted by hyd_traveller

DeepV, do look carefully at
PVNRE-ORR-SagarRoad-Ibrahimpatnam-NSD (30 km more)
vs.
Abids-Malakpet-SagarRoad-Ibrahimpatnam-NSD

Though the first route is 30km extra, you will be on PVNRE-NH7-ORR for around 50km.

It is not 30 km more, but around 18 kms. Below is the distance to Vijay Vihar at N'Sagar from my house at Somajiguda:

1. Via Abids > Chaderghat > Nalgonda X roads > Santosh Nagar> Ibrahimpatnam :158 kms
2. Via Begumpet > Tarnaka > LB Nagar > Ibrahiimpatnam: 164 kms
3. Via Lakdikapul > PVNR > Shamshabad > ORR > Ibrahimpatnam : 182 kms
4. Via J Hills > Narne Rd > Gachibowli >ORR > Ibrahimpatnam : 192 kms.

I'd take route 3 for the peace of mind it offers. The only bottleneck is traffic upto PVNR. Routes 1 and 2 can be traffic-infested, depending on time of travel. Even otherwise, there are too many junctions to pass through.

[deepv]

Originally Posted by ranjitp1

No problems with the LB NagarX ROad-Sagar Road-Ibrahimpatnam-NSagar road.
...

From overall feedback, 'NSagar-Hyd Road' looks better to me. Its pretty straight road without many detours through cities (vis-a-vis crossing Nalgonda if coming through Vijaywada highway), so unforeseen delays should not happen. Will also save on tolls!!

Originally Posted by hyd_traveller

DeepV, do look carefully at
PVNRE-ORR-SagarRoad-Ibrahimpatnam-NSD (30 km more)
vs.
Abids-Malakpet-SagarRoad-Ibrahimpatnam-NSD
...

Originally Posted by vnabhi

...

1. Via Abids > Chaderghat > Nalgonda X roads > Santosh Nagar> Ibrahimpatnam :158 kms
2. Via Begumpet > Tarnaka > LB Nagar > Ibrahiimpatnam: 164 kms
3. Via Lakdikapul > PVNR > Shamshabad > ORR > Ibrahimpatnam : 182 kms
4. Via J Hills > Narne Rd > Gachibowli >ORR > Ibrahimpatnam : 192 kms.

I'd take route 3 for the peace of mind it offers.
...

My plan is Hyd -> Srisailam -> N'Sagar -> Hyd.
- While going I am thinking more of #3 (PVNR -> Airport Road -> Srisailam Highway), may take Abids one if early morning start works out.
- For Srisailam -> N'Sagar, take 'Kawalkurti T junction, Devarkonda' route (#2 in my earlier post).
- For N'Sagar -> Hyd, as mentioned above, taking 'ORR -> Shamshabad -> PVNR' route to get back to Somajiguda.

[vnabhi]

Originally Posted by deepv

My plan is Hyd -> Srisailam -> N'Sagar -> Hyd.
- While going I am thinking more of #3 (PVNR -> Airport Road -> Srisailam Highway), may take Abids one if early morning start works out.
- For Srisailam -> N'Sagar, take 'Kawalkurti T junction, Devarkonda' route (#2 in my earlier post).
- For N'Sagar -> Hyd, as mentioned above, taking 'ORR -> Shamshabad -> PVNR' route to get back to Somajiguda.

Plan sounds good. I suppose you are staying overnight at NSD, else it would be a strenuous trip. The ghat section of Srisailam will wear you and the passengers out. This apart, there could be weekend rush at the temple which might delay your return trip.

And on your return from Srisailam, you don't have to go upto Kalwakurthy T Junction before turning towards Devarakonda. The T Jn comes around 4 to 6 kms before Kalwakurthy, and you have to turn right at that place. Left will take you to Kalwakurthy. That T Jn comes approximately 27 kms after Dindi reservoir.

After turning right at that junction, you will pass through Devarakonda and Mallempalle. You need to turn right at Mallempalle for NSD; left will take you to Hyd and straight to Nalgonda.

Have a safe and pleasurable trip.

[deepv]

Originally Posted by vnabhi

...
And on your return from Srisailam, you don't have to go upto Kalwakurthy T Junction before turning towards Devarakonda. The T Jn comes around 4 to 6 kms before Kalwakurthy,
...

Yepp .. thanks Venu sir, meant the same on Kawalakurthy-Deverakonda road.

[YanTra Makto]

Setting course tomorrow.

Hope for a safe and enjoyable drive, hopefully Telangana issue will not cause trouble.

Will update latest on return

[deepv]

Originally Posted by vnabhi

...
Have a safe and pleasurable trip.

Finally did a shortened trip to Srisailam on Saturday. Actually got down with fever on 14th evening (though signs were there earlier, but it got worse) so decided to postpone the trip to Saturday.

Since we wanted to do 'abhishekam' pooja, we were keeping the option open to stay overnight (as the slot for it generally comes late the same day, or early morning next day) and in such a case to continue to N'sagar also if I felt OK on Sunday. However the rush at the temple was fairly less (surprising considering the weekend, possibly because of Taxi strike in Seemandhra area - noticed in Hindu the next day) & we could get 'abhishekam' ticket for afternoon itself, we finished our pooja, had some snacks/tea and started for return by around 2:30pm.

Following are trip updates.

- Hyd -> Srisailam.

• 07:15am: Start: From Yashoda Hospital, Somajiguda.
• 09:45am - 10:00am: 161km (in 2.5hrs): Break: At Munnanur check post.
• 11:25am - 11:35am: 235km (75km in ~1.5hrs): Pooja: At Sakshi Ganapati Temple.
• 11:45am: 238km: Reached Ganga Sadan parking.

- Srisailam -> Hyd.

• 02:40pm - 03:50pm: 248km: Visited Hatakeswaram temple, Shani mandir and Sikharam.
• 03:50pm: Start from Sikharam.
• 05:20pm - 05:35pm: 323km (75km in 1.5hrs): Tea break at Munnanur.
• 08:05pm: 483km (160km in 2.5hrs): Back at Somajiguda.

- A few other highlights:

• Not sure whats it with 'Innova's, I too came across one with disfigured bonnet, being towed away on return.
• Thanks to all those warnings, I was on the lookout for speed breakers in danger areas and with some help from my sister I could avoid jumping up at any of them. A personal best.
• Took around 4hrs run time on either side, would have been better on return but had to slow down due to light going down in last hour or so and maneuvering through city traffic.
• FE came around 14.2 kmpl, again looks better than my previous visits, I suppose I handled the ghat sections in more consistent way especially around dam region.

[YanTra Makto]

Originally Posted by vnabhi

... Numerous speed-breakers ... But the sudden speed-breakers between Kalvakurthy and Dindi can ruin your car, ...[*]There are several speed-breakers on the first 20 kms of the nearly 50-km forest stretch that starts from Mananur check post. ...

Thank you all for all the route updates, especially the heads up warning for speed breakers, my elder son and my front seat co passenger, my wife were told to be on lookout for them and warn me in advance if they find me not slowing down!
This system worked well, and we got shocked only on one of the numerous ones, but anyways most of them are pretty well marked.

Originally Posted by vnabhi

You can try your luck. I had an updated version of Satguide maps on my Garmin device, which proved to be a darn waste on this trip. Most of the time it kept saying 'traveling on unknown road' and 'recalculating, take a U turn', even though i was on the correct path. At places it showed me going through fields too.

Being a June 2013 version, it was simply not worthwhile on this trip. It was indeed very good last year at Bangalore and Ooty. I'll change the map to the link posted on the GPS thread today itself.

The google map app on my android worked exactly fine and accurate to 'e'. Thankfully, had cached the maps of the route expecting poor / no networks, and so it was for quite some stretch after Mannur till close to Srisailam.

Few teaser pics, will follow with the details and more pics soon

Photo stop at the Dindi resovior

Finally the real fun is near now

Srisailam Dam, dam(n) it all the gates are closed

Bridge over the river Kwai..rishna

The Crishna Canyons

Krishna was in a beautiful spate, thanks to the abundant rains

Lush Green

A BHPian !

To be continued...

[JoseVijay]

One of my friends is planning to go to Srisailam this weekend with his family. He will be driving his Tata Nano. Any information about the latest road conditions? He stays in Venkatapuram, Alwal, Secunderabad (towards Karimanagar). Which is the best route from there to reach Srisailam highway?

[rnidumolu]

Hi,

I have a travelled to Hyderabad from Srisailam last month and did not find any challenges with the roads. He can take Alwal -> Sec'bad -> Uppal -> LB Nagar -> Srisailam Road. I should not say this but I would recommend him not to travel on these ghat sections in Nano with family.

Thanks,
Ravikumar N

[vnabhi]

Originally Posted by rnidumolu

Hi,

I should not say this but I would recommend him not to travel on these ghat sections in Nano with family.

May I ask why? I do know that the Nano is under-powered, but won't switching the AC off help? Has anyone had any bad experience?

I've driven a fully-loaded 39 bhp Maruti 800 to Araku, so I guess the Nano should also be able to make it.