[abhi_tjet]

We visited Srisailam last year during the Independence Day long weekend. Somehow, we weren't content. It was a day trip from Hyderabad of around 450 odd kms total and we had darshan passes. Still, due to Srisailam dam gates being opened and people thronging in the ghat section to observe that, traffic was in a complete mess. It took 7-8 hours to reach 200 odd kms and we were exhausted already with continuous 1-2 gear driving for the last 20-30 odd km, especially in the ghat section.

It was a long tiring day for us without much food where we started before 6 am and reached back to the hotel around 11 pm. We decided that we would visit Srisailam once again. We will plan a night stay nearby so that we can visit temple and pray to God in absolute peace.

Also, as informed by D-Bhpian condor,

Srisailam is the other place where both a Jyotirling and Shakti Peeth are together. There it is Mallikarjun and Bramarambha devi.

Excerpts from my reply,

This warrants one more trip to Srisailam since my last was in peak monsoon last year when dam gates were opened and there was huge crowd throughout. It was a day trip from Hyderabad and looks like I skipped the Shaktipeeth darshan.

We accordingly had one more reason to plan the visit.

The time came soon enough and coincidentally we planned to visit Hyderabad again during 2023 Independence Day long weekend. It was clubbed with visiting a childhood buddy's home in Hyderabad.

We also booked the Garbha Gruha darshan passes in advance. It costs ₹500 per person and has started from May 2023. Using this pass, you are allowed to go inside the sanctum and touch the shivling to seek blessings. Our passes were for 12 PM noon. Slots for this type of pass are opened only for 4 times a day. Since we weren't sure about our night stay place, we played safe and booked a 12 pm slot.

My buddy decided that he too along with his family will join us. Due to the long weekend and some delay in finalizing the property for a night stay in Srisailam, all the nearby ones got booked. My buddy still arranged 2 cottages in Amrabad Tiger Reserve at Mannanur for a night stay. Temple was around 80-odd kms from this property.

Day 1 - 12th August
With the above context, we set off for Hyderabad around 6 AM. This was our 3rd trip in the last 3 years. All in monsoon. The travel to Hyderabad is pretty much straightforward with the word 'straight' being quite literal!

Independence Day decorations in Pune

https://youtube.com/watch?v=xD_BviqF...Wxn7NojPvNW1sv

We reached around 3 PM without hurrying much and taking liberal breaks as and when required. Since we were early, my friend suggested to visit Statue of Equality and it was a beautiful experience there. Man, I love Hyderabad infra. Pune guys can just dream.

The place is built on huge area with massive parking bays. Entry ticket for an adult is ₹200 and you can almost spend half a day there if not more. The best part was the beautiful 108 divya desam temple replicas. The priest there were doing their job splendidly by chanting God's name and residence in Sanskrit and encouraging visitors to repeat with him. I and my better half just loved the vibes there.

No clicks since phones aren't allowed. We returned home and called it a day.

The only click of the Statue of Equality, while entering


Day 2 - 13th August
The distance to cover was less than 150 kms for today and we had a relaxed start. I kept the Linea at my friend's place and his Harrier AT was chosen to perform the duty. Left his home around 11 AM and we were there at the property around 2 PM.

After a quick check-in, lunch at nearby restaurant Transit Mrugvani, and a small power nap, we strolled around the property which was almost like a jungle. Monkeys were in abundance and we were told to not leave the cottage door open. It would have looked more beautiful in rain but alas there was no rain in that area till the time we were there.

We got a complimentary high tea at around 4 pm and then we were all set for a forest trail. It was a nice walk in the forest for some 6-8 kms total along with the local tribal people who were employed as guides. Though there are no animal sightings but the thrill of walking in a raw forest is exciting.

As expected, there were no animal sightings but we still got a glimpse of few exotic birds, owl, and a few langoor. We were all hungry after burning the calories and Transit, Mrugvani was chosen for dinner which was quite close from our property.

After a light dinner, we called it a day and decided to leave early in the morning to check if the authority could accommodate us in the morning slot(6-8AM).

One of the newer rooms


Pathway and the surroundings


The vehicle which carries tourists till the trail start point or for safari


The actual trail


It may not be visible in the pic but the trail had a couple of steep elevations and descent


The final viewpoint. The visible road is the same which is used to go towards Mannanur -> Srisailam






Beautiful descending sun. It was also the sign to leave the forest area as soon as possible


Our room/cottage


Room names






Dogs generally find us

[abhi_tjet]

Day 3 - 14th August
The D-day came. We were in Srisailam last year, same day! Can't say the same time, since we reached the temple around 1-2 pm if I remember correctly.

One thing which we weren't aware of was that there was a check-post just outside our property, which closes at night and opens only at 6 AM. So, our plan of leaving around 5:30 AM went for the toss. Many taxies were using the forest reserve parking for night stay/camping. There was a long queue starting from the check-post and lots of vehicles in the queue right from our property's entrance.

So, we started around 6 AM instead of 5:30 AM. Check-out formality was done the night before.

Regarding property - We loved the property and staff. This place will look awesome during rainy weather. The rooms were clean. We were the only ones being accommodated since the property was closed for some event. Accordingly, we had to go out for Lunch/Dinner. During regular times, a cook comes to prepare food. Dormitories were still available though for night stays.

We reached the temple around 8 AM with no traffic to be dealt with, a stark contrast from last year. On checking with the authorities, they asked us to wait till 12 PM. Since not much could be done, we had a light breakfast, visited a temple nearby, and spent some time in a beautiful park nearby. After completing all this, we went back to the temple at around 11:30 AM and joined the queue. We were in 1st slot and thanks to the beautiful management by the temple authority, we were done with the darshan in an hour. We then proceeded towards the Shaktipeeth which is on the same campus and were out of the temple around 12:30 PM.

Cows from Gaushala starting to look for food. All were kind of malnourished :(


From Mallamma Kanneeru Temple


A Few clicks from Rudravanam Park overlooking Srisailam dam






Beautiful Shiva statue at the park





During our return, we had lunch at Hilltop Mrugvani and continued towards Hyderabad thereafter. We reached home just before sunset and were happy that we were successful in rewriting the Srisailam memories.

Regarding Restaurant Mrugvani - Both the properties, Hilltop and Transit are owned by the same management. Food was okay with enough parking place. Hilltop Mrugvani offers beautiful views of the Krishna river.

Krishna river view from Hilltop Mrugvani


Day 4 - 15th August
Just like last year, not much during the last leg of the trip, we started around 8:30 AM for Pune and were back in home just before sunset around 7 PM including a rather big lunch break at Chaturthi of around 80-90 mts.

Regarding restaurant Chaturthi - We loved this place. It looked nice and hygienic with food being tasty. This is a pure vegetarian place. Definitely recommended.

Few miscellaneous points
1. All the toll gates of the forest were manual in 2022. All are now replaced with Fastag.
2. Road condition between Hyderabad-Srisailam is good 2 lane.
3. Dedicated parking which wasn't present last year is there now. Free of cost. Still, people coming in cars costing more than ₹2 million park at the parking entrance, roadside to save some ₹20-₹50. They don't even bother to check!
4. It was rather hot in Srisailam/Hyderabad.
5. I chose not to take my car to Srisailam due to my last year's experience. Also, my buddy's Harrier is rather new and he was keen to take out his drive.
6. Linea clocked the 92500 km milestone with this road trip. It gave true mileage of 16 kmpl during onward journey and around 15.4 overall, thanks to entering Pune after 5 pm.

Something to ponder

[graaja]

Moving thread from Assembly Line to Travelogues section. Thank you for sharing.

[Raghu M]

Thank you for the detailed review sir. Very informative. I have done the Srisailam route many times and just passed by Transit Mannanur. This time I want to try it, looks like the kids will love it. Can you share the tariff details please? I don't seem to find it even on their website. The bad thing about these Mrugavani stays are, they don't even take online booking from the website. Instead they just give a number and ask us to transfer the full money. It's a little risky sometimes as there is no proper audit trail. Thank you.

[abhi_tjet]

Originally Posted by Raghu M

Thank you for the detailed review sir. Very informative. Can you share the tariff details please? I don't seem to find it even on their website......

Thanks Raghu. We used Mrugvani properties only for lunch/dinner. As mentioned in log, we stayed at Amrabad Tiger Reserve. Tariff per A/C cottage was Rs 2900 including the forest trail which we paid during checkout. Let know if you want contact details for the same.

[JReacher13]

Srisailam is one of the best and fewest of the weekend getaways from Hyderabad. A very good highway and good stay options are available. However it's better to avoid during dam opening times and during shivratri, unless the purpose is to visit temple. I am glad you had a good trip. It's one of my preferred driving destination too, from Hyderabad.

[maximus_fiat]

Excellent travelogue !! Srisailam is indeed a nice place to visit.
How is the parking arrangement in Amrabad Tiger Reserve ?

[abhi_tjet]

Originally Posted by maximus_fiat

Excellent travelogue !!…….How is the parking arrangement in Amrabad Tiger Reserve ?

Thanks buddy! Parking is big enough. These guys in-fact, provide night parking space to vehicles at nominal charges who reach early morning/late night at Mannanur check-post.

[Fiero]

Very nice! I went from Hyderabad to Srisailam back in 2016; rented a Volvo V40 for 5000 bucks for a day from a company called Driven. Brings back memories.

[aston_martyr]

Originally Posted by abhi_tjet

We also booked the Garbha Gruha darshan passes in advance. It costs ₹500 per person and has started from May 2023. Using this pass, you are allowed to go inside the sanctum and touch the shivling to seek blessings.

Hello, very nice travelogues & detailed information on stays and conditions.
However needed to check on the darshan that you had chosen, i checked their website to book the same but could not find this specific darshan. Is there a different name mentioned on the website? Any information on the same is appreciated. Thank you.

[abhi_tjet]

Originally Posted by aston_martyr

i checked their website to book the same but could not find this specific darshan. Is there a different name mentioned on the website? Any information …

Thanks for the compliments aston_martyr.

You can refer below image. It’s under darshanam section. Further highlighted is the exact pass type.


Hope this helps.

[RaviKBobba]

Thank you for sharing this information through your crisp & detailed travelogue.

Was the payment through Cash or UPI for stay ?
Did they ask for printouts/soft copy, for the darsanam tickets ?

[abhi_tjet]

Originally Posted by RaviKBobba

Was the payment through Cash or UPI for stay?
Did they ask for printouts/soft copy, for the darsanam tickets ?

Thanks buddy!
Payment for stay was done via UPI.

Pass print is needed since it’s checked couple of times and they tear it slightly at each checkpoint. They also scan the barcode to allow you inside.
Also, make sure to bring the same id card which was used while booking the pass. They are quite strict with that.