Laknavaram

Reach:
Laknavaram is a lake situated about 80 km from Warangal and 8 km from Mulugu. It is very close to the Ramappa temple. The lake can be reached by hired auto service from Mulugu or by own vehicle. The forest path is good enough for all vehicles.

Grade: Depends on what you do - usually easy
Notes:
Amidst a picturesque, isolated forest, this lake enthralls visitors through out the winter and late monsoon. Many trekking paths can be seen through this dry deciduous forest. The sceneries are extremely beautiful.

Government operated boats run through this almost pure-watered lake through out the day. The highlight of the place is the beautiful wire-suspended bridge connecting three small islands in the lake. 13 more islands remain unexplored and isolated in the lake, making it an ideal kayaking and camping destination. The lake is also a good place to practice some water sports or to just lean back and enjoy the serenity of nature.

You wouldn't want to miss sunrise from different points in the lake. There are flocks of migratory birds around the lake, occasionally. Be careful with the wild boars around if you are camping overnight or venturing into the forest. Some new govt establishments are still coming up around the lake.

Mallelateertham

How to Reach:
About 57km from Srisailam, Mallelateertham is a four hour drive from Hyderabad. The waterfall is located 7km off the Srisailam-Hyderabad road. Food and lodging are not available there. It is either advisable to hire your own vehicle either at Srisailam or anywhere you like.

Grade: Easy

Notes:
A series of 6 waterfalls with the largest plunge, the first one too, falling from a height of at least more than 300 ft is a scene to see. Surrounded by lush green vegetation, this is the waterfall for all seasons - yes, in summer too. The rest of the waterfalls in this series are smaller, yet very beautiful and secluded, giving a pleasant view. A little bit or rock climbing and path finding is required.

The place does have some bears. Also, be careful with the elusive Russel's Viper and the Rock Python. Plenty of birds including the Brown-headed Barbet, Grey Hornbills, Parakeets, Blue Jay, Painted Snipes can be seen there all the time. You are not allowed to venture beyond the first waterfall but following the stream downwards will get you to the large pool of the last waterfall which can be easily identified. Water can be dirty at times. Keep the place clean. Enjoy the beauty.

Elgandal Fort

Reach: 30min ride on a service auto from Karimnagar

Grade: Very Easy. A lot can be done in and around the fort.

Notes: Situated on the banks of Manair river, the fort offers pleasing view of the country-side, the water reserve of the manair dam and the depleting small hills around. There is a lot of illegal and legal mining for granite around the area which is levelling off these beautiful hills. Nevertheless, the fort has many passages and routes around. The best though is the teen-minar on the top which is a very beautiful climb. A pradakshina around the lake is pleasant and beautiful. You can take a raft and have fun around the lake. There are a lots of bears residing at the rear of the fort but comes forward in the night. If you want to experience the wild, it should be ok to make a Tree Stand there by bribing the localites. Do carry some crackers then in case of an emergency. You will surely be able to hear some rumbling and if you are lucky, there may be enough light to see the bear - so, it is advisable to go there on full-moon days and stay over-night by crook. Some rocks there have interesting bouldering problems.

The fort is maintained by the state government with the help of the localites. This is a simple trek but the most interesting part of it are the possibilites around the lake - rafting, fishing, bear-watching, rock climbing etc.

Antarvedi

Route: Via Narsapur(NS) in West Godavari. Trains and buses are available upto Narsapur/Palakollu from where a lot of service autos are available to Antarvedi. You'll have to cross R. Godavari on the small boats available at all times.

Grade: Medium. Will test your patience but will reward heavily for it. It is important to enjoy the trek or else you'll feel too much strain.

Notes: Start from Antarvedi beach to the south-west, reaching the confluence of the southern patch of Godavari with the sea. Have a boat ride to the Anna-Chellella Deevi - Anna aka brother: Bay of Bengal and Chellelu aka Sister: R. Godavari meet here, so it is call the Anna-Chellella Deevi. You can spend some time there and then come back to the shore. Walk towards the light-house which opens at around 12 Noon. Enjoy the scenery from the top.

Then walk North-east for a 30kms untouched single stretch of beach to reach the next confluence point near Karavaka village. You may not find any transport from here, so it is also advisable to stop a few km ahead where you can see some human habitation. A 2km walk into the civilization will get you to a road from where autos are available. Get back to Rajole bus station from there which is well connected to all towns nearby and Hyderabad.

The sunrise is extremely beautiful, specially when the color of the sea turns into a brilliant gold. It is easy and beautiful to have a night-walk in the area. Avoid full-moon and no-moon days very strictly. Inform the local police station before moving ahead, which should be a small formality of writing a letter with your details and showing some ID proof that you are Indian nationals. The challenge of the trek is to carry enough water and manage food properly. The lesser the weight of your bag, the greater the fun. This trek can also be done of a bicycle with ease. Don't forget to greet the millions of crabs en-route. They are shy and quick - try catching them.

Ahobilam

Reach: via Nandyal, Kurnool district by bus, or car. Good roads are available.

Stay: Harita (govt. resort) is available and a couple of guest houses. Call AP tourism dept. to make the required booking. The stay is usually at Lower Ahobilam but there are some cottages at Upper Ahobilam. Food is provided freely at the annadaana satram at upper Ahobilam.

Religious Importance: The place is filled with the stories of Ugra-Narasimha Swamy, an avatar of Vishnu, who is believed to have come through a unique flat rock-face at the top of an 800m hill to rescue his beloved devotee and spent some time in that forest before vanishing into the cave. Ahobilam is also known in myth as the point where the tail of Adisesha ends, with the head in Tirumala hills.
Notes: This is an important part of Nallamala forest. Filled with multiple cascades over 3 perennial streams, Upper Ahobilam also boasts of 3 beautiful waterfalls in the vicinity. Most likely, there will be more waterfalls if we can go to the source of the river about 10km upstream.

There are a total of 9 temples here, of which 5 are around the main temple of Ahobila Swamy. Noting that they are still in caves or on rock ledges, these must be tribal temples which are modernized a bit. So, the temples here are not old but the myth may or may not be. All these small temples are recently constructed.

Starting at the Upper Ahobila temple with the bamboo sticks available at Rs2-3 rent, following the stream beside the main temple towards Jwala Narasimha Swamy temple, you'll reach a point from where a rock path leads uphill towards a flat rock patch 800m high. This is the route to Ugrastambham or in short Ugra as the locals call it. This trek is slippery, slightly risky and not for kids although they can do it with much ease. No guide is required. Start early in the morning and reach the top before it gets hot and enjoy the wonderful scenery of the Nallamala forest range from the top of Ugra.

Get down to Jwala and enjoy the beautiful waterfall there. Monkeys here are a menace - watch out. Do not eat outside or leave your bags unattended. Even chappals and shoes might be stolen or thrown off into the valley - be careful. The waterfall here makes small rainbows with the sunlight right infront of us and on a good rainy day, this will look like a mirror. You'll have to walk under the waterfall for about 10m to get to Jwala. Railings are placed here. Almost everyone other than old people can reach Jwala.

After visiting Jwala, walk towards Prahlada Padi and cover the two temples en-route. The waterfall at Prahlada padi, the rock formations and the small cave are beautiful. We had a lot of fun in this untouched clear water here which splits on the rock here into many streams. It is my favorite place in the trek. It'd be a nice idea to camp here, if possible. Some temples here close before 12 Noon. So, it is best to start the trek by 6 AM and finish by 12 Noon. After that, there is a way to get back straight to the Ahobilaswamy temple, the trek base.

The trek to Pavana is pleasant. You'll have to climb hundreds of steps to reach the top from where it is a simple 3 km walk to the beautiful temple. This temple can be reached by road by a travel of about 10 km I guess. The path is particularly beautiful in the rainy season when there are many streams passing by. It takes about 4hrs to go and return by the same path. There is nothing special about the temple except the serene location.

As we get back, the waterfall near Ahobila swamy temple which is actually a continuation of the same waterfall from Prahladapadi or Padi in short, is also one to enjoy.

Three other temples are situated in between the lower and upper Ahobila temples. Of these, the Bhargava temple is beautiful with the small lake nearby. An easy walk of about 1hr will take you there without a problem. Being a secluded village in the forest, night sky is clear and beautiful here. All directions can be obtained from locallers once you get there. You don't need a guide at any point - just feel free to ask fellow trekkers/devotees.

This is a very good one day busy trek or a relaxed two-day trek as you can plan it out. Take time to enjoy the forest and the sceneries around. Carry some food and water to Ugra, and spend some time there - it is worth every bit of the walk and travel. 

Gandikota Fort and Valley

Reach:

Train - via Muddanuru (MOO), Kadapa and then take a bus to Jammalamadugu, Kadapa (1hr)

Bus - via Jammalamadugu, Kadapa

Regular service autos are available from Jammalamadugu to Gandikota, and an occasional bus.

Grade: Easy. There is no limit to what can be done here - so change your grade as you require.

Notes: I have been to this trek with a club. The route chosen was to go uphill towards the lone village, camp there and explore the valley views 2 km from it. The unique rock formations formed along side R. Pennar are brilliant and reminded me of Paulo Duro although this is formed by chunks of rock falling off. The rock is most-likely red sandstone which is weathered off by water and time, more than air. We climbed the vertical rock-pile structure beside Soodi gundu, whose top stands 150m+ from ground. These twin pillars are a beauty to watch along with the incredible canyon. The temple is brilliant - happy that it isnt used but well preserved. The bathing ghat is incredibly beautiful - pure water gushing out as a waterfall - small caves around and lot of rock formations there. The entire scenery is mesmerizingly beautiful, specially if watched from the top of guard towers. Many different camping spots and treks are possible here and is absolutely safe except for the abundance of snakes around which shouldn't be a big deal. Mylavaram dam nearby is also a good place to visit. There is an unconfirmed talk of Marsh crocs in the Pennar river here. Summers can be too tiresome and extremely hot as the rock is unfriendly then. It is an awesome visit during rains or in the winter, especially on full-moon days.

This fort was used regularly by the Reddy kings and many smaller kings. It shined a bit with the fall of the Vijayanagara kingdom when this fort and Penukonda were taken as temporary shelters of the king. The fort did not see any great war by its geographical setting is ideal for a good defense.

No permissions are required. You can do a lot of climbing but beware of the chipping patches and blocks of rock. The scrub forests around are thorny with small rocks typical of Cumbum formations that will test your ankles. Don't under-estimate the danger it poses to your ankle, seriously.

This trek is most recommended.

Mahendragiri Summit

Routes: via Kainpur or Chinabarampuram (near Mandasa) in Srikakulam

Grade:
From Mandasa side: Medium-Difficult. Not risky, but you'll need to trek 23 km if you take this trek. Again, you can trek from Chinabarampuram or from the waterfall side (slightly tough to find route).

From Kainpur side: Easy walk uphill of about 6km or so from the base of the hill.

Route Suggestion: Get on from the Kainpur side and get down towards the valleys on Mandasa side of the hill - total 30km trek.

Religious Importance: Lord Bhimashankara (Siva) is installed on the top of the hill at the very peak. There is a lot of myth about the beautiful caves on the far south of the peak - Arjuna caves. It will be a favorite dwelling for bears and leopards - lot of caution is required if you venture inside.

How to reach: Palasa is the main railway station. Regular buses are available to Mandasa (get off before Chinabarampuram or Mandasa) and Kainpur. If going by Mandasa, take another bus to the start point which are not so regular or hire an auto. You'll criss cross Orissa and AP borders along this way.

Trek Notes: We reached Palasa by 7 and Mandasa by 9 AM. We visited the beautiful Konkan style temple of Venkateswara Swamy at Mandasa and started at 9.30 AM to reach the Ashram atop Mahendragiri at 10 PM with some regular breaks, tree climbing and so on. The valley is gorgeous both in the morning and the evening. It takes only 3-4hrs from Kainpur side.

No guide is necessary, although you can find some. The water there is not fit for drinking without heating - carry chlorine. You'll get food and water once you reach the ashram on the top.

I think Mahendragiri holds one of the best sunrise views of the eastern ghats as we can shadily see the sea too and the sun at an incredibly far-off distance. It is the highest peak from ground-level in eastern ghats.. you'll be climbing 1480 m of it 1510m elevation as it is only 20km from the sea. The sunrise view over the forest and Bay of Bengal are beautiful. I am planning to be there during a cyclone that might touch the sea around that area. Monsoon will cover more than half the peak in mist and it is very chilly on the top. Best season to be there is early February before Mahasivaratri. The star studded sky in the night is a treat to the eyes, especially the eastern hemisphere.

You can also visit the waterfalls nearby and the beautiful Baruva beach with large cashew plantations all around. No permissions are required but don't wear army camouflages, deep green, or red shirts as this region is under high naxal influence.

Saleshwaram

Route: Located before Srisailam.

Reach: Regular bus service is available to the base. Take any bus towards Srisailam via Munnanur and ask the driver to drop you at Saleshwaram - comes to the right at about 30 km after Munnanur check-post. A jeep/bus route is available to the place from the main road - 22 km. You can even go by bikes. Permissions must be obtained from forest range office at Munnanur or Hyderabad. From the start of walk, it is a 2 hr trek in the forest to reach Saleshwaram.

Religious Importance: A cave temple for Lord Siva as Saleswara Swamy is present here close to two gorgeous waterfalls.

Grade: Easy-Jolly. If you are not planning to hike the 22km of the dirt road on foot (no water available en-route here).

Season: Saleshwaram is closed most of the year. It is open to tourists on the first full moon day after Ugadi (Telugu New Year) and usually falls in the month of April. There will be thousands of people, litter and noise all the way at that time. At other times, procure permission from forest officer to visit this beautiful place any time. There are plenty of buses and other vehicles through out the day and night.

What to do:

Hmm.. You can climb up the waterfall, easily at least to 60% of the total height of about 120ft. The main waterfall falls through a narrow circular depression which is beautiful. Rappelling down both the waterfalls would be fun but I don't think you'll get a permission for that from forest authorities - find your own way ;-) When I visited there, which was with 1000s of devotees, I had to literally climb holding wet rocks with my finger-tips and a rock came off my hand en-route - I believe I'd have been fatally injured, as I took a deviated over-hang route to avoid the crowd, if I slipped. I just managed to walk across the over-hang right on to the waterfall and climbed up from there on but couldn't get to the top due to the extremely slippy moss and the danger of bringing down hundreds of people with me, including many women and small children, if I fall. After a few moments of my descent, I heard from the devotees pool below reeked blood from a fall and that it is common. The fanaticism went on - no one died, luckily.

The valleys of the Nallamala range are connecting and go down criss-cross but you can follow the streams south towards the Krishna river which would be a brilliant trek. There is also a forest path the devotees used long ago to reach Srisailam. The forest is home to a scanty Tiger population, lots of Sloth bears, Leopards, Russell's Vipers, and Spectacled Cobras which shouldn't pose a problem to a decent group. The Nallamalas here are not as sensitive and dense as the Western Ghats or the Eastern Ghats for that matter. The rocks are esentially quartzite compositions that can peel off in large chunks. These are  It is better to avoid going solo. The biggest problem though would be getting permission or the eventualities if you go off without one. You'll usually want to take off from such a beautiful start point. The trek ends almost as soon as it starts.

Have Fun.