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.