Thursday, October 9, 2014

A trip from Hyderabad to Nagarjuna Sagar Dam and Ethipothala waterfalls

After a fruitless quest due to the lack of monsoons towards the much-famed Nagarjuna Sagar Dam in July, we stepped forth for another trip to the same from Hyderabad on a late September morning. Starting at 7am and taking the Exit 12 (Bongulur) from Outer Ring Road (ORR), we made swift progress on the highway.

The state highway route along Saidabad and Ibrahimpatnam is a pleasant one as we made rapid progress and reached the dam by 11.30 am including breakfast along the way.

The first sight of the vast reservoir and huge volume of water is a revelation. The dam itself was as usual at its imposing best, but we chose to make way for the waterfalls first before coming back to the dam.
The vast expanse of water at Nagarjuna reservoir!
A small boat (most likely a fishing boat) making its way

At Ethipothala waterfalls which is 15 kms further away from the dam, we made a stopover in the significant heat. The waterfalls had not existed in July; but post monsoons there was a sizeable chunk of water this time around. The delicious volume of water fell continually as we gazed at the same and the deep gorge below.

A zoomed out view of the Ethipothala Waterfalls.
At a height of nearly 20 meters, this multi-tiered falls has a potential of lot more water
subject to heavy rainfalls when the entire gorge might be covered!

A closeup of the heart of the thudding waterfalls

There were also comments made by locals of crocodiles basking in the morning sun at Chandravanka river as we had asked around earlier in July; but there was no sight either then nor now (now anyways it would be not possible with the falling cascade of water).

Subsequently we made our way back towards the Nagarjuna Sagar Dam. Another bifurcation enroute the dam goes towards a launch point, which is basically a ferry which one can take to go to the nearby island which we chose to skip. The ferry has specific times throughout the day and the one of them goes around 1.30pm.

The gates of the dam itself were closed; however soon after there was a siren sound subsequent to which one of the gates was opened. In the far off distance, it didn't appear like a lot of water flow; but we were able to experience the palpable increase in water current and speed nearer to us.

Nagarjuna Sagar Dam in the background.
In the foreground, an incomplete bridge!
After a pleasant Coraikal ride (Rs 100 per person), which was the highlight of our visit to the dam, we made our way back.

From other internet bloggers, we read about the not-so-great food at Hotel Haritha and chose to go to a Hotel Siddhartha near the same. The food along with the entire place was quite pleasant and amenable.

Capping off a pleasant trip, we made our way back to Hyderabad entering the city soon after dark.

Things to know-
- Distance from Hyderabad (Gachibowli): 180 kms
- Take exit 12 via Ibrahimpatnam from ORR to hit Nagarjuna Sagar Road
- Beware of monkeys at the waterfalls
- Place to eat near the dam: Hotel Siddharth


Related link (fiction):
Ghonchu goes to Nagarjuna Sagar Dam

View Larger map


9 comments:

  1. I told you ethipothala waterfalls are good

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  2. Very precise travel post with some amazing clicks Arun. Really enjoyed reading it especially that ethipothala falls. I wanna visit that place soon.

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    1. Thanks! Yes, it is definitely a place worth visiting post-monsoons.

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  3. I m also looking forward to visit here soon, maybe next month.

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    1. Yes, it is good to visit now because of water availability

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