It was 4:15 am when Kiran knocked at the door. I was already awake in anticipation of a call from the cab which was expected at 4:30 am. I quickly took a shower and packed a pair of Tees and shorts in a small backpack. The cab was waiting just on the mouth of our street. Within no time we were in the Toyota Qualis booked from a local travel agency for a one day trip to Nagarjuna Sagar dam and Ethipottala waterfalls. The plan to visit Nagarjuna sagar was instantenous and and was brought to the table just a day in advance with a quick call to the travel agency. We set out at around 5:00 am. We had a quick breakfast of
fresh idlis and plain dosas along with a cup of tea at the outskirts of Hyderabad. It was already 6:30 am by that time
Nagarjuna sagar is located 150 km south east of Hyderabad, a 3-3.5 hour drive along the National
Highway 9 and State Highway. It is a reservoir considered to be one of the largest man-made lakes of the world.There are three important destinations to visit in its vicinity, Nagarjuna Sagar Dam, Nagarjuna Konda, Ethipottala
waterfalls. As per wiki, "Nagarjuna Sagar dam is the world's largest masonry dam built across Krishna river in Nagarjuna Sagar, Guntur District, Andhra Pradesh, India."
We reached Nagarjuna sagar dam at around 10:00 am. The sun was already up in the sky capsizing all our hopes of nice weather literally. The sky was clear blue, parched with clouds here and there.We stopped on a bridge facing the gates of the dam and clicked few pictures. There is a launch station at the reservoir from where we boarded a diesel engine driven boat to the Nagarjuna Konda island. It is half an hour ride to the island.
Nagarjuna Konda is a historical buddhist town and was the capital of Ikshvaku dynasty (somewhere around 3 A.D.). The island was formed when a hill was submerged in the waters of the Nagarjuna sagar dam. The Buddhist archealogical sites were also submerged and later dug up and are now placed in an Archaealogical museum on the resulting island. Some sites of the stupas and viharas of the ancient town of Nagarjuna Konda are also reconstructed outside the museum. The museum showcases the excavates ranging from old Stone age to the Megalithic age and the works and inscriptions of Ikshvaku period. It was really a treat to the minds.
We got back to the launch station at around 3:00 pm where we had our lunch. The lunch here is mostly rice and curries. Another 15 mins drive and we were at the Ethipottala waterfalls. There is small park which is at the same height as the waterfall. One can have a clear view of the falls from there. We descended through the stairs which were supposed to lead us to the base of the waterfall but unfortunately we could not reach it as it is not open for public any more being a crocodile reserve now with over 300 crocodiles as per heresay. We came back to the park at the top and clicked few photographs. We started for Hyderabad at around 7:30 pm and reached at 11:00 pm. All in all a good one day trip. Since it is just 150 kms, one can choose biking to the destination as well. Consider October- February for the trip, we had tough time with August sun in the afternoon.
