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Srisailam Vacations

Location : Kurnool district, Andhra Pradesh

Attractions :Bhramaramba Mallikharjunaswamy temple, Srisailam sanctuary and Dam.

Ideal Time to Visit : September to February

The City

The untouched Srisailam is a small town, situated in the densely forested Nallamalai hills and on the banks of river Krishna. Srisailam is surrounded by lush greenery and beautiful locations. The place is an energizing weekend vacations from Hyderabad.

SrisailamThe highest of the Srisailam hills, is Sikhareswara Swamy, at Sikharam. The 512-meter long Srisailam dam along with the hydel power project is also worth seeing.

Attractions In Srisailam

Bhramaramba Mallikharjunaswamy Temple

The Bhramaramba Mallikharjunaswamy temple is an ancient and holy temple of Srisailam. It holds great historical and religious significance. This temple is situated on the 457-meter high hill located on the south bank of the river Krishna, in the Nallamalai forest. This temple is regarded as one of the12 Jyothirlingas in the country. The temple is also called as "Sri Mallikharjunam" and "Sri Parvatham". Goddess Mahakali is also seated here in the form of Bhramaramba, she is also the consort of Lord Mallikharjuna. This sacred temple is open for people belonging to all caste and creed, who can worship and even touch the deity.

Saivaite Temples of Srisailam

The Saivaite temples of Srisailam are quite famous and celebrated. They are as old as the second century A.D. These beautiful temples are located on a plateau on the top of a hill named Srisailam, Sriparvata or Srigiri, in the Nallamalai ranges. Numerous devotees visit Srisailam to pay homage to Lord, Mallikarjuna and his Consort, Bhramaramba.

One of the unique features of these temples is that they are located in a large prakara fenced in by sculptured walls. These walls are made of huge blocks of stone placed on each other. There are many sculptures found in abundance on the northern, eastern and southern walls and a few of them on the western wall.

Above the base of there are five regular rows of sculpture. The first row consists of the elephant in many postures. The next row has figures of the horse, the warrior, the hunter and the dancer. The next three have sculptures of deities and scenes from Saivaite traditions. One can also find occasional figures of deities, birds and animals. Then, there sculptures of Lingas, nandis, the lion and the swan. These beautiful rows look like a well organized picture gallery.

Sikhareswara Swamy Temple

The Sikhareswara Swamy Temple dedicated to Lord Shiva is the situated on the highest hills of Srisailam that is the Sikharam hill. Another beautiful temple is Sri Ganapathi temple, dedicated to Lord Ganesh.

Srisailam Sanctuary

The Srisailam Sanctuary can be one of the site for your vacations in Andhra Pradesh. It is a famous sanctuary of Andhra Pradesh. It is sprawled over 5 adjoining districts of Guntur, Prakasam, Kurnoor, Mahabubnagar, Nalgonda districts. The vegetation of the sanctuary is quite rich having dry deciduous mixed forests.

Animals that can be find here are the spotted deer, mouse deer, black buck, sambars, chousingha nilgai, tree straw, mugger crocodile, and wolfs, panthers, tigers, sloth beer & wild dogs. The best season to visit the sanctuary is from October to May.

Srisailam Dam

The Srisailam dam is built across the river Krishna and is situated in a deep gorge in the Nallamalai hill range. Located 300m above the sea level, it is surrounded by mesmerizing natural splendor. The dam is 512 m long and is one of the twelve largest hydroelectric projects in the country. There are 12 radial crest gates in the dam. To go inside the dam you need to have a special permission.

Excursions

Srisailam a small town in Andhra Pradesh has many exciting excursion destinations nearby. They are equally beautiful and mesmerizing, as Srisailam. Some of these destinations are Alampur (27 km), Dindi Reservoir (64 km), Kurnool (180 km), Nagarjunasagar (180 km), Papanasam (2 km) and Sangameswar (18 km).

Reach Srisailam

By Air : The nearest airport is at Hyderabad (232 km) which is connects Srisailam with Bangalore, Bhubaneswar, Bombay, Calcutta, Delhi, Madras, Nagpur and Vishakapatnam.

By Rail : Nearest railway station from Srisailam is located on the Markapur Road on the Guntur-Hubli metre gauge line. Nandyal and Kurnool on the same line are also convenient railheads. Another convenient and important railhead is Hyderabad (232 km).

By Road :Srisailam is well connected by APSRTC and Devasthanam buses with Hyderabad, Mahaboobnagar, Nalgonda, Devorkonda, Guntur, Vijayawada, Kurnool, Ongole, Mahanandi, Mantralayam, Anantapur Tirupati and Chitradurg among other places.

Local Transportation : Cycle Rickshaws, auto and taxis are available for local transportation.