Ananthagiri Trip

July 19, 2009

Click here to see the pictures from this trip.

As usual, googling for Ananthagiri pointed to a place near Vizag. The one closer to Hyderabad (near Vikarabad) that I was interested in, just about 80km from my house got very little mention. The few sites that talked about it basically said there is not much there. But, I had heard about this place from someone who took a photography class - they had a photo walkthrough at this site. It was enough for me to plan a trip and a hike.

Three of us left around 11am from home. A little after noon, we arrived at the Anantha Padmanabha Swamy temple at Ananthagiri. We were not sure if we had reached the final destination, given there was nothing - no sign other than one proclaiming medicinal forest area.

After a little enquiry at the local shop, we heard about an easy pathway that descended from the temple toward two tanks. Since we had come all the way, we took a chance and started walking down. Soon, to our pleasant surprise we were on a wide trail through lush green semi-thick forest. A lovely 25 min walk lead us back to the main road we came in. There are a few big trees along the way which one can convert into a picnic spot.

We got back into the car and drove further about a km or so and took the turn off on to the mud path just before the road starts to descend to be treated by the view of an absolutely beautiful wide valley. Rain god decided to have a loud word with us, and we abandoned the idea of a walking through the trail that started there and headed back home. Of course, the hike is now pending in my book.