Srisailam II

Sep 11, 2009

When I found a reference to the Uma Maheswaram temple in this thread, I had made a note to check it out because it fits nicely into a day trip. The temple is at the foothills near Mannanur, 80km before Srisailam. Friday morning, as I was mulling over the possibility of visiting that temple, I noticed TOI said gates 6 and 7 were open. It was enough for me to get into the car and go all the way to Srisailam about 210km away. The lure of the Krishna gushing out was too much to pass. 

We left around 10am from home, not quite the usual early departure I prefer. Nevertheless, using the shortcut through Shamshabad we arrived at the Mannanur check post a little after 1pm. No tigers or fancy wild animals on the road. Just the unsmiling groups of monkeys and a series of poorly marked speed bumps in the long stretch through the Rajiv Gandhi Tiger Reserve.  

Just before 2pm we were staring at the Krishna river valley from a vantage point, and I tried to hide my disppointment as I saw the silent dam. Apparently the gates were open only for a few hours because the inflow had dipped, but the paper failed to report it. Darn. The view, of course, was spectacular as usual despite the uncomfortable heat index. 

We went toward the river. The path to the banks just before the bridge I took just a year back had been washed away and broken concrete slabs greeted us. Chatting away with a local photographer kid, we cooled our feet in the river. Very picturesque spot (see my album :)). The water was not very clear though, probably due to the rains upstream. 

The day was slipping away; so we drove toward the Srisailam temple, 15km away. We parked and walked in the scorching afternoon heat  and arrived at the gates at just past 3.30pm, only to find out the temple had just closed. We did not have the luxury of waiting :(.

Our stop at the Paldhara and Panchdhara falls was less than interesting. I was imagining flowing water hugging the heights of the steep hillside. The saving grace - surroundings were quiet and green and worthy of any rishi to meditate.  

Next we scaled the few Shikharam steps; the pathway was well controlled with a user-fee collected somewhat forcefully from us in the guise of aarthi-ticket. On top, the 270 degree view of the valley is amazing. You can look between the ears of the little Nandi serving as a fixed telescope to spot the dome of the Srisailam temple. Cool stuff. The gaudy wire prop 60+ feet high obscuring the view is not so cool, especially if you want to capture the scenery in a camera. Add to that the sign that says no cameras are allowed. Sigh.  

We headed back right after that to beat the fading light, this time artfully spotting the speed bumps in the forest. The drive to Hyderabad was not too bad considering the average road. A small handful dipped their headlights proving that there is a considerate bunch on the streets.  

All in all a short, yet memorable trip. Srisailam III is still on the cards - I have to cover Bheemuni Kolanu, Mallelatheertham falls and the 3+ hr boat ride upriver to some caves. Want to join?