Covered Places in Papikondalu and Villages

How much tiresome it was, from inside I cant help my self feeling happy just at this sight. So mice! Even sun cant take away beauty. Nature has got some magnetic attraction to it. So our ride took off an hour late and there was this large cluster of people. It was large boat as well as an AC boat. So crowd were way more than we expected, given the fact that it was Sunday well followed by a holiday. So it was all noisy and people fighting for space and chairs to it. Alas! I will see peoplenot fighting for trivial things. As B said it was on fish market. So we calm goers found a place and just sat there for most of the time. Sun was blazing and We abandoned the idea of sitting on deck after paying a visit Overall atmosphere and ait were a bit not so good. So B and I too kept silent for most of the part We took a break at a temple place called "gandi Pochamma Temple" a tribal village. There were a few tribal villages along the way on banks of the river

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Openion abt Papikondalu some one

So one lesson, sometimes even when your food habits are for good you have to be ready to gulp down the things you lay hands on and same time able to take care of yourself. Adjustment doesnt mean to leave your own ways and it neither implies a refusal to change. Small incidents , big lessons. so me and B strike a conversation on continental food. I just laugh to myself that I cant even eat curd rice with salt, my survival is going to be tough. So we all finally found ourselves at a place arranged by my dad to retire. B , neither me expected that kind of place:) The bathroom was big enough to accommodate a family as B jokily put it. A nice bed, Ac , big enough room with neat blankets and all:) Ok way better than what we thought and we coyly visited some of "technical" stuff" Interesting to find how these complicated systems work. After a little shopping done we finally hit bed talking about "PS I love you "a book which I am reading and a movie B plans to watch sometime.so I tell her the story so far. It was early morning wake up call and we were set to start our journey. We had to first reach this place

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Opeanion Abt some one

I will get into the story , where our travel guide explained how those hills took that exact name later . First I will just go on from first scene, first act. That way I can know what I have learnt the best. [Somehow I feel like taking a lot back from a travel trip, its all learning, not only about the place, but in other way round, about myself too] so we start our journey with a bus ride to Rajmundry. A city on banks of river Godavari . I never visited this city before but I happened to travel through quite a few times when I visited Vizag and my friends place near to it. So me, my folks and B took this "bypass" bus ride which was supposed to be less time taking. As its summer and temperatures were just climbing up day by day, it was all sultry and was really tiring. Especially when you are not much used to travel by a public transport system where all that noise is deafening. My heart went our for B:) poor girl just lands from another land and finally gets all this.

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Most popula village in Papikondalu

The golden Gecko (Bangaru balli) has been discovered in Papikondalu Wildlife Sanctuary in Perantallapalli village of Khammam district of Andhra Pradesh, the New Indian Express has reported. The discovery has been made by researchers of the Wildlife Institute of India (WII).
The reptile belonging to lizard family – calodactylodes aureus – is mostly found in the rocky ravines of the Eastern Ghats. It is brilliant gold or with black spots on a golden yellow background in colour and is seen mostly in the rocky slits during evenings and early night. Recently, sightings of golden gecko were reported from Western Ghats of Karnataka and South Arcot district in Tamil Nadu

A View of the River

The journey is expected to take about 8 hours along the downward stream. One of the challenges in the journey is the negotiation with the drifting sand, that makes the path of the boat extermely dynamic. It is the skill and experience of the local sailors that makes the journey look easy while in reality it is very tough. Clean riven water with the reflection of lush green hills, gentle breeze flowing across the river, can be your picture perfect setting for sure. Papikondalu range is especially popular due to their co-existence with the river. Except during summer, the river is full of life with people. However, several tribal communities fill the hills with life from ages in search for their livelihood by agriculture, fishing and handicrafts. One of the interesting things that can happen in the journey is a possibility to camp on the river side in tents. Pity that we could not do that though.

About papikondalu

"Papi Kondalu hill" range is located in the south Indian state of 'Andhra Pradesh' and is at about 300 km from its capital Hyderabad.The journey to 'Papi kondalu' is expected to take about 6 hours from "Bhadrachlam" along the downward stream. One of the challenges in the journey is the negotiation with the drifting sand, that makes the path of the boat extermely dynamic. It is the skill and experience of the local sailors that makes the journey look easy while in reality it is very tough. Clean riven water with the reflection of lush green hills, gentle breeze flowing across the river, can be your picture perfect setting for sure.Papikondalu range is especially popular due to their co-existence with the river. Except during summer, the river is full of life with people. However, several tribal communities fill the hills with life from ages in search for their livelihood by agriculture, fishing and handicrafts.One of the interesting things that can happen in the journey is a possibility to camp on the river side in tents.As the journey from Bhadrachalam to Rajahmundry takes about 8 hours on the boat, there are several sights that stand unique in their attraction.Apart from papikondalu hill range, a small fishermen village of 'Peranta palli' is very special. A walk through the village takes you up the hill to the beginning of a very exciting waterfalls. This place is usually very crowded in the weekends with locals taking break with their families.”Pattiseema” is a small island in the route that is a very famous Hindu piligrimage spot. It is named after one of the weapons of Lord Siva and has a temple for Veerabhadra, a warrior of Lord Siva's force.

Openion of vistor abt papikondalu

I have been in some of the most interesting places in the world, those places that are interesting by virtue of inherent popularity and growing tourism. Coming from a rich historical country like India, there is also no dearth of interesting tourist sites. One great change happened to me while reading several reports (like those from davidx, Jorge etc), is the urge to beat the taken track and explore the under explored. When we chose Papikondalu for our adventure trip, little did we know about the splendour of the place. The only reason why we heard of it is due to a controversy. There is this 100+ feet height dam proposed to be built in the papikondalu range that will engulf most of the villages due to raising levels of water. An estimated 30 odd villages will be endangered due to this however it is being constructed to bring millions of acres of land into cultivation.It can also be the case that by 2010 or so, most of the places that we are going to visit in this trip, are a history!

way of papikondalu from Bhadrachalam to rajamandry

Bhadrachalam: On the main road, there are several restaurants that are very clean and serve food hot and tasty Rajahmundry: Hotel Anand Regency is very good and also have a *** rating. Apart from that, there are several very good eating places. However, we ate in the restaurants run by locals. They are not hitech but very clean inside and food is very tasty as well.

Trip to Papi Kondalu along River Godavari

My long awaited vacation finally started with a cruise along the river Godavari to the scenic Papi Kondalu hills in Andhra Pradesh. The previous day we checked into the excellent River Bay Hotel in Rajamahendri (Rajahmundry as the Britishers renamed it).
We took an early morning bus to Pattiseema where the cruise started from. The upstream journey was wonderful with the river gracefully snaking its way up the plains into the thickly forested hills. The climax was the stretch where we entered the famous Papi Hills where the hill ranges are so closely spaced that it actually looks like the river is removing curtain after curtain in its relentless journey. The river here gets to just 150-200 metres wide, a fraction of its girth at Rajamahendri where the rail cum road bridge itself is 5 kms wide.
We took the 200 air conditioned seater from Andhra Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation (APTDC) manned by a dutiful and polite crew. Unfortunately the whole booking and boarding was messed up by the management and we heard that the cruise day before had to be cancelled after starting off as they realised the boat was over-crowded. Though the journey was beautiful, the boarding and ticketing process was mis-managed. APTDC still follows a manual booking process that complicates booking and cancelation big time! The boat was also slow (one felt someone jogging along the bank would have moved faster) and the journey was about 10 hours long! For someone wishing to cover this, I would recommend a trip to Kunavaram from Bhadrachalam, a famous temple town in Khammam district; from Kunavaram one can hire a boat and complete a round trip to the Papi Hills in about 4-5 hours.
Eleven years ago, I had an opportunity to do this journey but from the other way. I took a bus from Bangalore to Hyderabad and from there a connection to Bhadrachalam. After a day or two there covering places like Parnasala and Kinnerasani Wild Life Sanctuary, I moved to Kunavaram and stayed overnight paying a princely sum of eight rupees for renting a cot! The next morning I took the daily passenger motor launch to Rajamahendri that costed rupees thirty inclusive of lunch. That journy was special - I ended up spending more time on the roof of the boat and we touched almost every village on either side of the river. Looking back it almost has a 'Swades' movie like touch to it. I recall seeing so many kids splashing about in the water and this time could not spot a single soul frolicing in the water! I am told that the demography along the river has somewhat changed and people have moved on to the cities where more opportunities beckon in the risng economy of India. In a few years the ambitious Polvaram project will dam the river a few kms north of Rajamahendri transforming the economy of the whole state and also displacing several thousand villagers. That will change the demography more abruptly and take away the beauty of Papi Kondalu for ever.

A Cruise to Heaven..

Yesterday is one such day which would be tucked in my memory lane forever under contentment! It always happens with me when am surrounded by plush rustic beauty, luscious greenery, serene waters, cool breeze and slight drizzle.. Top it off with the company of loved ones, life felt never so better! Hmm.. Didn’t realize I typed this much without any details! God, Am Verbose for sure! I took a one day boat ride to Papi Kondalu from Rajahmundry along with my family and friends. Its a trip that’s long pending, and guess anticipation made it sweeter.

We booked Punnami travels for a packaged tour which promises pickup from Rajahmundry and boat ride from Pattuseema to Papikondalu and back. The itinerary included Posamma Temple, Devipatnam, Perantalapalli, and Papikondalu. The travels car picked us from home at around 6:30 AM and we headed to Pattuseema on road. Weather is exceptionally pleasant and the chilled breeze and the cozy riverside drive set the tone of the day. We reached the Pattuseema coast by 8:00 AM. There are around 4 boats which are awaiting for passengers by the shores and are scheduled to start by 9:00 AM. Well, an hour is just perfect for a short visit to the Pattisam Island which houses a Shiva and Venkateswara Temple. We boarded a small ferry boat which runs from the shore to island and did the darshana.

We boarded the Nandini boat for the Papikondalu visit. The boat has an A.C. fitted lower deck with wooden interiors. Its quite comfortable with cusioned chairs, a huge bed, a small podium, a canteen and can comfortably accommodate 40 people. The upper deck has an open terrace covered by a metal roof and can seat 20 people. The boat has to cruise its way through around three districts to reach Ppikondalu. After a sumptuous breakfast at boat, me and my sister rushed to the tip of the boat after coaxing the driver. Slowly, my family members joined us surreptitiously. We were mesmerized by the soothing comfort of the chilled breeze, numbed by the shimmery sand dunes, engrossed in the silent rhythm of the Godavari and the serene sanctity of the mountains. And now am at loss for those nice sounding expressions which can mimic the serene sanctity that enveloped me there! We touched upon a village called Tadivada (end of East Godavari District), Seenivaka (End of West Godavari District), and entered Khammam district to head to Perantalapalli to visit a small waterfall and the famous Shiva temple out there. There are a lot of tribals women trying to sell us beautiful bamboo flowers and minature bamboo houses. We bought some and then headed to the temple. This temple is little different in the terms of rules that they observe. One has to observe absolute silence in the temple and there is no official Puja in the Mandir. Its just God, You and Yourself.. That had a calming and soothing experience on me.

The whole route is blessed by lots of temples, local Gods and Godesses and we chanced upon an ancient temple where this popular song called ‘Na Gontu Sruti lona, Na Gunde Layalona’ from JanakiRamudu movie is picturized. That place is even more lovely in reality. Well, the local faith is that there is a golden temple thats underground to that actual temple on top and is visible to the Sadhus in their meditation. Also, the Pujari vehemently endorsed that there is a underground route to Kasi from the temple. Well, now no debates are encouraged on the veracity of this beliefs. The bottom line is that I loved that place, trip and am hoping to visit it again!

Hyderabad to Bhadrachalam by train and Bhadrachalam to Rajamandry by launch then back to HYD by train

Ok, I am back with our Bhadrachalam tour details. We had a very lovely trip.

Started from Hyd on 25th DEC night in Machilipatnam express and reached Bhadrachalam Road (Kothagudem) on 26th morning 4:30 AM.
It was very cold there. The train was on time, as we were 20 people it took us 20 mins to come out of the station, and we missed the bus. Even though the bus was empty it left as the bus stays at station for only 15 mins. APSRTC has 3 buses at that time and all three come at the same time and leave on time.

As it is only 1 hour journey from BHM Road to BHM there are lots of share autos. But we took normal auto and reached Bus stand. APSRTC has buses to BHM for every 30mins. We caught one and reached BHM by 6:30.

We have contacted a person called “Sekhar” who arranges rooms for visitors on commission basis (50/- per room). He booked 8 rooms for us. Otherwise visitors have to go to “Rama Sadanam” first and book the rooms from there. There are two guest houses one is “Rama Nilayam” and another is “Sita Nilayam”. The room rent there is 150/- Non AC and 350/- AC. Rooms are OK. Not that great. Maintenance is very poor. I think Devastanam can improve on this.

There is no hot water facility inside the rooms, but there are lots of people who supply hot water. They charge 10/- per bucket and they will give you nice hot water if your room is in ground floor. There are 3 floors in the guest house, people in 3rd floor and second floor has to either bring water on their own or accompany the supplier until they reach the room.

Godavari is next to these two guest houses. People can go and take a dip there. Water is very clean. The sands are filled with plastic as usual. Governament has arranged some sweepers to clean the area. But I don’t think that will help. Change has to come from people.

2 sets in our batch wanted to perform Kalyanam. So they left immediately after taking bath. Devashanam allows 2 more people on one ticket on Kalyanam ticket (750/-). There are three types of Darshans. Free, 10/- and 100/-. For 100/- you can stand in front of main statue for 15mins and the Pujari does “Ashtotharam”. It is good. After Darshan, we went near Godavari and kids had a nice bath. We had lunch at a hotel called Geethanjali, which has north Indian, South Indian and Chinese food. Prices and tastes are OK.

In the evening at 3 Pm we have started to “Parnasala”. This is where Rama, Sita and Laksmana stayed in a thatched hut. We can see the renovated hut there. It is one and a half hour journey from BHM. There are RTC buses and Qualis fellows charge 1800/- per trip. They show you Parnasala and Narachiralu (Where Gogess Sita washed her clothes). We are back to BHM by 7:30PM. Evening we had dinner at Venkateswara Gardens. This place is also OK.

Next day morning at 7:30 we started from BHM and reached “Sriramagiri” by 9 AM. There are lots of launches in the place. We caught hold of the person who sold tickets to us and found our launch. It is better to ask the ticket seller about the name of the launch then our task becomes easy. The deck was almost full. We kept our entire luggage inside the launch and sat on the deck. They have covered the deck with a green mesh.

The launch started from Sriramagiri at about 9:45 AM. Immediately after start crew provided us nice breakfast (Upma and mysore Bujji with chutney). Then hot tea. Now set to see the scenary. It was extremely beautiful. You can see the phots and videos of Godavari and Papikondalu here.

One must enjoy the beauty. I dont think anyone can explain about it. The journey is 9 hours but you dont feel like you are tired. If you love nature, go alone. Otherwise go as a group. The launch will stop at two places. One is “Perantalapalli”, where you need to climb 20 to 30 steps and walk for 10 mins and you can see “Ramakrishna Math’s Siva temple and a small waterfall. The water is so fresh and cool. You can drink it as is.

Then lunch on the deck. This is also very nice. They have given Pulav, Kurma, Dondli subji, Tomato dal, Sambar, sweet (Ravakesari) and curd.

Some people slept on the deck after lunch and some slept inside the launch.

After 15 to 20 mins of travel, the crew announced that we are entering “Papikondalu”. The hills are same as other hills. Only difference is the river is narrow there and it is very deep. The water is still. It is 20 mins journey to cross Popikondalu. You can watch the videos here.

Then again river widens and normal godavari with sand and fields on either side. The other place where we had a break is “Pochamma temple”. We have not visited the temple but stayed on the banks to enjoy the river. The sand there is not good to go inside so we stood on the banks.

Crew has supplied tea at 4 PM and hot onion pakodi at 5 PM. We reached Rajamandri “Launchila Revu” by 6:30 PM. The launchi will not stop at “Patteseema” which is very close to Rajhamandri. This place has a very nice Shiva temple. But if you want to ghet down, you can ask the crew. They will drop you there and will proceed. You can see the temple and reach RJM by bus. It takes 30 mins to reach RJM by bus from Patteseema. But by launch it is 2 and half hours. So it is your choice. But you need to inform about this to the crew before it reached Patteseema.

Sunset at Papikondalu...

"Papikondalu" are lush green hills in Andhra Pradesh, South India. River Godavari, one of the largest rivers in India, and dominant in South of India, flows between these hills along its journey towards the sea 'Bay of Bengal'. One side of this journey is East Godavari and the other side is West Godavari, two districts of Andhra Pradesh.

This is my first attempt at a travelogue. So kindly pardon me if it turns out to be soporific.
We (read me, mom and dad) were planning a trip to Papikondalu, near Rajahmundry for a long time. The original plan was to take a train to Rajahmundry and then travel by boat to the place, but i insisted on visiting the port at Vizag too. So travel by train would turn out to be too hectic and thus was ruled out. So there it was decided, road it would be.
So thus our dear old Santro was readied and decked up. The car was sent to the service center and was deemed to be fit as ever to take the trip.
Our planned route was to take the NH9 till Vijayawada and then take the NH5 to Rajahmundry. Then stay overnight there and visit Papikondalu, the next day and then continue on the next day to Vizag and spend a few days there before returning back. So with all preparations done and ready, i could hardly sleep before my first road-trip.
After a sleepless night for me, we started off early at about 5 AM on a wednesday. The roads were bare except for a few early morning joggers and maniacal 7-seaters. We made good time and by sunrise at about 6 AM we were comfortably outside Hyderabad.
For all those who thought, traffic jams in the city can be nerve wracking, check this out.
We got stuck in a 13 km long traffic jam just near Narkatpalli on the NH9. Some of the truck drivers mentioned that they were stuck there since 3AM in the morning. Then just when i thought, ' there goes all the planning, down the drain', my dad, decides its time to go offroading in a Santro.
Thus, we follow a Zen who it seems was accustomed to this sort of traffic hurdles and we start weaving through the traffic, sometimes travelling on the mud, beside the tar road and finally we manage to clear it, though we lost valuable time.
From then on it was smooth sailing, with the roads good to drive on. We reached Suryapet and stopped for breakfast at about 9:30 AM. Then onwards from Suryapet, the road to Vijayawada was horrible, with craters everywhere and the car took a beating.
Near a village(dont remember the name), a mad man hurled a stone at the car. It scraped the paint off the right rear door. Never understood why he wanted to do that.
Then finally, we reached Vijayawada at about 12:00. One word though, the roads from Keesara to Vijayawada(about 70 km i think), the roads were amazing. Real fun to drive on.
We finished lunch at Vijayawada and after a short siesta, we headed out to Rajahmundry along NH5 at about 4 PM. The sight of the open roads was such a delight and the car was begging to be pushed. I managed a 145 before my mom freaked out. The road was an absolute bliss to drive on.
I really think, this is one road, every vehicle must be let loose upon.
With a steady 80kmph, we managed to reach, Rajahmundry by about 8 PM after a brief stopover at Tanuku.
A sumptous dinner ensured that i enjoyed sleeping, as i savored every moment of the day's drive.
Woke up early the next day,and was greeted by a lazy sunrise. Got ready and went out to the travel agent who arranged for the trip to Papikondalu. Here while waiting for another family to turn up i managed to click a snap of the Rail cum road bridge at Rajahmundry. What a site it was, early in the morning.
We travelled by Sumo to Pattiseema and then boarded the AP Tourism boat. It was windy and chilly. I regretted not carrying my windcheater with me.
But then, once we got going, and as the sun rose higher, the temperatures rised and we all sat down to savor the beauty of the river Godavari and its serene surroundings.
The much talked about Papikondalu, were a sight to behold. Though the actual stretch was less than 3kms, it was amazing, and seemed like it went on forever. Its amazing what nature can treat you to.
Came back and crashed in the hotel after a visit that offered a truly spectacular insight into nature and its ways.
Next day, a friday we started off to Vizag early at about 7AM after a quick breakfast. Again the sight of NH5 was intoxicating and truly amazing. The only dampener were the toll gates, every 80-100kms. We nearly forked out 1000 bucks only at the gates, both ways inclusive.
We reached Vizag, at around 12:00 in the afternoon and finished lunch. We then tried to go to the port and were told that we were forbidden. We were disappointed to know that, but then dad said he knew someone on the inside and he promised to take me in the next day. So we went around Vizag, the Ramakrishna beach and the submarine museum which was completely outta this world, i must say.
It was pretty late and after a night walk down the beach, we geared up for the next day. The next day, with the help of a relative, we got permission to visit the Port and were taken around on a tour. Wow ! my word, those ships were huge. Felt like a tiny speck, compared to them.
Then the next day(sunday), we started our return journey back to Hyderabad early at about 4AM and reached Vijayawada by 12 PM. After a brief stopover, we started for Hyderabad and reached the city at around 10:30 in the night.

Overall, a very exciting and refreshing trip. The drive was an experience in itself. Covered a total of about 1500 kms. Topped the tank 3 times and the car returned a FE of about 17.5-18.5 km to the litre.

Bhadrachalam to Rajahmundry

PAPI KONDALU is the one of the famous tourist place in andhra pradesh. Journey from Bhadrachalam to Rajahmundry takes about 8 hours on the boat, there are several sights that stand unique in their attraction. Apart from papikondalu hill range, a small fishermen village of 'peranta palli' is very special. A walk through the village takes you up the hill to the beginning of a very exciting waterfalls. This place is usually very crowded in the weekends with locals taking break with their families.

A thig of Beauty is a joy forever-III

The Shiva temple, located atop a hill, is sacred to the resident tribals and one needs to follow their traditions strictly. For an hour or so, we dropped anchor here to discover the gushing waterfalls and lush greenery that surrounded the place. The downstream journey from Parantalapalli was all about refreshing the hours gone by. It was time to catch up on lost mountains, lost thoughts and lost history. Because, Papi Kondalu will go down in history if the Polavaram project takes shape and the fragile eco-system of this mystical and magical place will be lost forever.

Whoever said a thing of beauty is a joy forever?

Papi Kondalu or Papi Hills and its surroundings located near Rajahmundry is a visual treat to the spectators. Even from the launch point at Pattiseema, the river appears to be narrowing and the hills begin to show. Many tribal communities infuse life in the hills, which are their homes and the only source of livelihood by agriculture, fishing and handicraft. The journey from Pattiseema to Papikondalu is dotted with temples and scenic points. There are tribal areas around Papikondalu. The boat ride takes the visitors to their destination via Polavaram, Devipatnam, Singanapalle, Tekuluru and Koruturu. The Ramakrishna Paramahamsa dhyana temple and a Siva temple at Perantalapalli, can be visited too. All year round is cruising season.

A thig of Beauty is a joy forever-II

At one point of the journey, the width of the mighty river is reduced to a few hundred meters and it almost resembled a narrow gorge. But, at no point in the journey, you can keep your head still: expect many ‘look left, look right, look there, look here’ that’s because, there’s a story at every turn and an anecdote at every bend. From that popular scene from that popular film of that popular hero was shot here to the different versions behind how the name ‘Papi Kondalu’ came about, it’s all engaging.

Snaking through the Eastern Ghats, the River takes you down to Khammam and was the welcome grand? Of course, a wall-like hill looms large over the striking imagery. As we crossed the confluence point of Sabari and Godavari where the river turns brown and turbid, we saw hamlets inhabited by tribals going by their day jobs completely oblivious of the boats or its temporary inhabits. Before we realized, it was lunch time. The idea of gorging on typical Andhra fare on board was different but yet very relevant. And, before we realized, we reached Parantalapalli for a brief stopover.