Hyd-Mahanandi-Gandikota-Belum Caves-Yaganti-Hyd

[RoadTripper]

Total Distance Covered: 842 KMS

Vehicle: Nissan Micra(Petrol) 
Fuel: Petrol

Mileage: 18 kmpl with A/C all the time(2 Adults and 1 kid).

No. of Days: 2 

From Nov 6th to 7th 2021(2 Days).

Total Tolls: 700(Fast tag)

Route expedition Via Google Maps

Carried Snacks, water can and other essentials to shorten our halts during the journey due to covid fear....

** SINGLE HAND DRIVING

 

 

 

Day 1:

 

Route: Hyderabad- Mahanandi- Gandikota

 

Total distance covered on day 1 :  408 KMS

 
2nd Short trip post Lockdown and all went well.

 
Started by 5:30 AM from Hyderabad and reached Mahanandi by 10:30 AM with 2 breaks in between.

As usual roads are pleasant to drive until Kurnool and in Kurnool flyover works are going on... so a bit of off-roading..After kurnool roads are excellent until Nandyala...with sceneic views around you in between the rock mountains and also No highway traffic at all.. But make sure to look out for the Speed guns on this strech(Kurnool to Nandyala).... 

 

Mahanandi:

 

 

After Darshan and Lunch .... started towards Gandikota via Anantapur-Tadipatri-Guntur road(RD 223).. Its a single line road without pathholes until we touch the NH40 again.

 

After crossing Allagadda.. again we changed the line to single road towards jammalamadugu... Not that great road but OK.. But from Jammalamadugu to Gandikota the roads are in excellent condition.. and definitely one will njoi the scenic views from Jammalamadugu to Gandikota route.. Excellent Landscapes.. Unable to capture the scenes due to the foggy weather.. but you will mesmerized by viewing directly.

 

Jammalamadugu to Gandikota route:

 

 

 

Gandikota:

 

Must visit place.. no doubt at all... very scenic... lot of spots to view the beauty of nature... no hassle in reaching the place from Gandikota.

 

Staying:
One can find lot of options online for booking tent stay at  very reasonable price(600/person to 3k-AC tent) which includes dinner and breakfast as well in it.

Temple ruins are other attractions apart from Penna river view.

**Adventure things that u can do there is Campfire...kayaking... rock climbing.. ziplining...trekking @ Freakout Adventures camp directly, all are organized by the Govt with well trained me.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

--> Only backlog is washrooms availability near the camping site.... u have to take the pay and use toilets... which is 1+km away from camp site

. 

--> Also have a mosquito repellent if you are with Kids are allergic with insects. Once the campfire is started all the insects got vanished.

 

--> My suggestion would be book a normal tents in "Freakout Adventures" campsite if you are going with family and kids... they have the Washroom within there camp.. which will be used only by those who booked in it... No hassle of going 1km.

 

**Bluetooth speaker is a must for you to have a pleasant night.. or else you will be end-up listening to others(Drinkers) voices around you. 

**It is better to visit in groups to njoi more..

 

Day 2.

 

Gandikota - Belum Caves - Yaganti - Hyderabad

Total distance covered: 441 Kms

 

Woke-up around 6AM but.. Sun was no willing to come out of clouds due to the foggy weather.. Missed the Sunrise...

 

After having breakfast at local hotel which was excellent and included in our package and then moved towards Belum caves.

 

Here comes the worst part....One of the worst route I encountered in this trip.. I was unable to find the road without Potholes except when we entered into the villages.

Its a matter of 62KMs but it took 1hour 45min to reach the destination, one could understand the road conditions...Drive was only through potholes which I tried to escape  

 

It's the 2nd largest and longest cave in INDIA... must visit place for sure. As you get deeper into the cave you will sweat like hell due to the lack of air but its worth of it.
Here and there the air ventilation were arranged and bit of lighting also available

**Suggest to carry water bottles... towel.. and a good pair of shoes...while going into the Cave
Entry fee 65/- for adult and 45/- for kids.
Maintained very well...

 

Belum caves:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Visited only 70% of the cave due to my kid.. who is a bit scared .. so.. returned back in between.

After 2 hours of time spending over there.. moved towards Yaganti.

 

Road is a bit better from Belum caves to Yaganti.. not great but good. In between, you will come across OWK reservoir .. very huge one.. It was awesome and very scenic, tourism boating was also available but unable  to ride due to the time constraint. 

 

Reached Yaganti by 2:00 PM, this is my all time favorite temple... located in between the mountains.. Had a very nice darshan of Lord Shiva and Lord Basavayya and also Venkateshwara Swamy Idol in the cave.

 

Yaganti:

 

 

After spending an hour at the temple, travelled towards Hyderabad.

Speaking to locals over there.. they suggested me take peapully road(RD 41) to reach Banglore highway(NH 44) which was a very bad decision.. Worst road condition which I had travelled till now... Please avoid this route and take up the other... By some how reached NH 44 highway after travelling for 1.5 hours for just 57 kms..

 

From there On NH 44 its just cruising until home with 2 breaks in between.

 

 

Journey with memories

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited November 18, 2021 by RoadTripper

[mit1682]

On 11/18/2021 at 12:59 PM, RoadTripper said:

Total Distance Covered: 842 KMS

Vehicle: Nissan Micra(Petrol) 
Fuel: Petrol

Mileage: 18 kmpl with A/C all the time(2 Adults and 1 kid).

No. of Days: 2 

From Nov 6th to 7th 2021(2 Days).

Total Tolls: 700(Fast tag)

Route expedition Via Google Maps

Carried Snacks, water can and other essentials to shorten our halts during the journey due to covid fear....

** SINGLE HAND DRIVING

 

 

 

Day 1:

 

Route: Hyderabad- Mahanandi- Gandikota

 

Total distance covered on day 1 :  408 KMS

 
2nd Short trip post Lockdown and all went well.

 
Started by 5:30 AM from Hyderabad and reached Mahanandi by 10:30 AM with 2 breaks in between.

As usual roads are pleasant to drive until Kurnool and in Kurnool flyover works are going on... so a bit of off-roading..After kurnool roads are excellent until Nandyala...with sceneic views around you in between the rock mountains and also No highway traffic at all.. But make sure to look out for the Speed guns on this strech(Kurnool to Nandyala).... 

 

Mahanandi:

 

 

After Darshan and Lunch .... started towards Gandikota via Anantapur-Tadipatri-Guntur road(RD 223).. Its a single line road without pathholes until we touch the NH40 again.

 

After crossing Allagadda.. again we changed the line to single road towards jammalamadugu... Not that great road but OK.. But from Jammalamadugu to Gandikota the roads are in excellent condition.. and definitely one will njoi the scenic views from Jammalamadugu to Gandikota route.. Excellent Landscapes.. Unable to capture the scenes due to the foggy weather.. but you will mesmerized by viewing directly.

 

Jammalamadugu to Gandikota route:

 

 

 

Gandikota:

 

Must visit place.. no doubt at all... very scenic... lot of spots to view the beauty of nature... no hassle in reaching the place from Gandikota.

 

Staying:
One can find lot of options online for booking tent stay at  very reasonable price(600/person to 3k-AC tent) which includes dinner and breakfast as well in it.

Temple ruins are other attractions apart from Penna river view.

**Adventure things that u can do there is Campfire...kayaking... rock climbing.. ziplining...trekking @ Freakout Adventures camp directly, all are organized by the Govt with well trained me.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

--> Only backlog is washrooms availability near the camping site.... u have to take the pay and use toilets... which is 1+km away from camp site

. 

--> Also have a mosquito repellent if you are with Kids are allergic with insects. Once the campfire is started all the insects got vanished.

 

--> My suggestion would be book a normal tents in "Freakout Adventures" campsite if you are going with family and kids... they have the Washroom within there camp.. which will be used only by those who booked in it... No hassle of going 1km.

 

**Bluetooth speaker is a must for you to have a pleasant night.. or else you will be end-up listening to others(Drinkers) voices around you. 

**It is better to visit in groups to njoi more..

 

Day 2.

 

Gandikota - Belum Caves - Yaganti - Hyderabad

Total distance covered: 441 Kms

 

Woke-up around 6AM but.. Sun was no willing to come out of clouds due to the foggy weather.. Missed the Sunrise...

 

After having breakfast at local hotel which was excellent and included in our package and then moved towards Belum caves.

 

Here comes the worst part....One of the worst route I encountered in this trip.. I was unable to find the road without Potholes except when we entered into the villages.

Its a matter of 62KMs but it took 1hour 45min to reach the destination, one could understand the road conditions...Drive was only through potholes which I tried to escape  

 

It's the 2nd largest and longest cave in INDIA... must visit place for sure. As you get deeper into the cave you will sweat like hell due to the lack of air but its worth of it.
Here and there the air ventilation were arranged and bit of lighting also available

**Suggest to carry water bottles... towel.. and a good pair of shoes...while going into the Cave
Entry fee 65/- for adult and 45/- for kids.
Maintained very well...

 

Belum caves:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Visited only 70% of the cave due to my kid.. who is a bit scared .. so.. returned back in between.

After 2 hours of time spending over there.. moved towards Yaganti.

 

Road is a bit better from Belum caves to Yaganti.. not great but good. In between, you will come across OWK reservoir .. very huge one.. It was awesome and very scenic, tourism boating was also available but unable  to ride due to the time constraint. 

 

Reached Yaganti by 2:00 PM, this is my all time favorite temple... located in between the mountains.. Had a very nice darshan of Lord Shiva and Lord Basavayya and also Venkateshwara Swamy Idol in the cave.

 

Yaganti:

 

 

After spending an hour at the temple, travelled towards Hyderabad.

Speaking to locals over there.. they suggested me take peapully road(RD 41) to reach Banglore highway(NH 44) which was a very bad decision.. Worst road condition which I had travelled till now... Please avoid this route and take up the other... By some how reached NH 44 highway after travelling for 1.5 hours for just 57 kms..

 

From there On NH 44 its just cruising until home with 2 breaks in between.

 

 

Journey with memories

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lovely travel blog. Reminds me about my trip to Gandikota. It is really a beautiful place to explore. We stayed in Haritha as we were traveling with family.