Hyderabad to Maredumilli Forest Road trip

[varunc]

Hyderabad to Maredumilli plan

 

Frustrated with Hyderabad traffic and bad roads due to rains, I have decided to get out of the city and explore the farm lands of Godavari district and the forest range of Maredumilli.
Idea is to go on a quick getaway.

All the accommodations at Maredumilli are full.
This did not dampen my spirits.

 

Its not about the destination, It is the drive that matters to me.

Did some quick research and booked accommodation at the nearest town which is Rajahmundry.

Hyderabad to Maredumilli route plan(best route):
Hyderabad to Maredumilli has two routes

 

Route 1 : Hyderabad --> Suryapet --> Vijayawada --> Tanuku --> Rajahmundry --> Maredumilli
Route 2 : Hyderabad --> Suryapet --> Khammam --> Kothagudem --> Bhadrachalam --> Chintur --> Maredumilli

 

Route 1: It is the best route to take. Completely 4-lane till Rajahmundry

Route 2 : Avoid it unless you are planning to cover Bhadrachalam

 

Plan

• Day 1 : Hyderabad to Rajahmundry 
• Day 2 : Rajahmundry to Maredumilli
• Day 3 : Exploring villages around Rajahmundry
• Day 4 : Rajahmundry to Hyderabad

 

Places to visit in Maredumilli and Rampachodavaram (link)

Excellent post @Surya78, your post helped us a lot.

 

Best places to visit in Maredumilli

1. Bhupathipalem reservoir : gmaps

2. Rampa Water Falls : Gmaps

3. VanaVihari Eco tourism : Gmaps

4. Bamboo Chicken is available near VanaVihari resort : Gmaps 

5. View point, there is no name to this place, you will find it en-route to Amruthadhara : Gmaps

6. Amruthadhara waterfalls : Gmaps

 

Best resorts in maredumilli

• Vanavihari Eco Tourism Center
• Aranya Eco Resorts
• Jungle Star Nature Camp Site
• Birds Nest Resorts

 

There are few private/small resorts at exotic locations. Need to do some research on those places.
Book the resort in advance during holidays/weekends. 

 

[varunc]

Day 1 : Hyderabad to Rajahmundry 

Total distance : 620 Kilometers

 

We started early in the morning by 5 AM as we expected heavy traffic due to long weekend, But the traffic is very less and the wait at the tolls was less than 5 minutes.

We reached Suryapet by 7:15 AM, We pushed little hard, so that we can avoid Vijayawada traffic(Dussera celebrations at Vijayawada temple) and took a breakfast stop at famous Hotel 7. 

Road condition form Hyderabad to Vijayawada is bliss, We reached Vijayawada outskirts by 10AM.
 

As we reached earlier then our expected time decided to take a detour and explore Hamsaladeevi beach too as it was pending in my places to visit.

 

Always ready to explore if a place gets checked off your list   

Vijayawada to Hamasaldeevi route:

Vijayawada --> Vallurupalem --> Avanigadda --> Hamsaladeevi
Distance : 90 kilometers

 

Road condition from Vijawayada to Hamsaladeevi is good, it is single lane road with some blind curves, so average speed is advisable.

 

En-route to Hamsaladeevi beach, beautiful landscapes.

Tide is high at the beach, we decided not take our car on to the beach

Nature, Happiness comes in waves

Place where river and ocean meets, Saagara sangamam

We spent around an hour and started our journey to Rajahmundry

Only a farmer knows the difference between 5km/hr and 6km/hr, Life is better on a farm

[varunc]

Day 2 : Rajahmundry to Maredumilli

Distance : 85 kilometers

 

Drive from Rajahmundry to Maredumilli is fun, road condition is good with very few potholes. But during long weekends, there is decent traffic so advisable to start early which will enable you to enjoy the serene surroundings without any distraction/disturbance from vehicle and people sound.

Drive through the dense forest is eye pleasing, reflections are perfect at Bhupathipalem reservoir 

Primary reason(reflection) is lack of air, humidity is high, even in rainy season.

There is a speed/pedal boat facility available at the reservoir, we decided to skip it. 

Looks Scary isn't it?

[varunc]

After exploring the reservoir, we decided to have lunch and started driving towards Maredumilli

Bamboo trees, you can see lot of them enroute

We packed our lunch (the famous bamboo chicken) near Vanavihari and drove ahead

 

Those curves are fun to drive in a ford 

We stopped at this view point and

had lunch on the car hood

 

[varunc]

After lunch break,

we drove towards the forest view point.

Forest view point

Small water falls en route, we couldn't click pictures of waterfalls due to rain

Rampa waterfalls, best water falls to visit, away from regular tourists

 

Last picture for the day, we drove back to Rajahmundry. 

 

Day 3 :Exploring the villages of Konaseema

 

 

 

 

Check out the video, this little dude got stuck in the fishing net

River Godavari 

 

Day 4 :Drive back to Hyderabad

We started at 7 am and reached Hyderabad by 3 pm including few breaks

 

Rain waiting for us at ORR

[Naveen1]

Good write-up.
EcoSport with black pack looks awesome in those green backgrounds.

[Gowtham]

Very detailed post @varunc

You have covered all the required information related Maredumilli drive.

 

Helps first timers a lot.

 

[sagar]

Very well narrated @varunc. You should have covered Lambasingi part of this place too.. November to January is the perfect time to visit this place.  

[varunc]

Very well narrated [mention=9]varunc[/mention]. You should have covered Lambasingi part of this place too.. November to January is the perfect time to visit this place. [emoji4] 

If we had another extra day we would have covered this too...but the plan was to have a relaxed vacation without day to day traveling.

[Sridhar Tandra]

27 minutes ago, varunc said:

3 hours ago, sagar said:

Very well narrated [mention=9]varunc[/mention]. You should have covered Lambasingi part of this place too.. November to January is the perfect time to visit this place.  

If we had another extra day we would have covered this too...but the plan was to have a relaxed vacation without day to day traveling.

I can see this is a aaram wala drive

[shiva]

I have been to Maredumilli many times.
Early morning are too good.
Roads are filled with fog.

Lambasingi is best in winter.
It is all about the drive.

Nice work Varunc, very nicely summarized.

 

Any accommodations available at Hamsaladeevi?

Any specific reason for not taking the car on to the beach?

[Gowtham]

On 10/17/2017 at 10:05 PM, shiva said:

Any accommodations available at Hamsaladeevi?

 

No accommodations are available at Hamsaladeevi, you need to stay at Vijayawada. 

 

On 10/17/2017 at 10:05 PM, shiva said:

Any specific reason for not taking the car on to the beach?

 

We can take our cars without any issue, but the crowd is high due to holiday season.

Early morning morning visit will be fantastic. 

[sbhamidi]

On 10/20/2017 at 10:01 AM, Ranger said:

 

No accommodations are available at Hamsaladeevi, you need to stay at Vijayawada. 

 

 

We can take our cars without any issue, but the crowd is high due to holiday season.

Early morning morning visit will be fantastic. 

 

Hamsaladeevi would be an ideal place to stay under the sky in tents. Nearest town/city could be Vijayawada / Repalle (town). Lovely beach i would say.... Must visit..

 

[sbhamidi]

between i am planning to go to my native this weekend... will see if i can visit Hamsaladeevi in the day time...

[Gowtham]

7 minutes ago, sbhamidi said:

 

Hamsaladeevi would be an ideal place to stay under the sky in tents. Nearest town/city could be Vijayawada / Repalle (town). Lovely beach i would say.... Must visit.

 

Yeah it is a must visit place,

Place is perfect in winter.

 

Only problem is with accommodation.

I guess it is less crowded due to lack of facilities.

 

Camping is a good idea, but we may face some safety concerns due to isolation.

 

Recently I have seen cops patrolling on the beach, i guess they won't allow us to camp.

[sagar]

 

21 minutes ago, Ranger said:

Recently I have seen cops patrolling on the beach, i guess they won't allow us to camp.

 

Patrolling is a serious bother in the south of India in case of camping. It is of-course necessary to keep it clean and away from the commercial crowd but somehow on a personal end I feel bad about missing out something joyous as this.

[sagar]

27 minutes ago, sbhamidi said:

between i am planning to go to my native this weekend... will see if i can visit Hamsaladeevi in the day time...

 

Off-late I have heard that the visitors have levelled up at this place during the weekends. Early morning visit would be the best time to avoid this scene and enjoy some beach side time in peace

 

[sbhamidi]

Ya it's just a days trip so will go early in morning starting at 5am if possible to catch some sunrise

[Gowtham]

Ya it's just a days trip so will go early in morning starting at 5am if possible to catch some sunrise

If you are planning to drive on beach, keep an eye on the tide, heard it is high in the morning.

These guys are charging around 5k if you get stuck.

Do visit Sagarasangamam, place where river and ocean meets.

[sbhamidi]

If you are planning to drive on beach, keep an eye on the tide, heard it is high in the morning.

These guys are charging around 5k if you get stuck.

Do visit Sagarasangamam, place where river and ocean meets.

Thanks buddy that's good news... Will keep an eye..

[sagar]

17 hours ago, Ranger said:

Do visit Sagarasangamam, place where river and ocean meets.
 

 

I have heard this also happens at a place called Antharvedi, i.e. where the river joins the ocean. Are you referring to the same or both are similar but different places?

[hsudhir]

Beautiful pictures @varunc Weather looks perfect and you have visited during the right time I suppose. Will there be any spotting of animals like deers or birds like peacocks in this forest?

[Gowtham]

New river side resort coming up at Sindantham.

This place is located near to Maredumilli.

May be we can stay here and drive down on the Day1

 

 

[Siddu]

Hi is thr watsapp group for us...?

[sagar]

3 hours ago, Siddu said:

Hi is thr watsapp group for us...?

 

Yes there is one @Siddu. Do subscribe with the link available in the forum.

[Jagan24]

On 2/5/2018 at 12:06 PM, Ranger said:

New river side resort coming up at Sindantham.

This place is located near to Maredumilli.

May be we can stay here and drive down on the Day1

 

 

@Ranger Any update on this resort? Like is it ready and any contact details to book etc?

[Gowtham]

20 hours ago, Jagan24 said:

Any update on this resort? Like is it ready and any contact details to book etc?

Im not sure, If it is AP tourism or a private resort.
If it is AP tourism, you can find it in the tourism website.

http://www.aptdc.gov.in/accommodations.html

 

[Jagan24]

This weekend, I am travelling to my native "Kakinada" and returning back to Hyderabad on Saturday. Planning to drive through maredumilli and bhadrachalam and considering the following route. Please let me know if this is okay. This is just a drive through forest and there are no sightseeings planned. 

 

https://goo.gl/maps/4YTdXPfE3rT2

 

TIA

Jagan

[Gowtham]

Update by sairam:

 

Yes,

I did it 3 weeks ago.

Road condition is superb as usual  till Suryapet.
From Suryapet to khammam two lane road.
From khammam to Bhadrachalam is average and it is under construction.
Can maintain 80 kmph.

 

18 hours ago, Jagan24 said:

Please let me know if this is okay.

Drive through is not enough, there are lot of good places to explore.
Better to save it till monsoon.
Humidity will be very high in May, it is not worth it. 

[uday]

 

18 hours ago, Jagan24 said:

I am travelling to my native "Kakinada"

 

Did you visit Cooringa wild life sanctuary and Hope Island?

 

https://www.india-drive.com/index.php?/topic/148-hyderabad-to-konaseema/

[Jagan24]

28 minutes ago, uday said:

 

 

Did you visit Cooringa wild life sanctuary and Hope Island?

 

https://www.india-drive.com/index.php?/topic/148-hyderabad-to-konaseema/

@uday I visited Coringa forest few years back. It was a bit under developed and Boating was also not there at that time. Planning to visit again after going through ur write up  Dont know much about Hope Island though. My dad once mentioned about this island during my child hood. He went there along with his colleagues. But never heard of this place again after that. If you have visited that place, please shed some light. 

[sagar]

Hope island is definitely not a place this season. We will starting burning up under the hot sun and it being by the seaside, makes it more difficult and unpleasant.

[Jagan24]

As i noted previously, went to kkd over the weekend and while coming back took the route via maredumilli.. the route taken was 

Kakinada -> Peddapuram -> jaggampeta -> rampachodavaram -> maredumilli -> bhadrachalam -> Khammam -> suryapeta -> hyderabad

Started at 6 in the mrng.. reached by 6.15 in the evng. Total distance travelled approx 585km.

Took less breaks for breakfast, lunch, two viewpoints, diesel filling, tea break

There are two extraordinary viewpoints near maredumilli and there two extreme ghat sections near maredumilli. The view points are manayam viewpoint and sokuvagu viewpoint. Here are few pics taken with my mobile. Pardon the quality please.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks

Jagan

[Sridhar Tandra]

wonderful! how is the overall road condition now Jagan? and any bad stretches which will effect overall average speed?

[Jagan24]

17 minutes ago, Sridhar Tandra said:

wonderful! how is the overall road condition now Jagan? and any bad stretches which will effect overall average speed?

The entire route from Kakinada to Suryapet is mostly two lane with two way traffic which affects the average speed. Road condition is mostly fine but there are a couple of bad stretches as well. Especially in Paloncha, there is some road extension work going on which consumed more than half an hour of our time. Apart from that the journey was uneventful. 

[Sridhar Tandra]

3 minutes ago, Jagan24 said:

The entire route from Kakinada to Suryapet is mostly two lane with two way traffic which affects the average speed. Road condition is mostly fine but there are a couple of bad stretches as well. Especially in Paloncha, there is some road extension work going on which consumed more than half an hour of our time. Apart from that the journey was uneventful. 

Thank you for this update! Hope climate was not too hot?

[Jagan24]

3 minutes ago, Sridhar Tandra said:

Thank you for this update! Hope climate was not too hot?

Yesterday it was cloudy to start with and inside the forest it doesnot matter anyway as it was very dense forest for most of the journey. Moreover we did not plan for any trip or sight seeing.. It was just an exploration drive.. I was coming back to Hyderabad from my home town along with my parents and wanted to explore this less taken route to see the place is worth to stay over a weekend. It turned out to be a very good place and thr is a lot to be explored. Will plan for a stay for sure during monsoons.

[sagar]

6 hours ago, Jagan24 said:

Yesterday it was cloudy to start with and inside the forest it doesnot matter anyway as it was very dense forest for most of the journey. Moreover we did not plan for any trip or sight seeing.. It was just an exploration drive.. I was coming back to Hyderabad from my home town along with my parents and wanted to explore this less taken route to see the place is worth to stay over a weekend. It turned out to be a very good place and thr is a lot to be explored. Will plan for a stay for sure during monsoons.

 

Thanks a lot for the update on the road status @Jagan24. YEs, you should do this during monsoon.. Plan your drive to Lambasingi during November/December. Trust me it's a paradise. You will enjoy every bit of your drive

[Gowtham]

18 hours ago, Jagan24 said:

The entire route from Kakinada to Suryapet is mostly two lane with two way traffic which affects the average speed.

Beautiful pictures.
Place has lot of greenery even in summer. 
This place is definitely on cards during monsoon. 

 

12 hours ago, sagar said:

Plan your drive to Lambasingi during November/December.

May be we should add this place to India-Drive meetup(list) during monsoon.

If we can find a decent resort. I think four/five days are good enough to explore this place.

These roads will be fantastic during monsoon. 

 

 

[sahil]

On 5/14/2018 at 3:03 PM, Jagan24 said:

The entire route from Kakinada to Suryapet is mostly two lane with two way traffic which affects the average speed. Road condition is mostly fine but there are a couple of bad stretches as well. Especially in Paloncha, there is some road extension work going on which consumed more than half an hour of our time. Apart from that the journey was uneventful. 

The road is being laid in the palvoncha town from last 1year. It is slowing us down by 30 mins to 1 hr. I faced the same in May last year and again in this May on the way from Nuzvid to Warangal via Kothagudem and Manuguru, Tadvai. By the way visited Bhadrachalam temple as there is a 1 hr extra time as the roads are very good except in Palvoncha!

Edited May 28, 2018 by sahil

[sahil]

On 5/15/2018 at 9:56 AM, Ranger said:

 

 

 

Please plan for it! Hyderabad to Araku via Bhadrachalem, Maredumilli!

It will be a fantastic drive during monsoon!

[Naveen1]

On 5/15/2018 at 9:56 AM, Ranger said:

May be we should add this place to India-Drive meetup(list) during monsoon.

 

That will be a fantastic plan. 

Temperatures are still high around Rajahmundry.

Last weekend, i thought of exploring the place but decided to drop out due to high temperatures. 

 

That route map is definitely in my to do list.

As far as i know these places are still untouched..very less commercial tourism. 

 

[Guest SAI]

VERY CLEARLY EXPLAINED THANK YOU, BUT MY DOUBT WAS IS IT ABLE TO TRY WITH BIKES ? AND WHY NOT 2ND ROUTE IF WE'RE PLANNING FOR AN ADVENTUROUS TRIP 

[H-Hoppr]

VERY CLEARLY EXPLAINED THANK YOU, BUT MY DOUBT WAS IS IT ABLE TO TRY WITH BIKES ? AND WHY NOT 2ND ROUTE IF WE'RE PLANNING FOR AN ADVENTUROUS TRIP 

No issues in 2nd route , but instead of Suryapet - Khammam , Take Kodad - Khammam Route and Definitely you can go on your bike , you’ll love the curves of road from Chintur to Maredumalli

[uday]

Guys, Is it right time to visit Maredumilli or should i wait till winter. 

Planning to visit this place along with my family. 

 

Any resort suggestions? 

[sahil]

Guys, Is it right time to visit Maredumilli or should i wait till winter. 
Planning to visit this place along with my family. 
 
Any resort suggestions? 

Vanavihari ...I didn't visit yet. But heard good reviews..

[Gowtham]

20 hours ago, uday said:

Guys, Is it right time to visit Maredumilli 

 

I heard Humidity is pretty high.

Plan accordingly. 

Don't miss bamboo chicken. 

[RamB]

3 hours ago, Ranger said:

 

I heard Humidity is pretty high.

Plan accordingly. 

Don't miss bamboo chicken. 

No problem of humidity. I'm a regular goer. Plan to visit from bhadrachalam- chinturu side... Good and scenic roads

[sagar]

3 hours ago, RamB said:

Plan to visit from bhadrachalam- chinturu side... Good and scenic roads

 

I have heard this from a lot of people. I have also heard that this route might get adventurous at times when it rains  

I guess, December would be the best time to visit this place  

[SK01]

Could you please let me know the interior road conditions, resort prices and the conditions/terrain of the roads leading to the reservoir, waterfalls and view point. Can we take our vehicle to those points?

 

Pictures are excellent.

[sagar]

12 hours ago, Krish said:

 

Could you please let me know the interior road conditions, resort prices and the conditions/terrain of the roads leading to the reservoir, waterfalls and view point. Can we take our vehicle to those points?

 

 

Hey @Krish, Do check out the post below which has all the information about the resorts available, their prices and road status..

 

 

[Gowtham]

12 hours ago, Krish said:

Can we take our vehicle to those points?

Yes, roads are good.
Won't be a problem for Honda City. 

If possible, do the following route

 

Maredumilli --> Sileru --> Lambasingi --> Paderu --> Aruku
Roads are average but it is very scenic. 

 

[shiva]

Drone shots of Maredumilli,

WhatsApp forward.

 

 

 

 

[Gowtham]

1 minute ago, shiva said:

Drone shots of Maredumilli

 

Pictures are eye pleasing. 

Lot of places to explore around Maredumilli. 

I think a video will be out soon. 

[Gowtham]

Sharing information about a Village in Maredumilli called Gudisa village. (by  Prasad)

 

It is located around 40 kilometers from Maredumilli,

Can be easily done in Bikes and 4x4 .

Difficult for Sedans.

 

According to latest updates roads from Maredumilli to Gudisa are under construction,

Once it is completed, it can be done in all cars. 

 

GPS https://goo.gl/maps/VpsbphDKxc62

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Tapahasu]

On 11/6/2018 at 5:00 PM, shiva said:

Drone shots of Maredumilli,

WhatsApp forward.

 

 

 

 

Wow, loved the pics luring me to buy drone

[Musafir]

Is the place recommended for a family trip? I heard like people are having alcohol and messing up with visitors.

July/September? Which month is ideal ?

 

Thanks

[sagar]

9 hours ago, Musafir said:

Is the place recommended for a family trip?

Can surely be done with families. I travel to this place every year and never faced any issue. You just have to be brave of being deserted  It is a beautiful forest place with a good number of resorts. September or October to December would be the right time to enjoy the greenery here..