Hyderabad to Nagarjunasagar and Nagarjunakonda Island Road Trip

[shammy]

Distance : ~190 kilometers

Drive time: 4 hours including breaks

Mileage : 16 KMPL (Best mileage we have ever achieved, never crossed 120 km/hr)

Total trip cost : 2600/- (Including fuel for 2 persons)

 

 

Road condition 2017: Quick update Hyderabad to Nagarjunasagar road condition:

 

• Road condition has improved a lot compared to last year.
• First 50 kilometers has a beautiful single lane road(similar to srisailam road)
• Last 100 kilometers is a good single road.

 

Places to visit at Nagarjunasagar:

 

1. Nagarjunakonda Island

a) Visit APDC launch station.(around 10 kilometers from Dam)

b) Park your vehicle at the paid parking.

c) Take a boat to the Island.

d) Total trip takes around 3 hours (approximately)

Timings:9:30,11:30 and 1:30

 

Price : 120/- per Adult and 100/- per Kid

 

2. Nagarjunasagar dam

3. A.P tourism hotel (excellent view, no entry charges and food is good )

4. Ethipothala Water Falls.

 

Food option on Hyderabad to Nagarjuna sagar highway.

Vegetarians:
Sai Annapurna hotels , Google maps : https://goo.gl/maps/qK64agvUpqm

Non-Vegetarians:
Naga lakshmi Kaveri Family dhaba, Google maps : https://goo.gl/maps/nQPLuhBck5A2

 

 

Food options at Nagarjuna Sagar

Hotel Siddartha , Google maps : https://goo.gl/maps/HiCqkP1TVDU2

TSDC tourism Vijay vihar, Google maps : https://goo.gl/maps/fEpVvnMfVkk

 

Stay options:

A.P tourism is the only best option available at Nagarjunasagar. There are few private hotels but most of them are not maintained properly.

[shammy]

Trip meter set to zero and we are started off our journey

In no time we hit the Outer ring road at Gachibowli.

Cruise set to 100 km/hr we cruised lazily for the first 60 kilometers.

At exit 12 we got down from the ORR and paid 50/- at the toll booth.

We took a quick break and clicked few pictures.

Slowly, the sun started to rise up.

Outer ring road is arguably the best road to drive in India.

 

[shammy]

Bumper sticker speaks it all.

After crossing the ORR , It is the single lane road for the next leg of the journey.

Most of the journey is uneventful.We can easily maintain around 100 km/hr.

Beautiful scenic roads surrounded by trees.

Immensely enjoyable to drive on these long sweeping curves.

We took couple of breaks to click few pictures.

 

 

[shammy]

We resumed our journey after 15 minutes break.

Soon the scenery started to change from boring roads to a hilly terrain.

Then slowly we started to climb the hills.

Stop over for the lunch at A.P tourism hotel.

View from the AP tourism resort.

We quickly resumed our journey in order to catch the ferry which will take us to Nagarjunakonda Island.

Neatly maintained dam road where the private vehicles are not allowed.

We stopped over the bridge which is parallel to the dam to click pictures.

View of the dam from the bridge.

 

 

[shammy]

Ethipothala Water Falls is a is a 70 feet (21 m) high river cascade. It is located at a distance of 12 Kilometres from Nagarjunasagar dam. We can see that it is bone dry due to less rains.It is must visit place during monsoon.

After Eithpothala water falls visit, we started back to Narjunasagar.

View of the bridge.

We parked our car at a paid parking and headed towards APDC launch station. They charged us 120/- per head for a boat ride.

Boat journey lasted for an hour (one way).

The breath of fresh air and water surrounded by hillocks made our day.

Views enroute to Island.

First boat already coming after Island visit.

Fisherman on coracle.

 

[shammy]

Don't miss the goats in the background.

We started going deeper into the river.

First glimpse of the beautiful Island.

Boat standing over there acts as a bridge.

we got down quickly and started climbing steps.

Museum,photos are not allowed inside.

Views from the Island.

[shammy]

Nature at its best.

Exploring deep into the Island, We came to the edge of the Island and there was lone tree.

Megalith Age Burial Area 2nd century A.D.

Random Monuments.

Buddha statue.

Scary tree.

Guide map of Nagarjuna Konda Island.

Island exploration lasted for an hour after that we started waiting for the boat.

 

[shammy]

We bid Goodbye to Island.

And started our return journey to Launch station.

Views en route

Boat timings

Clicked a picture at the Launch station.

After some refreshments. We hit the road.

 

[shammy]

No trip is complete without the pictures of the car.

Stopped at the bridge and had a refreshing juice watching the beautiful sunset.

It took us 3 hours to reach the ORR.

Took some pictures in the tunnel.

And headed back home.

Civic has split personality. Mileage varies from 8KMPL to 16KMPL depending on how you drive.Total trip :374 Kilometers door to door.

[Naveen1]

Excellent pictures. Nice write-up.

Been to Nargarjunasagar many times but never heard of this Island. Got a reason to drive down again.:cooler:

[nitin88]

Awesome pics. Trip to Sagar during summer. Brave

[shammy]

Awesome pics. Trip to Sagar during summer. Brave

Thank you

Nothing can stop the itch to scorch tarmac.

Excellent pictures. Nice write-up.

Been to Nargarjunasagar many times but never heard of this Island. Got a reason to drive down again.

Thank you. Island was the main reason to initiate the drive.:cooler:

[sagar]

Beautiful travelogue shammy and what pictures ... Speechless

[Gowtham]

Very detailed and excellent travel story.:clap:

Awesome pics. Trip to Sagar during summer. Brave

It is like summer already. Hope to see good amount of rains this year.

[shammy]

sagar said:

Beautiful travelogue shammy and what pictures ... Speechless

Quote

Very detailed and excellent travel story.:clap:

 

Thank you. Nagarjunasagar is always a quick getaway place for many Hyderabadies. Hope this information is helpful.

[karthik]

Amazing pictures. How safe is the boat ride? Do they provide life jacket?

[Gowtham]

They don't provide any life jackets. Boats are safe enough from my experience.

[etoor]

I din't know that an island named nagarjunakonda existed around this area... Will definitely cover it up during my next drive to sagar.. Thanks a lot for sharing such an informative travel story..

[shammy]

I din't know that an island named nagarjunakonda existed around this area... Will definitely cover it up during my next drive to sagar.. Thanks a lot for sharing such an informative travel story..

Boat ride to the Island is amazing. A must visit place.

[uday]

Awesome pictures. Looks like water level is going down day by day. Hope we will have a good amount of rains this year.

[Shik]

Amazing journey and an equally amazing description  

[shammy]

Shik said:

Amazing journey and an equally amazing description  

 

Thank you

[ujwal]

yes its so detailed and informative post threaded besides the beautiful ride you had. very cool journey for a 1day getaway

[AshAish]

Provided Info Is so helpful and lively,while looking at pictures with and going through the comments, I felt like visiting this place,Awesome.

Appreciate your efforts for taking time and adding all the info with pictures.

:-)

[shammy]

Provided Info Is so helpful and lively,while looking at pictures with and going through the comments, I felt like visiting this place,Awesome.

Appreciate your efforts for taking time and adding all the info with pictures.

:-)

Thank you very much:). Best time to visit this place is during monsoon as the dams are opened at this time.

[Gowtham]

Quick update Hyderabad to Nagarjunasagar road condition:

 

• Road condition has improved a lot compared to last year.
• First 50 kilometers has a beautiful single lane road(similar to srisailam road)
• Last 100 kilometers is a good single road.

 

Food option on Hyderabad to Nagarjuna sagar highway.

Vegetarians:
Sai Annapurna hotels , Google maps : https://goo.gl/maps/qK64agvUpqm

Non-Vegetarians:
Naga lakshmi Kaveri Family dhaba, Google maps : https://goo.gl/maps/nQPLuhBck5A2

 

 

Food options at Nagarjuna Sagar

Hotel Siddartha , Google maps : https://goo.gl/maps/HiCqkP1TVDU2

TSDC tourism Vijay vihar, Google maps : https://goo.gl/maps/fEpVvnMfVkk

 

Attaching few pictures of the recent drive.

Explored the other part of Nagarjunasagar, will share more details soon.

 

Pictures taken on OnePlus 3T

 

 

 

 

[Guest Arindam Ghosh]

Hi. Was just going through your wonderful write-up. I plan to visit Nagarjunakonda soon. Could you please tell me what the timings for the return boat ride from the island to the launch station is? If I take a boat at 9:30 will it be enough to see the island. Also please enlighten me on some reasonable hotels in the area. And how long does it take to get to the Ethiopothalla falls?

 

[Gowtham]

18 hours ago, Guest Arindam Ghosh said:

If I take a boat at 9:30 will it be enough to see the island.

It will take around 2 hours to explore the Nagarjunakonda island including boat ride.

 

18 hours ago, Guest Arindam Ghosh said:

Also please enlighten me on some reasonable hotels in the area.

TSDC Vijay vihar is the best option in Narjunasagar, It has beautiful view.

 

18 hours ago, Guest Arindam Ghosh said:

And how long does it take to get to the Ethiopothalla falls?

 

Nagajunasagar to Ethipothalla drive is just under 30 minutes.

PS: There is some boats inspection going on at NagarjunaSagar, verify if the boats are back to the dock. 
 

[sagar]

I don't think the boats towards Nagarjunakonda have started yet. Anyone who have done this off late, please do update us on the latest conditions and any new rules. Also, are the safety life jackets being provided to the tourists doing this boat ride right now as this was not there before. I think they should implement the provision of giving the life jackets to all the tourists which is most essential for a boat ride.

[Guest Asif]

Excellent updates and photographs. Thanks for sharing them.

[Sridhar Tandra]

On 2/11/2016 at 7:53 AM, shammy said:

Civic has split personality

haha true! and was that an old sticker of ID? Looks interesting though

 

btw Is this the same Mystery Island that ID camped on recently? Or was that a different one?

[Gowtham]

3 hours ago, Sridhar Tandra said:

haha true! and was that an old sticker of ID?

 

Yeah it was old sticker.

We removed it since it is too big.

 

3 hours ago, Sridhar Tandra said:

btw Is this the same Mystery Island that ID camped on recently? Or was that a different one?

 

Yes it was indeed mysterious island.

There are many islands in that section.
I'm not sure about exact naming convention. 

[Musafir]

Planning for a trip tomorrow. Any suggestions?

[Gowtham]

On 7/12/2019 at 10:50 PM, Musafir said:

Planning for a trip tomorrow. Any suggestions?

 

Missed your post.
Anyway, did you complete the drive?

[Musafir]

3 hours ago, Ranger said:

 

Missed your post.
Anyway, did you complete the drive?

@Ranger Yeah, I made the trip last week. Planning to add the details soon. Thanks

[sagar]

On ‎7‎/‎12‎/‎2019 at 10:50 PM, Musafir said:

Planning for a trip tomorrow. Any suggestions?

 

You are on a roll .. Waiting to see your post soon.  What's in line for the next week?  .

 

If at all you have missed out on this, Do check this post... Not suggestible in monsoon though  

 

 

[Gowtham]

Latest update:

 

Visited Nagarjuna Sagar this weekend. The road from, Mallepalli junction, Kondamallepally to Nagarjunasagar dam (last 50KM) was not good.
From ORR to Ibrahimpatinam to Mallepalli jn is awesome. The road is well marked with proper signs and divider line and reflectors.

[MTF]

On 10/9/2019 at 4:21 PM, Ranger said:

Latest update:

 

Visited Nagarjuna Sagar this weekend. The road from, Mallepalli junction, Kondamallepally to Nagarjunasagar dam (last 50KM) was not good.
From ORR to Ibrahimpatinam to Mallepalli jn is awesome. The road is well marked with proper signs and divider line and reflectors.

Hi @Ranger

I'm planning to visit this Sunday, 27th. Going with family, is there boat ride available now for island? 

[sagar]

19 hours ago, MTF said:

is there boat ride available now for island

 

If you are referring to the Nagarjunakonda Island, Yes.. the boat ride would be functioning if the gates are closed. But, I don't think they would be running it if the gates remain open this weekend..

[MTF]

Thanks for the info. I think the gates have been closed now

[MTF]

Hello everyone,

 

Just a quick update on this weekend trip (Oct 27-28)

 

1. There's road work is going on between Mallepalli and Thungathurthy, don't know how long it will take to complete. Though we can drive well, this is just FYI.

2. Currently ALL boating including Nagarjuna Konda island has been stopped. The reason being cited as recent incident in Godavari river.

3. The gates were still opened, though reduced to 4 from 8, when we last saw.

4. Ettipotala has full water flow.

5. Explored Anupu beach (though i'm comfortable calling it beach), as boating option was not available. Its located beyond South Vijjaupuri towards Macherla road. Funnily gMaps location is correct, but address is showing in Chittor dist. ( https://goo.gl/maps/QaZX2p2MRKkjPUXaA ) I have not seen any post related to this location on this forum.

 

If gets time, will try to put some pics.

 

Thanks for your time.

[Gowtham]

3 hours ago, MTF said:

Just a quick update on this weekend trip (Oct 27-28)

 

 

Thank you for the latest information, very helpful.

 

3 hours ago, MTF said:

Explored Anupu beach (though i'm comfortable calling it beach), as boating option was not available. Its located beyond South Vijjaupuri towards

 

Never heard of this place, it would be helpful, if you can share more details on it. 

[MTF]

Sure,

Will try to post few snaps and a brief info, here itself.

[MTF]

So here is the quick update from the dates of Oct 27 & 28, 2019.

 

PS: I'm still amateur photographer, plz bear with me for any sub standard pics. 

 

The water flow at Ettipottala water falls was awesome.

Somebody told us, we can even reach down upto the water, if we take down way from temple on the left side of ticket counter. Looking at the monkey menace, we did not pursue. 

 

Tried to explore inside power generation facility. You need an inside staff approval for the visit. 2 hrs of time wasted only for a 10 min visit, that too we were not allowed to go down.

 

Somebody suggested to visit Anupu. Immediately after crossing the RTA check post of AP, took right turn and reached Vijaypuri South. From there, took the road towards Macherla for ~8 kms, this Anupu is located. This is some kind of excavation site. It has big garden which is used for picnic spot for locals.

Going further down, this Anupu beach is located, can drive easily. I don't know, why they call it as beach. This area is full of fishermen. Not recommended to stay long. (the last snap)

 

Since, its my first post in this forum, don't know how to write the descriptions of pics...