Maredumilli,Andhra Pradesh

                    Maredumilli is a village situated in the beautiful maredumilli range in the northern area of Andhra Pradesh. Lying at an altitude of  400 MSL Maredumilli lies in the middle of a thick forest all around.It forms a part of the Eastern Ghats.It is just 120km from Bhadrachalam and around 80km from Rajamundary.

                     A few days back owing to a friend's wedding I went to my home in Aswapuram in Khammam Dist. Inevitably,the gathering of our friend's group after a long gap resulted in a trip.We decided to visit the quaint and quiet maredumilli area.We had booked the cottages a few days back and it was to be a 1 night and 1 day trip.We booked a Tata magic for the six of us and off we went.We left our homes at 2pm in the afternoon and reached Maredumilli at around 6pm.It was quiet dark by then.Maredumilli has a Govt Inititave called Vana Vihari.That is where we booked our cottages for the night.

Our cottage for the night.We had booked two of these.

             The next morning we were woken up by the cleaning lady knocking our door.Apparently the staff followed the 8am check out very seriously.On enquiry we found out that a contingent of police officers had booked a number of cottages due to some camp they were having.By 8am a couple of officers were strolling near our cottage waiting for us to get out which we promptly did by 8:05am.

Ordering Bamboo Chicken for dinner

              We walked out casually outside with no set plan in mind.We went to the town centre which is a crossroad to the left of the resort.Here we tried to negotiate a price to hire an auto to the nearby sights but liked none of the offers.So we decided to walk.A couple of friends were reluctant but the rest of us convinced them by saying that this was the best way to get a feel for the place.

In the coffee plantation

              So we started our walk on the main and only road that leads to the various sights around the Village of Maredumilli. This was the main road leading towards Bhadrachalam from where we had come the other day. The walk turned out to be a brilliant idea.The weather was nice.The temperature comfortable and an occasional gust of wind blowing.We walked past murmuring brooks,fallen trees,chattering monkeys,moss covered culverts and butterfly filled clearings in the forest.After an hour we passed by a coffee plantation.It was all fenced but further ahead a gate was open.We strolled in and went a bit ahead.The atmosphere here was just beautiful.It was  a bit dark with branches of trees shading the area.There was a clearing in the branches through which rays of sunlight were falling.And they were falling on a fallen tree.We sat on that log and just monkeyed around.

A beautiful stream

            After spending an half an hour there we resumed our walk.We had walked around 5km when we reached the first of the waterfalls.Here we spent some time chatting and taking pics.The waterfall is nothing spectacular but offers a good spot for a picnic.

The scenery surrounding the road was wonderful

             We also passed a medicinal plants garden and an under progress rest house. At around 1pm we had covered 7km and we decided it was time to end our walk and maybe hitchhike and reach bhadrachalam by evening.But to our growing apprehension no vehicle was stopping and no RTC was bus was in sight too.Our apprehension was due to the fact that we were in a jungle area and we did not want to get stuck there by the time it got dark.

            Around 1 30pm we reached a village which brought huge relief for us.This village was nothing more than a couple of huts strewn along the stretch of the road.We went to a shop and had biscuits and some tea.We enquired about the next RTC bus there and found out that there was a bus after 30mins.But when we spotted an empty auto we hired it immediately and reached the next town chinturu.From here we boarded a RTC bus to reach Bhadrachalam by dusk.After some snacks and a bit of a shopping we reached our homes by 8pm.And thus ended our small trip to Maredumilli.

Info
-You can book cottages at this website-http://www.vanavihari.com/
-There is no problem of food as the whole street has shops lined on both sides of the road selling the local speciality Bamboo Chicken.All shops close by 8 30pm.
-No mobile network works here except BSNL.
-The nearest town on the bhadrachalam side is Chinturu.

My brother recently gave me a waterproof camera.I clicked a few pics with it.

Another one at a wonderful stream which runs along the main road for some distance. 

Top 5 places to visit near Aswapuram (within a range of 25km)

Aswapuram is a village located around 325km form Hyderabad and 125km from Khammam ,the district headquarters of Khammam District. The township of Heavy Water Plant is also located here.My dad is posted here and I have spent my childhood in this colony.The area around here lies dry and barren most of the time but when the monsoons arrive the whole area transforms into a shade of green.Aswapuram is at its best in Monsoon.There are quite a few places around here where small picnics can be held.My dad used to take us around the countryside on his bike and we used to visit lots of places.I still try to explore new places around Aswapuram whenever I go there.

So here goes the top 5 places to visit near Aswapuram(in my opinion) within a range of 20km

1-Check dam at Dummagudem (10km)

     This dam was constructed by the great British Irrigation Engineer, Sir Arthur Cotton at around 1800s.It is located near Amagarpelli village,about 10km from HWPM colony.The dam spans the whole width of the river,providing some beautiful views.It is divided into three stages,the first stage is about 1.5 metres in width upto 3/4th of its total length from where it narrows down to a metre in width,which comprises the second stage.In the third stage the height of the dam reduces allowing some water to flow over it providing a gentle cascade of water.The whole dam can be crossed on foot,when the level of the water is not much.During rainy seasons the water flows over the dam providing some breathtaking views downstream.The downstream area is rocky and provides perfect place to sit and take pictures of the dam.Also it has some shallow areas where one can get down into the water without any fear of depth or flow.Perfect for enjoying the thrill of waterfalls!

My brother's Trip Report

Video of the checkdam

2-Chintriyal (9km)

     This one is an old favorite of the colony people.It is around 9km from colony approached from Gollagudem village.The Godavari river provides the best spot here for some casual playing in the water.The depth of the river is low most of the times.Its gets a bit risky in the monsoon months when the level of the river rises and coming here is not advisable.Earlier there used to be a kacha (mud) road and coming here used to require quite a bit of a determination.Recently a tar road has been laid making the place more accessible.I learnt swimming here,with my dad teaching me.Back in our time it was a big task coming to this spot on our cycles and we thought reaching here was an achievement in itself.

3-Tummalacheruvu Lake (10km)

        Tummalacheruvu as the name suggests(in Telugu) is a lake near the village of Muntikunta.It is a scenic lake nestled in between three hills.Though it looks beautiful all round the year , it is the monsoons which bring out the best.The whole place gets transformed into a sea of different shades of green.As one approaches the lake from the Muntikunta village,one can see a small dam on the right side made to channel the water to the fields for irrigation purposes.One can walk over it to the other side and stroll around for better view points of the lake or maybe just sit somewhere and take in the beauty.The area downstream of the dam also provides some beautiful views.There is a swamp like feel around here albeit with fresh water.This place reminds one of the discovery channel show,Crocodile hunters or some scenes from the movie"anaconda'.Some of my friends and me came here one time to catch a glimpse of a crocodile, someone told us was spotted here.link-

Video of my trip with my friends

4-Regulagundi Lake (16km)

       16km from Aswapuram lies this serene and picturesque lake near PV Colony near manuguru. Often visited by the locals for some relaxation,this lake is also visited by the them to perform some rituals.There is a quaint village around it ,which only adds to the beauty this place already has.There are small streams of water flowing out of the lake at one of the sides and one can splash around in this shallow streams.If one comes prepared  one can spend the whole day exploring the area around it.A must visit!

5-Aswapuram Railway Station(and the area surrounding it) (5km)

  This is the rarely used railway station of Aswapuram.Yes we got one! The area around here is scenic and as with most places around here,the best time is the monsoon season.After the rains theis place is an absolute beauty.The station itself is a single building with no platform.Trains and with which I mean two, usually stop here for 2 mins.This place is purely for the nature lovers.

Some links 

Scenes from around manuguru

In and around Manuguru(Guitar theme: Melodium)

Green...and then some more

Bonus

6-Pump house(near Muntikunta Village)

 This is a pump house located on the banks of river Godavari and is between Muntikunta village and Bhadrachalam.It belongs to ITC bhadrachalam.This place is on a higher altitude than the rest of the area.One can sit and enjoy the mighty Godavari here as the width of the river is very large here.Swimming here is not advisable though.

Ananthagiri hills,Vikarabad,Andhra Pradesh

Bijapur,Karnataka

One of the most underestimated places in the southern region,Bijapur has lots to offer to a
history lover.It has the 2nd largest dome in the world,a fort,a beautiful tomb,one of the
biggest mosques in India and more.
  Last month some of my friends and myself visited bijapur.
Our trip started on the night of 24th april.We boarded a Karnataka RTC bus to Gulbarga at 9
30pm and we reached Gulbarga at around 4am the next day.From there we boarded another bus to
Bijapur.In the morning at around 7 30 am, as we were entering the city of Bijapur I could make
out how dirty it was.No wonder tourists avoided it.I have heard that the norther parts of
Karnataka are very underdeveloped and it showed.Near the central bustand garbage was strewn all
around and pigs were roaming around.It was not the kind of welcome I was hoping for.
Anyway,from the bus stand we wandered around looking for a decent hotel which we found after
some search.We had our breakfast and than took an auto rickshaw to Gol Gumbaz.It was Rs7 per
head if I remember correctly.The sight of Gol Gumbaz lifted my spirits immediately.It was
breathtaking to look at.Right from the moment I saw the Gol Gumbaz in my Hisotory Textbook back
in my 5th class I had a desire to see it with my own eyes and here I was standing in front of  it.It felt awesome!

we made our way inside the Gumbaz where we clicked pics and then went to the top where there was the 'Whispering Gallery'. Here below the dome there is a circular platform going the whole circumference of the dome.Here it is said that if a person just whispers at any pint of the circumference it can be heard at any other point on the circumference.But tell you what,theres no chance of testing this as everyone present was,instead of whisering,shouting at the top of their voice.The sounds kept reverberating inside the dome.Wonder what the inhabitant of the tomb must be thinking.Soon we joined in,Ameen and me just kept shouting only one phrase'masterji pitaji ki patloon ek bilang choti kardo!!'and had lots of fun looking at the amused people!

Outside the Gol gumbaz there were a number of horse driven carriages whose owners or shall I say drivers were offering the tourists present, a ride to seven other tourist spots.We approched one and made a bargain ,Rs250 for a visit to Jama Masjid,Ibrahim Rouza,Jod gumbaz,Chand bowdi,Malik-e-maidan and then back to the bus stand.
And so, we set out on a horse cabby.Our first stop was the Jama Masjid.It was very big and a person inside said that in terms of worshippers capacity it is even bigger than the Jama masjid in New Delhi(which is the Biggest Mosque in India).We sat inside the mosque for some time talking with the middle aged person i mentined above.

    Here I watched an interesting scene.a couple of non muslims entered the mosque and began strolling inside the mosque with their footwear removed.Suddenly the mom realised that her kid was still wearing her sandals.She quickly bent down,removed the toddler's sandals and continued with their walk.I was so touched.She could have easily continued with her walk wihout bothering about the baby's sandals as ,one, there was no one except us and two she was a small child.It was heartwarming to see this and was in such contrast to the stories going around in Hyderabad at that time.(Hyderabad was gripped with mild communal tension at that time) 

From the Jama masjid we mooved on to Jod Gumbaz which has a couple of tombs.Its a Dargah now.
From Jod Gumbaz we went to the Chand Bowdi which is nothing but a reservoir.Nothing

spectacular here.From here we moved on to the next most important thing to visit in Bijapur,

the Ibrahim Rouza.

This is the tomb of Ibrahim Adil Shah II (ruled 1580-1627), the fifth king of the dynasty. It

is said that the design for the Ibrahim Rauza served as an inspiration for that of the famous

Taj Mahal.The tomb was very beautiful as well as the mosque on the right side of it.Both are

more or less of the same size.we wandered inside the tomb and gazed at the beautful work on

the walls.

   From here we moved on to the next and the last item on our list,the Malik-e-Maidan,meaning

'owner of the battlefield'.This was supposed to be the biggest medieval cannon in the world.The

cannon's mouth is in the shape of a lion's mouth.The cannon is really huge and I read somewhere that the

person who would fire it ,after lighting it,would jump in a tank of water to escape the

thunderous noise it would make.

We took some pics here and then went off to the bus stand.Here we had something to eat and

then boarded a bus back to Gulbarga.Here rahmath,ameen,layak,shoaib and mudassir stayed back

while I made my way back to hyderabad feeling content on finally visiting a city which was at

one point in history, a rival of the kingdom of Golconda.

A trip to Bijapur,Karnataka

Amaravati (near Vijayawada),Andhra Pradesh

Imagine you are standing near the bus stand in Amaravati, a small town near Guntur in Andhra pradesh.Now,imagine that it is the year 639 AD.You decide to take a stroll in the streets of Amaravati.You see the countrymen of the satavahanas exchanging goods with coins which was a first in india.As you are strolling you come across Hiuen Tsang ,the famous chineese traveller wandering here among the many monasteries here.You see him gazing with amazement at the biggest stupa in India then.

That is what amaravati was at the height of its glory.1340 years have passed since then.The glory is gone.There aren't any buddhists in the area,only the stupa with its 3/4th volume gone lies here silently telling the few travellers the tales of a bygone era.To give it some company two museums have been setup.One is run by APTTDC and the other by ASI.The APTTDC museum is right across the bustand.It contains a lot of boards describing the local history and the history of other Buddhist places in AP.It is well maintained and photography is allowed.The ASI museum is a little ahead and is better than the APTTDC museum.It is divided into two galleries and there is a small replica of the original stupa.The galleries contain some really beautiful pieces of sculptures done in the amaravati school of art.The sculptures showcased here were actually used to adorn the stupa.There are also some coins and cosmetics worn by the women of that time.Some sculpture stand out from the rest like the life size sculpture of a bull,a relic casket and the wheel of truth.The model of the stupa gives a fair idea of how the actual stupa looked before the time took its toll on it.The actual mahastupa itself is a little disctance from this museum.It stands in the middle of a big park with neatly trimmed lawns and beautiful big trees.Though there is nothing abt the structure to get excited abt for the uninformed tourist,but if you think about the history behind it you will get its
significance.That the Dalai Lama came here to inaugrate the musuem and the park underlines its importance. Apart from me there was a family,which was sitting at one end of the park,and a youngster who was sleeping under a tree.And on the trees lining the footpath a number of pigeons were
livng.They were creating a ruckus with the sound they were making. So apart from these noises there was
no other sound.I stood at one place from where I could see the whole
stupa properly and took in the whole atmosphere,the pigeons
shouting,the crickets chirping and a few random shouts among the
villagers,and the still stupa of whose only the base, of height maybe about 2metres has survived.This fininshed my visit and i left Amaravati a happy person.

Jagityal Fort,Andhra Pradesh

Unknown to most people, even people form Jagtiyal itself,there is a fort in Jagtiyal.

Built by the French during the 18th century,This is the only fort I saw with the entrance still having a bridge on the moat.

But access to the fort is only through another point.

Manair Dam,Andhra Pradesh

Malangoor Fort,Andhra Pradesh

40km from Karimnagar lies the little known Mallangoor Fort.Information regarding this Fort on internet is almost nil.I read about this fort in The Imperial Gazetteer of India,1910 edition.

I was really interested and told Kiran to find out about this fort among the locals in Karimnagar.We knew about its location and the means to go there from one of kiran's friend.And one fine day we set out for it..Most of the fort is in ruins. 

Climbing this fort was the hardest among all the other forts I visited

Contrary to our expectations there were many local people here.












A small Video I made of the Trip

Bhongir Fort,Andhra Pradesh