Location : Kurnool
district, Andhra Pradesh
Attractions :Bhramaramba Mallikharjunaswamy temple, Srisailam
sanctuary and Dam.
Ideal Time to Visit : September to February
¤ The City
The untouched Srisailam is a small town, situated in the densely
forested Nallamalai hills and on the banks of river Krishna. Srisailam
is surrounded by lush greenery and beautiful locations. The place is
an energizing weekend vacations from Hyderabad.
The
highest of the Srisailam hills, is Sikhareswara Swamy, at Sikharam.
The 512-meter long Srisailam dam along with the hydel power project is
also worth seeing.
¤ Attractions In Srisailam
Bhramaramba Mallikharjunaswamy
Temple
The Bhramaramba Mallikharjunaswamy temple is an ancient and holy
temple of Srisailam. It holds great historical and religious
significance. This temple is situated on the 457-meter high hill
located on the south bank of the river Krishna, in the Nallamalai
forest. This temple is regarded as one of the12 Jyothirlingas in the
country. The temple is also called as "Sri Mallikharjunam"
and "Sri Parvatham". Goddess Mahakali is also seated here in
the form of Bhramaramba, she is also the consort of Lord
Mallikharjuna. This sacred temple is open for people belonging to all
caste and creed, who can worship and even touch the deity.
Saivaite Temples of Srisailam
The Saivaite temples of Srisailam are quite famous and celebrated.
They are as old as the second century A.D. These beautiful temples are
located on a plateau on the top of a hill named Srisailam, Sriparvata
or Srigiri, in the Nallamalai ranges. Numerous devotees visit
Srisailam to pay homage to Lord, Mallikarjuna and his Consort,
Bhramaramba.
One of the unique features of these temples is that they are located
in a large prakara fenced in by sculptured walls. These walls are made
of huge blocks of stone placed on each other. There are many
sculptures found in abundance on the northern, eastern and southern
walls and a few of them on the western wall.
Above the base of there are five regular rows of sculpture. The first
row consists of the elephant in many postures. The next row has
figures of the horse, the warrior, the hunter and the dancer. The next
three have sculptures of deities and scenes from Saivaite traditions.
One can also find occasional figures of deities, birds and animals.
Then, there sculptures of Lingas, nandis, the lion and the swan. These
beautiful rows look like a well organized picture gallery.
Sikhareswara Swamy Temple
The Sikhareswara Swamy Temple dedicated to Lord Shiva is the
situated on the highest hills of Srisailam that is the Sikharam hill.
Another beautiful temple is Sri Ganapathi temple, dedicated to Lord
Ganesh.
Srisailam Sanctuary
The Srisailam Sanctuary can be one of the site for your vacations in
Andhra Pradesh. It is a famous sanctuary of Andhra Pradesh. It is
sprawled over 5 adjoining districts of Guntur, Prakasam, Kurnoor,
Mahabubnagar, Nalgonda districts. The vegetation of the sanctuary is
quite rich having dry deciduous mixed forests.
Animals that can be find here are the spotted deer, mouse deer, black
buck, sambars, chousingha nilgai, tree straw, mugger crocodile, and
wolfs, panthers, tigers, sloth beer & wild dogs. The best season
to visit the sanctuary is from October to May.
Srisailam Dam
The Srisailam dam is built across the river Krishna and is situated
in a deep gorge in the Nallamalai hill range. Located 300m above the
sea level, it is surrounded by mesmerizing natural splendor. The dam
is 512 m long and is one of the twelve largest hydroelectric projects
in the country. There are 12 radial crest gates in the dam. To go
inside the dam you need to have a special permission.
¤ Excursions
Srisailam a small town in Andhra
Pradesh has many exciting excursion destinations nearby. They are
equally beautiful and mesmerizing, as Srisailam. Some of these
destinations are Alampur (27 km), Dindi Reservoir (64 km), Kurnool
(180 km), Nagarjunasagar (180 km), Papanasam (2 km) and Sangameswar
(18 km).
¤ Reach Srisailam
By Air : The nearest airport
is at Hyderabad (232 km) which is connects Srisailam with Bangalore,
Bhubaneswar, Bombay, Calcutta, Delhi, Madras, Nagpur and
Vishakapatnam.
By Rail : Nearest railway station from Srisailam is located
on the Markapur Road on the Guntur-Hubli metre gauge line. Nandyal and
Kurnool on the same line are also convenient railheads. Another
convenient and important railhead is Hyderabad (232 km).
By Road : Srisailam is well connected by APSRTC and
Devasthanam buses with Hyderabad, Mahaboobnagar, Nalgonda, Devorkonda,
Guntur, Vijayawada, Kurnool, Ongole, Mahanandi, Mantralayam, Anantapur
Tirupati and Chitradurg among other places.
Local Transportation : Cycle Rickshaws, auto and taxis are
available for local transportation.