Well! I am going to say it out loud - We’ve lived in Hyderabad for about 2 years now and I’ve often heard everyone say, “Damn dude there is no place to go to from Hyderabad over the weekend like we could have if we were living in Bangalore or Pune”.
travelengine
is here to prove that theory wrong! In our 2 years of living full time in Hyderabad, we’ve explored at-least 9 amazing nearby places to visit over weekends and sometimes long weekends, and we want you to experience these places as well! We have compiled the best at -
Top 10 Places to Visit near Hyderabad
. This article is about one such 2-day road trip we took from Hyderabad to Srisailam describing the fun activities and places we covered in between!
Dornala Atmakur Rd
Quick Itinerary:
💳 Total Trip Cost Per Head : ₹3,500
Day 1
Drive from Hyderabad to Nallamalai Jungle Camp (🕔 6 hrs)
Check-in and cherish life amidst lush greenery (🕔 4 hrs)
Over night stay at the camp
Day 2
Wake up and enjoy an early morning Jungle Safari 🕔 2-3 hrs
Check-out and head over to Srisailam Dam 🕔 3 hrs
Quick stop at Srisailam Temple to witness the famous Jyotirlinga 🕔 2 hrs
Octopus Viewpoint - Surreal viewpoint in Srisailam 🕔 1 hr
Cost Division ✔ Stay = ₹2,000 per head (A/C Rooms, incl. Food + Safari.) ✔ Fuel = ~ ₹1,000 per head (INR 3,500 was the total fuel cost) ✔ Food = ₹500 per head (first day meals are included in the stay package)
We began early at about 6:30am on a beautiful Saturday morning embracing our exciting 5.5 hours long journey ahead. Watching the sun move along with our car, golden rays hitting parts of our face, groovy peppy morning playlist playing on Spotify - early morning drives are always a highlight! The drive takes you through the airport road leading to the highway and then the countryside! Wider polluted roads are now being replaced by fresher prettier roads filled with flowering trees. One tollgate after the other, we zoom through each one scanning our new Fast Tag strip.
90kms and 2hrs later, breakfast is all we could think and talk about. There are multiple options available on the Hyderabad-Bangalore highway. We went to Sandarshini Udupi Pure Veg Restaurant in Mahbubnagar.
Back in the car, the caffeine had kicked in and the music went a notch louder. The drive from here on is what I had been waiting for: quieter roads, serene landscapes, brown tall grass and vibrant bright flowers. Each time we passed a breath-taking spot we would stop our car and take out our Mavic Air 4k drone and set it free. All our city worries were long gone. Singing along our favorite songs, stopping often for quick chai breaks, and tons of pictures and videos after - we had entered the Nallamala forest reserve. This point onward there is hardly any network connectivity- Perfect for a weekend getaway! No unwanted calls, no checking in on Instagram vicariously. Just us, nature and monkeys!
Nallamalai Jungle Camp entrance
A friendly staff member came running towards us and greeted us warmly. Our lunch was ready and he was quick to help us with our luggage and show us our way inside the camp. Nestled between lush greenery are 4 cottages and 5 tents named after birds - We stayed in a cottage named ‘Shikra’.
Our cottage - Shikra!
The camp is blessed with a wide variety of specialty trees and plants, each tagged with its name and details! We took a walking tour of the estate. There are a large number of monkeys inside the camp that roam about happily and provide non-stop entertainment. We saw a monkey up in a tree hiding from a dog, and the dog had had enough of waiting for the monkey below the tree and kept barking at him.
The package of 2,000 rupees per person includes accommodation, breakfast, evening snacks, non-veg lunch and dinner! The campsite has a restaurant called HoneyBee. The camp also conducts safari tours and it is included in the package as well. Yes, I hear you - Its a steal!
We spent the day mostly walking about the camp, spoke to some of the other visitors (there was warm elderly couple who were from Hyderabad and told us more about the different dishes that was served for dinner), played the card game 29 (heard of it?! - its Ayan’s favorite game), gobbling our faces with the super yum lunch and dinner at HoneyBee!
A wooden log swing at the camp
Day 2 - Nallamala Forest - Srisailam - Hyderabad
Woke up and took the early morning safari. The in-house guides were excellent and super engaging! The safari takes you through the heart of the forest, passing by some small mud-roads (which are apparently taken by pilgrims on their way to Sabrimala), an old temple, a big blue photogenic well and many many mango trees!
A temple in the middle of the Nallamala forestThe guides were very inclined towards fetching mangoes and also had their sticks ready. We al tried our luck and managed to collect a few mangoes! Back in our safari jeep we passed by bison’s, deer’s, peacocks, eagles, sambars and some bones. Yes bones - we were informed that it must have been of an animal that the tigers would have preyed on. Unfortunately we did not spot a tiger but were shown the water reservoirs they generally come to drink water from, and we saw some paw scratches on trees. The safari ends with an impressive viewpoint in the middle of the jungle and a drop back to the camp.
On the way during the safari
Next stop: Srisailam dam
A massive dam across River Krishna, it is the 2nd largest capacity working hydroelectric station in the country. A nice drive amidst nature. If you are lucky you would catch the gush of water flowing through when the gates are open.
Srisailam Dam
On the way to the dam
Clicked some photos, nibbled on some ice creams and yet again were entertained by some more cute little monkeys. I find their company everywhere! Sri Bhramaramba Mallikarjuna is a serene temple about 14kms from the dam and is dedicated to Lord Shiva and Parvati. I would recommend a quick stop here before reaching the dam.
Next stop: Octopus Viewpoint
A 30 minutes drive from the dam gets you to the stunning Octopus Viewpoint. You would not believe a viewpoint as gorgeous as this is not famous enough. I kid you not it does not look real. Check out the photos for yourselves if you don’t believe me!
Octopus Viewpoint, SrisailamAnother 30 minutes drive from here gets you to a waterfall named Mallela Thirtham Waterfalls. It is on the way back to Hyderabad so you might as well check it out!
All in all this was a fun weekend. I highly recommend checking out the Nallamalai Tiger Reserve Camp - great value for money.
Our entire trip in a flash - stunning drone shots
Map
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