Andhra Pradesh Excluded!!!!!!

Hi all

I have been to Vizag 3 days ago and was taken aback by the amount of thrust on tourism. mark my words...vizag will be a great place to visit soon.
The drive from Vizag to Bhimli on a smooth highway along the sea is one of the best things i have experienced in recent times. Just how the heck did they manage such a fantastic road in such short time (Was in Vizag in 2004...no road then)!

I shall henceforth spend some quality time researching AP and its tour potential on IM. for starters, here is something that sounds pleasant. Konaseema is reputed to be the Kerala of Andhra Pradesh and this one would sure be exciting:

http://www.tourisminap.com/konaseemacruising.htm

hi all.
I'm really not an expert on Andhra pradesh as a whole but i can make myself useful vis-a -vis Hyderabad, the capital city. It is definately a Must Visit destination. Its one of the most beautiful cities in India. Its very clean. Green. and their's loads to do their. There's this perfect blend of History ( the Golconda Fort, The Salarjung museum, Charminar etc) and the Modern attractions.( i'm sorry cudnt come up with a better word to draw the paralle between the 2. English Vocab is not my forte.)
i might be a bit biased about the city ( grew up there. spent 14 yeras there) and think that it's The Best. but even objectively speaking, its an amazing city. the food. the people. Dont miss it. and the Language! the hyderabadi brand of hindi is popular all over the country. Very different. Very typical.
so all u potential tourists... Go for it!

Hallo rangss garu, look forward to your updates on AP! I almost persuade myself to start writing something to post here but get a block, feeling that it might be a bit outdated and prove to be counter productive. I was quite pleasantly surprised to see how much Hyderabad has changed when I visited in '03. And I was away for only a couple of years or so . Hope Dr.YSR and gang are keeping up the good work initiated by CBN. Ms.Renuka Chowdhury being the Tourism Minister should help a bit I suppose, but let's not get into politics!

Kaushiks' obeservation is not off the mark entirely ("boring state").

Yeah! most of AP is dry and HOT! Heat is so intense in summer that even locals hate going outoddors. This is oneof the biggest drawbacks of AP. Much of AP is a historical delight with many many monuments and temples, but few that are architecturally vivid (Like the ramappa temples in Warangal). Most of the AP history does not form a part of the Popular Indian History (most of you Indians would not have read much of AP in your school history books) and is rather left to the IAS aspirants.

But still, if the vast dry and monotonous sands of Rajasthan can capture your imagination, there must be something about AP then.

Naxalism is one major drawback. In real, AP is the closest Southern cousin to Bihar in terms of social disparities. Naxalism or underground Maoist insurgence was born out of this disparage. Most of the wonderfully secreted tourist spots of AP fall in the Naxalie Zone and hence off-tourist.

Still, here is my pick for AP:

Hyderabad....for all that is discussed on IM on this city.

Temples: Ahobilam, Srisailam, Ramappa, Tirupati, Bhadrachalam, Mahanandi, Simhachalam, Arasavalli, Sri Kurmam, Antarvedi,.......hey the list is too long.

Adventure: AP Cuisine, especially the fiery Telangana and Guntur cusine. Travelling in summer al over rayalseema....needs guts, perseverance and brute will power to bear the heat, lack of water and the distances. Forests of Chintapalle, Araku and Adilabad and Srisailam.... rayalseema....home of a billion rocks....for rock climbers!

Sai Baba: If you dig this man, Puttaparthi is the biggest reason you are in AP. A township of faith...and amenities in a barren land stretching far.

Andhra Food: Hyderabadi cuisine, Guntur fire-in-your-mouth thing, nellore fish, Konaseema gentle cuisine, Kakinada non veg meal and beer at 50 bucks a plate with practicaly every kind of meat in your plate, vizag sea food, a million kinds of pickles, tirupati laddu, mango jelly, puthareku (paper sweet), the ubiquitos aubergine (eggplant/brinjal) in its multple avatars all over the state....Andhra cuisine cannot be defined in a sentence. It has to be re-defined everywhere you move within the state.

Mangoes....110 varieties as far as i know...this state rules wen it comes to mangoes. mango pickles...that is another thing....

Vizag: VFM Bengali tourist haven! A beach, a hill-station, a temple, a garden, a little bit of shopping, idli rasam sambhar and a whole package deal put into two days for the entire family on LTC. Good, back to kolkata, will come again next year!

Movies! 300 of them made here every year. Ramoji Film City. Giant Cut-outs of Chiranjeevi or Nagarjuna. First day First Show stampede at 5:00 AM in the morning, success parades of movie units, good talk, bad talk, crackers, hoots, loud music blaring out of shops...movies are a carnival in Andhra Pradesh....the most no of movie theatres per sq km anyhwere in the world! give them a try.

Godavari : What the Ganges is to the north, except no dead bodies floating in it. The Big River The Holy River. A journey by itself. Starting at Basara...home to the only Saraswati temple in the world, confluencing at Antarvedi, a heavnly point.

Konaseema....AP's own Kerala...or it seems so.

East and West Godavari Districts: Rich, green rice bowls. Plenty of temples, plenty of little excursions.

On my (Nelles) map, where the Godavari emerges from the hills (near Devipatnam) there is a 'Magnificant Gorge', anyone been there? is it worth getting of the train at Kovvur to go for a day trip?

Excellent Post, Rangss! AP is a state that has surprised me. before coming over, i had this feel that it is a dry state etc., but i am glad to be proved wrong!

horsely hills @ madanapalle in south andhra ,few hours drive from chennai
is one of those few unexplored hill stations

the tiger reserve ( is it rajiv reserve ) ,one of the biggest reserves in india near nagarjuna sagar dam, is must visit for wild life enthu guys ,very few tourists ,i should say zero wild life tourists , truck drivers there tell you about tigers crossing the road at night time

then you have flamingos at the lake near sullurpet ( is it pulicat), andhra - tamil nadu border

Hi Folks,

Guess I am being a bit rude here, putting in a post without having introduced myself to the forum !
Well I just transferred to Pune after having spent a memorable year at Hyderabad... and trust me the place is fantastic in more ways than one.
For one, the majesty of the Golconda fort is to be experienced to be believed, the acoustics built into its architecture are amazing. Hyderabad is worth the visit just to be at Golconda.
For those who enjoy a browse through history, the Salarjung Meuseum offers a veritable treat.... possibly one of the finest meuseums in India...
Even if one forgets about the monuments and landmarks, the city of Hyderabad itself is one of a kind... the food, the colors... of course the biryani !
There is a Sunday Book Bazaar where you never know what you might stumble upon.
Agreed, the most enduring symbol of Hyderabad will remain the Chaarminar, but as a city.. it is unique in its own way...

Taking a cue form your question...

Yup! It is worth doing that trip. Kovvur is a great place to start off from, but I would suggest the opposite side of Kovvur bank...Rajahmundhry...big town with amenities and more organized motor boat trips. The "magnificent gorge" you are referring to is in Papikondalu...

You can take a motorised boat or catamaran from Rajahmundhry to Pattiseema and papikondalu. If you venture further, into Khammam district, you can go all the way to Perantalapalli and Kunawaram, all enchanting places in natural setting with the width of the godavari reducing as yu move up. You can go all the way till Bhadrachalam actually. APTDC operates pleasure cruise boat trips from Rajahmundhry. From kovvur, you could take a regular transportation motor launch.

The entire stretch of the river between Bhadrachalam and Rajamundhry is exciting. At Rajahmundhry, the river is broken by a barrage. Further downstram, the river breaks into Vasishta and Goutami, which fiurther break into smaller distributaries creating a backwater-like formation.

http://www.khammam.com/html/tourism/perantalapalli.htm

Check this picture

Dear Steven,
Given an opportunity, have a Car-ride from Bhadrachalam to Narsipatnam via Lower Sileru, Upper Sileru which is a picturesique road.
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In between you will also have to pass through ""Gali Kondalu"".
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Another journey is from Bhadrachalam to Rajamundry via Addateegala, Rajavommangi, Rampachodavaram.
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V.Srinivasa Prasad
3.6.2005/14.25 hrs.

A small correction. It is not Gali Kondalu but it is ""darakonda"" Ghat.
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gali Kondalu is located between Araku and Tyda, I think before Borra Caves only, while performing journey by road.
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V.Srinivasa Prasad
Hyderabad
3.6.2005/14.58 hrs.

Thanks for all the great info, I can't wait to explore.

The last line in the website page you linked read:

"The village is a free of Alcoholism and Observes high moral values."

Are they ready for me?

Thanks for the detailed info; I am considering using a motorbike for the area.

Also thanks for the Chelama - Diguvametta info.

Anyone know if there are any problems to be encountered (restricted access areas) on the roads between Chinturu & jeypur or Chinturu & Jagdalpur?

I know there are many tribal areas in southern Chhattisgarh/Orissa that are off limits to tourists

Dear Steven,
Your observation:-
""Anyone know if there are any problems to be encountered (restricted access areas) on the roads between Chinturu & jeypur or Chinturu & Jagdalpur?""
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1) To the best of my knowledge, no such restrictions are in vogue.
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2) But for going to Jeypore, the following methods can be followed:-
A) Chinturu to Jagdalpur via Kunta and then Jagdalpur to Jeypore on NH.43.
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B) Chinturu to Kunta by Road (above), cross the river Sabari, reach Mottu village; Mottu to Jeypore by road via Malkanagiri.
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C) Chinturu to Upper Sileru, Upper Sileru to Chitrakonda, Chitrakonda to Malkanagiri and then to Jeypore.
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V.Srinivasa Prasad
Hyderabad
4.6.2005/19.30 hrs.

Hey, these are some fantastic routes...all through dense forests.

Only 2 problems...these are state/district highways and might not be in good shape.
No 2: possible naxalite activity: this region is their R&R zone...rest and recuperation. But I do not think they would bother ordinary souls.