pilgrim route · Telangana & Andhra Pradesh
Hyderabad to Srisailam
Through the Nallamala tiger forest to a Jyotirlinga on the Krishna.
- Distance
- 215 km
- Drive
- 4.5 hrs
- Suggested
- 1 nights
- Best season
- Oct – Mar
T
wo hundred and fifteen kilometres and about four and a half hours, and the drive divides neatly into two halves that have nothing in common. The first is open Telangana: NH-765 running south out of Hyderabad through Amangal and Kalwakurthy, straight road, cotton and castor in the fields, small towns with dhabas that open early. It is quick, and it needs to be, because the second half is where the time goes.
Past Achampet the road enters the Nallamala and stays in forest for the rest of the way. This is protected country on both sides of the state line, the Amrabad reserve on the Telangana side and Nagarjunsagar-Srisailam on the Andhra side, and it behaves like protected country: a check post at Mannanur, gates that shut at night, no shops, no fuel, and mobile signal that comes and goes with the ridges. The road narrows, the canopy closes over it, langurs sit on the parapets, and the temperature drops a few degrees. Then it begins to climb and fall through the hills, and at the marked pull-outs the ground simply drops away to the Krishna running in its gorge far below.
Srisailam sits at the end of that, on the south bank of the river, and it is two shrines in one place: Mallikarjuna, one of the twelve Jyotirlingas, and Bhramaramba, a Shakti Peetha. That combination is why the town pulls pilgrims from both states in numbers no other hill temple in this region sees. The dam and its reservoir lie just below, Patala Ganga takes you down to the water itself, and an early morning darshan is a completely different experience from a midday one. In practice the whole trip is planned around two clocks: the darshan queue and the forest gates.
The drive, stop by stop
- 01
Hyderabad
This is a route where the departure time is not a preference but a constraint, because the forest section has to be crossed in daylight. An early start clears the city and the outer ring before it thickens, and puts you on NH-765 heading south through Amangal with the morning still cool. The country here is open and unhurried: cotton and castor, low ridges in the distance, and dhabas at Kalwakurthy that do idli and chai from first light. This is the last comfortable place for fuel and a full breakfast, so treat it as such. Everything after Achampet is forest, and the forest has no service stations in it.
- 02
Nallamala Forest
Past Achampet the road climbs into the Nallamala and the drive changes completely. The canopy closes overhead, the highway narrows into a sequence of bends and gradients, and the air cools by several degrees. The check post at Mannanur is where the reserve formally begins, and the rules are the point of it: stay on the road, do not feed anything, take your rubbish out with you. Langurs sit on the parapets, peafowl cross without hurrying, and deer appear on the verges at dawn and dusk. At the marked pull-outs the forest breaks and the Krishna gorge opens up far below, which is the best view on the route. Umamaheswaram, the old northern gateway of Srisailam, sits off this stretch near Achampet if you want a temple stop before the main one.
- 03
Srisailam
The road delivers you to a hill town built around the Mallikarjuna Swamy temple on the south bank of the Krishna, a Jyotirlinga and a Shakti Peetha in one place, which is why pilgrims come here from across both states. Plan the day around darshan timings, because the queues stretch on weekends and festival days in a way they do not midweek. Beyond the main shrine there is more here than a single afternoon holds: the Srisailam dam and its reservoir views, Patala Ganga where steps and a ropeway take you down to the river, boats out to the Akka Mahadevi caves, and Sikharam above the town for the long view over the Nallamala. Stay the night, take an early darshan when it is quietest, and drive back through the forest in good light.
Along the corridor
When to drive
October to March. Post-monsoon and winter give you the greenest the Nallamala gets and temperatures that make the forest section a pleasure rather than an endurance, and the ghat stretch is at its clearest then. Summer is harsh on the open plains around Kalwakurthy before you reach the trees, and the reservoir drops noticeably by May. Heavy monsoon brings its own problems on this road: fog through the forest, a slick surface on the bends, and occasional restrictions on the reserve stretch, so daylight travel matters more than usual in those months. Maha Shivaratri is the peak of the pilgrim calendar at Srisailam, with crowds and darshan queues on an altogether different scale, so either plan for it deliberately or keep clear of that week.
The road & your driver
The route is two different roads joined together. The Hyderabad to Kalwakurthy half is fast, open highway with easy driving and reliable stops. Everything past Achampet is a forest ghat: tight bends, real gradients, a narrow surface with almost nowhere to overtake, and no reason at all to hurry. Because this is a protected reserve, there are timed check posts and the gates on that stretch are shut at night, which is why departures are planned to clear the Nallamala in daylight in both directions. Wildlife crossing the road is normal here, particularly at dawn and dusk, and it is one of the strongest arguments against night travel through the forest. Fuel, food, washrooms and mobile signal all thin out sharply once you are past Kalwakurthy, so fill the tank and carry drinking water and snacks before that point rather than after. Monsoon adds fog and a slippery surface to the same bends. Our drivers run this ghat regularly and time the day around the gate and darshan windows, which is exactly the part that catches out first-time visitors driving themselves.
Good cars for this road
Hyderabad to Srisailam — FAQs
How long is the Hyderabad to Srisailam drive, and how many days do we need?
About 215 km and roughly four and a half hours one way, going via Kalwakurthy and the Nallamala. One night at Srisailam is the sensible plan: it gives you an unhurried early morning darshan when the queues are shortest, time for the dam and Patala Ganga, and a daylight drive through the forest in both directions. A same-day return is possible but leaves you crossing the reserve against the clock.
What is the best time of year for this drive?
October to March, when the Nallamala is at its greenest and the ghat section is clear. Summer is hard on the open plains before the forest, and the reservoir is low by May. Heavy monsoon brings fog and slick bends through the reserve. Maha Shivaratri is the busiest week of the year at Srisailam, with very long darshan queues, so plan for it deliberately or avoid it.
What are the forest gate timings, and can we drive through at night?
The Nallamala stretch runs through a tiger reserve with check posts, and the gates on that road are shut at night, so the crossing has to happen in daylight. We plan departures around that in both directions. Beyond the rules, it is genuinely the wrong road to drive after dark: animals cross regularly at dawn and dusk, the bends are tight, and there is no lighting and very little help if something goes wrong.
Is there fuel and mobile signal on the way?
Not once you are in the forest. Kalwakurthy is the last dependable place for fuel, a proper meal and a clean washroom, so top up there rather than assuming something will appear later. Mobile signal comes and goes with the ridges through the reserve and can vanish for long stretches, which means the day's plan is best agreed before you enter the forest rather than over a call from inside it.
What else is there to see at Srisailam besides the temple?
More than most people expect. The Srisailam dam on the Krishna and the views over the reservoir are the obvious ones. Patala Ganga takes you down to the river by steps or ropeway. Boats run out to the Akka Mahadevi caves on the water, which needs a half-day. Sikharam, above the town, gives the long view across the Nallamala. With one night in hand you can fit two of these around darshan comfortably.
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This page plans the drive. If you just want the car and the fare —
Hyderabad to Srisailam cab — fares & booking
approx 215 km · 5–6 hrs · one all-inclusive fare, no advance
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