Trip members: Karthik, Sanjeev, Prem and Sathish Raja
Trip date: 16 and 17 Dec 2017
Trip Plan : Chennai - Rajahmundry - Maredumilli - Rajahmundry - Chennai
A weekend trip planned to venture into not-so common region.
Day-1
We reached Rajahmundry by 7 AM. We refreshed and had local breakfast at a shop outside the railway station and started the trip to Maredumilli. Maredumilli is a forest region located en-route to Bhadrachalam from Rajahmundry. There are few waterfalls in this region and forests all around.
We reached the first place around 9:30 - Rampa falls at Rampachodavaram. Rampa falls is 4 kms from Rampachodavaram. The Rampa falls is quite small and looks like there are few more when we climb up the hills. We lacked local guidance and ended up in a small water falls - provided none there, we were left all by ourselves in this small falls. The water was very cold and we enjoyed every bit of it. We spent around 30 minutes here. There is a small temple like place near this small water falls. Rs.10 per person is collected as entrance ticket here.
We then returned back to highway and around 30 kms from there, we reached Jalatarangini Waterfalls. Jalatarangini Waterfalls is the one actually in the Maredumilli forest range. On the way, at the Maredumilli village, the place is very popular for Bamboo chicken and bamboo biryani. My tripmates enjoyed every bit of the bamboo chicken and ordered (paid) bamboo chicken biryani for lunch. We then went towards Jalatarangini Water Falls.
Jalatarangini Waterfalls is a cascade of running water amidst forest and rocks. Rs.25 is collected as entrance ticket per person for this falls. During monsoon this place would be heaven. There was some water and beautiful surroundings for us to enjoy. We walked quite a bit in the rocks and water to get to a convenient place to take bath. We spent close to 45 minutes here and enjoyed every bit if the freezing water and the locality.
Next, we stopped by Manyam view point. This is view point, from where one gets to see the valley of Maredumilli. The lush green view is nice to see and take photographs. We can also see the curvy roads beneath.
Further, 9 kms down the NH, is Amruthdhara Waterfalls. Rs.20 is collected as entrance ticket per person for this falls. This is again a cascade of waters in steep rocks. One needs to climb down a steep pathway to reach the waterfalls. This place is not so comfortable to take bath but can slide. We just saw the falls and climbed back.
Return, we stopped by Maredumilli village for lunch. Veg lunch was packed and made available; which bamboo chicken biryani and pot biryani were ready to be served.
We reached back Rajahmundry by 4 PM. We stopped by Godavari ghat - T.T.D ghat and saw the sprawling bridge over the massively long Godavari river. This river bridge is rail-cum-road bridge - It is Asia's third longest road-cum-rail bridge crossing a water body after the longest one in Patna and second one in Osaka. The bridge is 4.1 kilometers long - 2.8 kms rail bridge and 4.1 kms for the road bridge. Boating is available here by the ghat from government operators. We decided to go for boating in the morning. At night, the bridge is lighted with colorful lights, a nice view to see.
We then checked in at Hotel Akshay Residency. Akshay Residency rooms were spacious and ok in cleanliness. The service was also ok. The locality is perfect with respect to 10 minutes walk to Godavari ghat and a min walk into the market. We spent all the evening crawling by the market enjoying the street foods - tomato bhajjis, bondas and much more!
We did not miss the famous Rose milk parlour in the market. For Rs.40, the rose milk was class apart - great flavour and enough quantity. The shop is always crowded and the visit is worth! If you are in Rajahmundry - Rose milk is a definite to have! We also had dinner in road side restaurants - idlies and dosas with sambhar and varieties of chutneys - very comfy basic local dinner - satisfaction guaranteed.
Day-2
Lazy start to the day and the plan was to visit temples in walkable distance and do boating in Godavari river. We started with no 1 rated restaurant for breakfast - Hotel Udipi Akshaya. We had dosas, idlies, vadai, poori, pongal and coffee. They were not disappointing, though not the best in the class. After all, they are the best in Rajahmundry.
First stop - ISKCON @ Rajahmundry. The temple is on the other side of railway track. The temple, varnished in blue, typical ISKCON, hosts all avatars of Vishnu all around. We spent around 20 minutes in the temple.
We then took an auto from the temple to Sri Markandeya Swamy temple. The temple is on the river banks of Godavari. The temple is one of its kind across India. The temple hosts Lord Shiva in form of Sri Markandeya Swamy, Lord Vishnu as Sri Ventaramana, Lord Ganesh, Hanuman and Navagrahas. We spent around 20-30 minutes in the temples.
Godavari river boating - there are 2 types. One is speed boat - Rs.354/- and other Rs.40 per person for a bigger boat. The speed boat ride is for 8-10 minutes and the bigger one for 15 minutes. We opted for speed boat - 4 people can go for Rs.354. We got beautiful view of the Truss and Arch bridges across Godavari. Definitely, boating is a must-to-do in Rajahmundry.
We then checked out, had an excellent lunch in Hotel JK Classic. We had biryani, jeera rice and dhall. The ambiance is excellent and so was the service and food. It took some time to get the food, but, was freshly prepared and exciting to eat. We then boarded back to Chennai by 4 PM in Circar express.
Overall, a weekend getaway in a not so popular or common town.
Trip date: 16 and 17 Dec 2017
Trip Plan : Chennai - Rajahmundry - Maredumilli - Rajahmundry - Chennai
A weekend trip planned to venture into not-so common region.
Day-1
We reached Rajahmundry by 7 AM. We refreshed and had local breakfast at a shop outside the railway station and started the trip to Maredumilli. Maredumilli is a forest region located en-route to Bhadrachalam from Rajahmundry. There are few waterfalls in this region and forests all around.
We reached the first place around 9:30 - Rampa falls at Rampachodavaram. Rampa falls is 4 kms from Rampachodavaram. The Rampa falls is quite small and looks like there are few more when we climb up the hills. We lacked local guidance and ended up in a small water falls - provided none there, we were left all by ourselves in this small falls. The water was very cold and we enjoyed every bit of it. We spent around 30 minutes here. There is a small temple like place near this small water falls. Rs.10 per person is collected as entrance ticket here.
We then returned back to highway and around 30 kms from there, we reached Jalatarangini Waterfalls. Jalatarangini Waterfalls is the one actually in the Maredumilli forest range. On the way, at the Maredumilli village, the place is very popular for Bamboo chicken and bamboo biryani. My tripmates enjoyed every bit of the bamboo chicken and ordered (paid) bamboo chicken biryani for lunch. We then went towards Jalatarangini Water Falls.
Jalatarangini Waterfalls is a cascade of running water amidst forest and rocks. Rs.25 is collected as entrance ticket per person for this falls. During monsoon this place would be heaven. There was some water and beautiful surroundings for us to enjoy. We walked quite a bit in the rocks and water to get to a convenient place to take bath. We spent close to 45 minutes here and enjoyed every bit if the freezing water and the locality.
Next, we stopped by Manyam view point. This is view point, from where one gets to see the valley of Maredumilli. The lush green view is nice to see and take photographs. We can also see the curvy roads beneath.
Further, 9 kms down the NH, is Amruthdhara Waterfalls. Rs.20 is collected as entrance ticket per person for this falls. This is again a cascade of waters in steep rocks. One needs to climb down a steep pathway to reach the waterfalls. This place is not so comfortable to take bath but can slide. We just saw the falls and climbed back.
Return, we stopped by Maredumilli village for lunch. Veg lunch was packed and made available; which bamboo chicken biryani and pot biryani were ready to be served.
We reached back Rajahmundry by 4 PM. We stopped by Godavari ghat - T.T.D ghat and saw the sprawling bridge over the massively long Godavari river. This river bridge is rail-cum-road bridge - It is Asia's third longest road-cum-rail bridge crossing a water body after the longest one in Patna and second one in Osaka. The bridge is 4.1 kilometers long - 2.8 kms rail bridge and 4.1 kms for the road bridge. Boating is available here by the ghat from government operators. We decided to go for boating in the morning. At night, the bridge is lighted with colorful lights, a nice view to see.
We then checked in at Hotel Akshay Residency. Akshay Residency rooms were spacious and ok in cleanliness. The service was also ok. The locality is perfect with respect to 10 minutes walk to Godavari ghat and a min walk into the market. We spent all the evening crawling by the market enjoying the street foods - tomato bhajjis, bondas and much more!
We did not miss the famous Rose milk parlour in the market. For Rs.40, the rose milk was class apart - great flavour and enough quantity. The shop is always crowded and the visit is worth! If you are in Rajahmundry - Rose milk is a definite to have! We also had dinner in road side restaurants - idlies and dosas with sambhar and varieties of chutneys - very comfy basic local dinner - satisfaction guaranteed.
Lazy start to the day and the plan was to visit temples in walkable distance and do boating in Godavari river. We started with no 1 rated restaurant for breakfast - Hotel Udipi Akshaya. We had dosas, idlies, vadai, poori, pongal and coffee. They were not disappointing, though not the best in the class. After all, they are the best in Rajahmundry.
First stop - ISKCON @ Rajahmundry. The temple is on the other side of railway track. The temple, varnished in blue, typical ISKCON, hosts all avatars of Vishnu all around. We spent around 20 minutes in the temple.
We then took an auto from the temple to Sri Markandeya Swamy temple. The temple is on the river banks of Godavari. The temple is one of its kind across India. The temple hosts Lord Shiva in form of Sri Markandeya Swamy, Lord Vishnu as Sri Ventaramana, Lord Ganesh, Hanuman and Navagrahas. We spent around 20-30 minutes in the temples.
Godavari river boating - there are 2 types. One is speed boat - Rs.354/- and other Rs.40 per person for a bigger boat. The speed boat ride is for 8-10 minutes and the bigger one for 15 minutes. We opted for speed boat - 4 people can go for Rs.354. We got beautiful view of the Truss and Arch bridges across Godavari. Definitely, boating is a must-to-do in Rajahmundry.
We then checked out, had an excellent lunch in Hotel JK Classic. We had biryani, jeera rice and dhall. The ambiance is excellent and so was the service and food. It took some time to get the food, but, was freshly prepared and exciting to eat. We then boarded back to Chennai by 4 PM in Circar express.
Overall, a weekend getaway in a not so popular or common town.
No comments:
Post a Comment