Belum Caves & Srisailam

It had been more than 3 months since my previous trip.  And two relatively unexplored destinations nestled in the Anantapur and Kurnool districts had caught my eye some time back.  The travel plans were drawn and train tickets were purchased.  I had an able companion in Saunak, my colleague at HP.  We left Egmore at 5 PM on a warm Friday in Kacheguda Exp to reach Tadipatri in Andhra Pradesh at midnight.

The railway station was unexceptional with a foot-over bridge aiding passengers cross over the railway tracks.  Outside the station, there were share autos lined up filling their seats with, perhaps, the passengers alighting from the last train that night.  We hopped in for a quick ride to the nearest lodge for Rs 15 per person and alighted near the Kalyan lodge.  The lights from a major power plant in the vicinity caught our eye as we entered the lodge.  We agreed on a double standard for Rs 400 a night and we informed the attendant that we would be leaving early next morning for our trip to Belum caves.  We retired soon after we occupied our rooms and were woken up at times in the morning by the sounds of trucks carrying heavy loads.  At daybreak, we spent less time getting ready and proceeded towards the bus stand which was quite far off from the hotel.  We took a share auto that charged Rs 7 per person for a drop to the bus stand.  We had our breakfast of idli vada and a cup of hot tea before we got into the bus bound for Nandyal.  Belum caves is situated 34kms north-east of Tadipatri en route Nandyal.  The bus charged Rs 27 per person and dropped us off at the entrance to the cave campus in 45 mins.  The route to Belum was dotted with sunflower fields on either sides of the road.   The bus was relatively empty and the chillness of the morning was having its effect on us at times.

After getting down at the entrance to the campus, we wandered into acres of emptiness with a huge Buddha statue in sight.  The campus housed a restaurant, a resort with dormitories, play area for kids and the underground caves.  We spent some time in solitude with the towering Buddha statue and later proceeded to the ticket counter for the caves.  We were informed at the counter that since the lighting underground would be operated using generators, they would sell tickets only after a decent crowd had gathered.  It was 11 AM and finally our doors to the caves were open.  Tickets sold at Rs 40 per adult and Rs 25 per child.  We kept our bags at the entrance and carried our camera along. 

The caves were a treat to watch.  Around 3.5kms in length with 1.5kms open to the public, they offered some fantastic moments for the camera.  There were various rock formations ranging from stalactites to stalagmites to straws to flowstones.  The cave at Belum is the second largest in the Indian subcontinent after Krem Liat Prah in Meghalaya.  The caves had long passages, spacious chambers, fresh water galleries and blowers at regular intervals.  The blowers provide temporary relief from the sweat and suffocation inside the cave.  The caves reach its deepest point at a place known as Paatalaganga.  The major sections of the cave include simhadwaram (archway resembling a lion’s head), Paatalaganga (a perennial stream which disappears into the depths of the earth) and Meditation hall.  We had a bottle of drinking water that aided us manage our thirst under the ground.  A complete view of the caves takes close to an hour.  Guides were available for both English and Telugu.  We captured some wonderful rock formations on our camera and returned back to the restaurant for lunch after exiting the caves.  

Food at the restaurant was served hot and was very spicy – you would call it the typical Andhra meal.  After having a full meal, we waited at the gate of the campus for buses to go to Nandyal.  We had booked out bus to Srisailam from Nandyal at 3 45 PM.  A bus arrived that took us to Banaganapalli – 20 kms away from the caves on a bad dusty road.  The ticket costed Rs 20 per person and the journey was very uncomfortable.  From Banaganapalli, we boarded a deluxe bus to Nandyal, a distance of 45kms on another stretch of barely laid road.  We reached Nandyal by 3 15 PM, had some light refreshments and boarded the express bus to Srisailam.

Srisailam is 160kms away from Nandyal and the bus travels through the Srisailam forests.  Leaving at around 4PM and taking a break for 20 mins at around 8 PM near Dornala, the bus reached Srisailam at around 10 15 PM.  The driver was over cautious at times as we negotiated through various hairpin bends and curves.  Once at Srisailam, we got down to have our dinner – dosa it was after a very spicy lunch.  We then looked out for rooms which were available in plenty.  Temple devasthanam had their rooms and cottages scattered all over the hill town.  Also available were state endowment choultries and private lodges.  We found a decent double room at a choultry maintained by a Marathi organization from Solapur.  It costed Rs 511 a night and the attendant informed that Rs 11 in the cost would be used for annadaanam.  We retired for a well-deserved sleep after a hectic travel through the day. 

We woke up the next day by 6 AM and reached the temple premises by 6 45 AM after taking our bath.  The huge general queue caught our attention and we decided to check with the security guards on how much time it would take for darshan.  One guard informed that it would take 2-3 hrs for darshan on the general queue and half an hour for darshan on the “shigradarshan” queue.  The “shigradarshan” costed Rs 100 per person and since we wanted to cover some more places of interest nearby, we decided to buy the tickets.  Since the abhishekam was being performed, the door to the deity was kept closed for around half an hour.  Once open, the queue proceeded quickly and we completed our darshan in half an hour.  The presiding Deities of this temple - Lord Mallikarjuna Swamy is one of the twelve Jyothirlingas and Goddess Bhramaramba Devi is one of the eighteen Mahasakthis and both are self-manifested. The unique feature of this temple is the combination of Jyothirlingam and Mahasakthi in one campus, which is very rare and only one of its kind.  Photography is not allowed inside the temple premises.

After completing darshan of all deities, we went out and had our breakfast.  The temple devasthanam runs their canteen to the left of the main entrance to the temple.  Food at the canteen was served hot and of high quality.  We took laddu prasadam from the counters behind the main temple.  After leaving the prasadam at the room, we left for the APTDC ropeway that runs to the Paatalaganga.  The ropeway costs Rs 50 per person and the journey time is around 5 mins.  From the ropeway car, one can see the Srisailam dam at a distance and the River Krishna with high mountains on either side.  We alighted at the station below and sat for a while on a rock at Paatalaganga.  We saw people lighting lamps in the water here and worshipping the river.  The water is supposed to be very pure and has healing properties for skin diseases.  We then took the return car, back to the summit from where we walked back to the canteen.  

We had our lunch at around 11 30 AM and returned back to our choultry for a well-needed rest.  Our bus was booked for Ongole at 2 30 PM and from there we had to catch the night train to Chennai at 10 50 PM. 

The bus started at 2 15 PM and travelled through the curves and bends of the hill to reach Dornala.  From there, the bus passed through Markapur and Podili before reaching Ongole at 7 45 PM.  We had dinner at a fast food center there and walked towards the station.  Since we had time on our hands, we did not want to take an auto to cover the 4km distance to the railway station.  We glanced through the roadside shops and bought a few jalebis on our way.  After waiting for a few hours at the railway station, we got on to the Howrah-Chennai mail that brought us back to Chennai the next morning. 

Thus ended an exciting, fun filled trip with lots of travel, moments of peace and variety of food J