ANANTHAGIRI TRIP

Pukin was coming back from his month long stay at Kolkata. And it was the yearend. No way could we have let the weekend just pass by! But also, drinking and such things were not on the cards… So, only option left - hit the ROADS!!! I thought about a few places but we did not want to do a night halt. Discussions with one of my colleagues, Raghu, brought up Ananthagiri Hills in Vikarabad. Research showed that the area had lovely hilly roads and a drive bug that I am, immediately wanted to pounce on them. The route planned was:

Kompally --> Gachibowli --> Sadasivpet --> Morangpalli  --> Vikarabad  --> Ananthagiri Hills  --> Dharur  --> Kotepally  --> Morangpalli  --> Sadasivpet  --> Gachibowli  --> Kompally

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The total distance to be covered was 320 km and we expected to be back in the city by night.   

I was in the driver’s seat

The Team - Moinul, Pukin and Debadrito 

We started off around 7:30 AM from Kompally. Pukin and Debadrito were staying with me, and we picked Moinul from Gachibowli HCU Campus. All set, we hit the NH 9 from Lingampally. A few kms down, we had to pay toll (Rs. 30/- for up/down) and then it was Mumbai Road for 47 km. It was a simple 2 lane highway with very low dividers. We had earlier decided that we would have a pit stop at Sadasivpet. But we cancelled the plan and went left towards Morangpalli as we knew that we would stop in between to take pictures. From Sadashivpet, the road becomes single lane. This part of the journey was pretty event less, one thing that needs mention here is the quality of the roads. Considering rural roads, the condition of this road was too good.

Moreover, the hilly curves made the drive a treat. It was little exciting and extremely comfortable. This road raised the bars of our expectations for the rest of the trip.

In the meantime, we had stopped for a tea-break at Morangpalli. This was a short break and then we carried on till Vikarabad. Vikarabad town was bit congested. We got some drizzle on the way, which made us enjoy the roads more. From Vikarabad, Ananthagiri Tourist Complex was just 10 kms away and the road was another beauty. This was lot steeper with hairpin bends and we were delighted. The view of the farm lands from the backyard of the Tourist Complex was also lovely. This Tourist Complex is a big one with a restaurant, a separate bar and 2 storied buildings for the rooms. As almost every Haritha has, this one also has a very well-maintained swimming pool and lots of open space and kid rides. This is an ideal place to spend the weekend away from the hustle & bustle of Hyderabad. This is also very apt for single day team outings for corporate.

We had intentions of going to the temple and suddenly it started raining heavily. With the heavy rains, we kept aside plans for getting down at the temple & getting drenched. So, we headed off to our next destination, Kotepally Reservoir through Dharur. By this time, we started becoming oblivious of the destinations and were completely mesmerized by the roads. The hairpin bends coupled with the tremendous rains made us realize the beauty of the hills. There is a spot about a couple of kms away from the Hills towards Dharur where people can park their cars and enjoy the height and the horizon that lay in front of them. This place has a religious touch in the form of a Shiv Linga. Standing here, one realizes the magnitude of Mother Nature and how microscopic we stand in front of it.

Once we reached Dharur, a very funny hotel board caught our eyes.

At this place, we decided to change our plans as we were well ahead of schedule and wanted to drive down to Tandur and then move on to Kotepally reservoir. We wanted to enjoy more of the lovely roads! So on to Tandur for 30 kms from there. We reached Tandur in about 30 min. and took a right turn from there for Kotepally. We could realize our folly almost immediately. We came across very bad roads. It was not only tough to keep the car on the roads everytime there was oncoming traffic, but every time that we went off the roads and came back on to it, we could hear the bottom of the car hitting the roads. Also, the road was filled potholes and BIG ones! Somehow, we managed to reach Kotepally in about an hour and badly needed a break as our backs were aching with the past 30 kms of potholes. Now, another one to us! We when we got down and asked the local people for the Reservoir, we found out that we need to go 10 kms back on the road to Dharur to reach the Reservoir. So, we went 5km down the Dharur road and we could see a board on the left hand side. We were told at Kotepally that we need detour from the main road at the board and we need to go another 5km. This road was a good one, far better than the Tandur road. There are no further directions available on the road for the Reservoir. I was going based on Google Maps, which is always of great help. When we reached the Reservoir, it was worth it. We could take the car right to the brink of the water. There were lots of other people there as well.

We could relax there for quite some time. It is an absolute “Just Chill” place. I was waiting for the Sun to set. And what a worthy wait it was. A few of the setting Sun snaps….

We had nothing to do more…. So it was time to head back to Hyderabad. So we took the roads again and it was a different story now… that the day light was gone, the complexion of the drive changed completely. Pitch dark roads, with just the head lights of the tempo travelers on the way, it was exciting. Here also, the road was not good till Morangpalli. So, it was not much of fun. But once we reached Morangpalli, it was the same lovely road, just without any lights this time. THIS WAS FUN! I loved it to the core. We did not stop till Sadasivpet this time. It took us about an hour to Sadasivpet, where we stopped for a tea break. Then it was Mumbai Road till Lingampally. This was bad! This was National Highway #9 with very low dividers. So, the high beams of the oncoming traffic were a continuous irritation. To top it all, there were a couple of rowdy drivers who made it worse. But somehow, we managed to reach Lingampally in an hour and it was time for a well-deserved dinner break for all of us.

Finally, we dropped Moinul at the HCU Campus and headed back for Kompally.

What a way to bid off the year… None of us ever had such a lovely New Year’s Eve and we were content to the core.


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