Situated along the banks of the Manair River - a tributary of the Godavari River, KARIMNAGAR is the fifth largest city of Telangana and often called as the City of Granites. Situated around 165 kms from Hyderabad, I never realised that this place has some beautiful weekend destinations that can leave you enthralled and coming back for more.
Just as usual, this ride was never planned - on weekends, I typically pick a direction and start exploring the places that I come across. It was not until past midnight on Saturday that I decided that I will be visiting the Elgandal Fort on Sunday.
I left home around 5:40 AM and as I crossed the Shamirpet Lake, I decided to make a quick stopover to check out what all places could be covered in this ride - the more the merrier specially considering the fact that the weather also seemed to be on my side for the ride.
The first place that grabbed my attention was the Ranganayaka Sagar Reservoir Project - located at the outskirts of Siddipet District and around 115 kms from Hyderabad. Inaugurated in April 2020 by KT Rama Rao and T Harish Rao, under the Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Scheme, this place is turning out to be a major tourist destination with a lot of people making a beeline to this place specially during the weekends. But then this was a post-COVID weekend and as usual there was less or no crowd - anyways it was a little too early to expect any large footfall.
📍 Siddipet | Telangana | India
Distance (from Hyderabad): 115 kms
Google Map Link:
A further ride down below to the reservoir through some uneven rocky roads brings you closer to the water body and leaves you in a trance. Don’t believe it, check out the images below - cool pleasant air with serenity all around - just the kind of weekend I long for to find some peace in all the madness throughout the week.
I had spent close to 2 hours exploring this place and also decided to have my breakfast that I had bought from home - it was a breakfast with a view under the open blue sky and a beautiful water body in front of you - what more could one ask on a Sunday!
As per Google Maps, my next destination which was the Elgandal Fort opens at 10 AM for visitors, and with a heavy heart, I decided to make a move around 8:30 AM. The fort was around 65 kms from here and as per Google it would take me around 90 minutes to reach.
The weather was just what any motorcyclist would want except for a few trickles of rain that kept falling randomly and just as I was about to reach the fort, I took a detour which took me through a small off-road trail - it led me to this deserted structure which looked like an prayer place for the Muslims, just a few hundred meters from the fort.
A few hundred meters ride from this place, led me to my second destination - the Elgandal Fort, only to leave me disappointed as the locals informed me that this place has been closed down since March 2020 due to the COVID-19 Pandemic. For a moment I felt disappointed, but then that's where the fun of unplanned journeys have to offer. I decided to take a few clicks and in the process also planned for my final and third destination before leaving for Hyderabad - the Lower Manair Dam.
📍 Karimnagar | Telangana | India
Distance (from Hyderabad): 176 kms
Google Map Link:
The Lower Manair Dam also known as LMD is constructed across the Manair River - a tributary of the Godavari River and located around 30 kms from the Elgandal Fort. As I rode across to my final destination, I did not realise that I took a wrong turn as the roads took me through some enthralling country side and left me spellbound.
As I reached closer to what was not a planned destination, the roads seemed to get narrower and just as I felt that the roads were going to end, I came across a structure that looked more like a water pumping station and on the right hand side there was a vast stretch of land where you could see the Manair river and the animals grazing.
📍 Karimnagar | Telangana | India
Distance (from Hyderabad): 151 kms
Google Map Link:
Just a couple of minutes ago I was cursing my luck for the wrong turn, but then when I arrived at this location, I could only realise that at times a wrong turn can often lead to beautiful destinations. I could have never asked for a better Sunday than this and it was all that I required to get back to the hectic week ahead.
Thank you Karimnagar for the beautiful sights that you had to offer. I know that there is a lot more still left unexplored and I promise to come back again to find myself in this otherwise chaotic life.
As I end this blog, I would request everyone not to litter and leave every place better for our future generations to be also able to enjoy the beauty that these places have to offer.
Travel Tips: Carry your own food and water - and ensure to carry a garbage bag to ensure that you do not leave the waste and litter behind.
#leaveeveryplacebetter #ridewithjp #royalenfieldhimalayan #telanganatourism #incredibleindia #karimnagar #elgandalfort #ranganayakasagar #lowermanairdam #weekenddestinations
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