There are many places in hills, which are worth a visit. Lots of them have ancient temples situated on them. Others have forts.

Hyderabad was lot to offer to the travelers. The Usmaan sagar separates the old city from its twin- Secunderabad, the Salar Jung Museum, the Char Minar, Mecca Masjid, Buddha Statue, the Archaeological Museum and the ‘Nehru Zoological Park’. This park is spread over 1.2 sq. kms of hilly forested, area. It contains landscaped gardens, A prehistoric animal park, a Lion safari park ,a children’s train, a Natural History Museum with life size reproductions in glass cases and animals roaming in their natural habitats. The park remains closed on Monday and has a modest entry fee.

NAUBAT PAHAD

These are two adjacent hillocks, situated north of the Public Gardens. The other hillock is called KALA PAHAD. It has the beautiful temple of Lord Venkateshwara. It is also called the Birla Temple. It is made of white marble and the idol in the temple is a copy of the one at Tirupati. On Naubat Pahad, is the Birla Planetarium. It is India’s most modern Planetarium and is equipped with the advanced Japanese technology. It has 6 shows daily while on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays it holds 8 shows.

FALEKNUMA PALACE

It Sits atop a hill and was built in 1870 when Hyderabad was ruled by the 6th Nizam. It bears a deserted look and its fast deteriorating interiors can be viewed by permission from the tourist office.

This is the most famous fort of South India. The name means ‘Goll conda’ or ‘Shepherd’s Hill’. It was originally a mud fort and was built by the Yadava dynasty of Deogiri. It was passed on to the Kakatiyas of Warangal and the Bahmani Kings, and later on the Qutab Shahi rulers held it from 1518 to 1687 A.D. The first 3 Qutab Shahi rulers, over a period of 62 years, rebuilt it with stone.

It lies about 12 km. west of Hyderabad and is spread on a hillside, which is at least 1000 ft. above its surroundings. The fort is well known for its marvelous acoustics in the architectural design, Palaces, the Original water supply system and the famous Fateh Rabben gun cannon, which was used by Aurangzeb in the last siege of the fort. The fort has many legends to tell. The sound made at the entry gate can be heard at the top (61 meters) without the use of any kind of amplification equipment.

About 1 km. away to the North of the Buland Darwaza of Golconda fort, lie the famous ‘Qutab Shahi Tombs’. They were planned and built by the kings themselves. Standing on a raised platform they are said to be the oldest historical monuments of Hyderabad. Pathan, Persian and Hindu architectural styles are used. The tombs are 7 in number with little ones for the respective Queens. The tombs have beautifully carved inscriptions on them and are made of grey granite. The tombs are closed on Fridays.

Keeping Hyderabad as our central focus, we will now tour the hills and hill towns of Andhra Pradesh.

NIRMAL

This is a town that is North of Hyderabad across the Godavari River. It is well known for its painters and craftsmen. About 11 kms. from the town, are the 46 m high ‘KUNTALA FALLS’, situated on the river Kadam, a tributary of the Godavari River. The falls manifest themselves gloriously after the monsoon rains. To the East, lie the Singareni coal reserves.

WARANGAL

Lies about 140 kms. north of Hyderabad. The name of the town is derived from the ‘Orugallu (one stone) Hill’. This giant rack has old religious significance and is found right where the new town is placed. According to some, the design for Warangal is based on specifications of a ‘Swastika’, the center of which is the most powerful site. Remains of a Shiva temple can be seen scattered all around. It is a square enclosure with carved stone gateways and three adjacent rings of fortifications.

Is a ‘1000 pillar’, Siva ‘Rudresvar’ temple. It is situated on the ‘Hanumankunda Hill’ and is said to have been built in the Chalukya style. It lies to the North of Warangal. The temple is low and built on a number of stepped platforms. There are separate shrines for Vishnu and Surya (The Sun God). In the courtyard of the temple is a beautifully carved ‘Nandi’ bull. The temple also has rock-cut elephants as well, still in use after 800 years.

Legends and rumors speak of an underground passage which connects the temple with the Fort situated 11 Kms. away. A Bhadrakali Temple, on the top of the hill, serenely gazes down on a small lake below. It lies between Warangal and Hanumankunda.

Warangal’s huge mud-bricked fort is a must see for the tourists. It has many unique features including ruins of destroyed Chalukyan temples. The temples were made of stone where as the outer walls of the fort are made of mud.

PALAM PET

It lies near the Ramappa Lake, about 77 kms from Warangal. The place is known for the RAMAPPA TEMPLE built in a mixture of Chalukya and Hoysala style. It was built in 1234 and is dedicated to Lord Shiva. It has 4 entrances on which are carved Mandakini figures of female dancers. The sculpted base of the temple has first the elephants, then the lotus scrolls, the third band shows figures opening windows depicting the life style of the times, and the fourth and highest band is another floral one.

Rises from the middle of the artificial lake created by Nagarjuna Kunda Dam. The reconstructed buildings of Nagarjuna Kunda are set peacefully on top of the hilltop fort. This fort is now an island with the lake waters surrounding it. This hilltop has 9 monuments rebuilt in original form and 14 replicas of excavated ruins. The fort was built in the early 14th century and reminds of the Vijayanagar culture. The Museum on the fort holds beautiful and rare exhibits. It remains closed on Fridays. The island is about 11 kms away from Vijaypuri and can be reached by ferries, which leave twice daily-at 0930 and 1330 hrs.

SRISAILAM

Srisailam is a hill, found in the ‘Nalla Malai Hills’ just like Nagarjuna Kunda. It has a fort and a temple. This place is accessible only by foot and every year around shivratri, thousands of pilgrims trek up to the ‘MALLIKARJUNA TEMPLE’ said to contain one of the 12 Jyotirlinga of Lord Shiva. Another temple, called the ‘MAHAKALI TEMPLE’, has a rare ‘Lingam’ and thus draws large crowds.

AMRAVATI

It was a great Buddhist center of its Time; it is also called ‘Deepaladinne’ (hill of lamps). This is so, because at festival time, pilgrims circle the stupa, carrying lamps. Initially the site was dedicated to the Hinayana sect but was changed into a great Mahayana Buddhist center by Nagarjuna. It was 35 kms North of Guntur, en route from Nagarjuna Kunda. Its great stupa was larger than that of Sanchi. It was 32 m in diameter and 32 m in height and was built around 3rd century B.C., but was enlarged during the 1st and 4th century A.D.

The ‘Archaeological Museum’ on site has pottery, coins, terracotta, bangles, panels etc. and is open on all days except Friday.

KANAKDURGA TEMPLE

This temple is situated on top of a hill surrounding the city of Vijaywada. This goddess is also called Vijaya and hence the name of the city. There are other sites nearby with caves and temples from 1A.D.

This temple is a 5 storeyed Brahman temple, built around the 5th century A.D. The upper storeys are set back and the lower one has pillars in rows of three, cut partially from the rock. Idols of Vishnu with his wives, and panels showing elephants, lions and goose are found on one storey. Another has an altar, while a third has a hall with a figure of Vishnu seated on the snake ‘Ananta’. Another hall shows Narayan on the snake ‘Seshanag.’ The topmost storey has barrel-vaulted rooftops.

The cave temples are situated South of Vijaywada, up the river for nearly 3 kms and west of Sitanagaram.

The Tirumala is a series of 7 hills. These have been compared to ‘Adidesha’- The 7-headed serpent God under whose protective hood, lord Vishnu is shown slumbering.

The main temple in this belt, attracting more then 10,000 pilgrims everyday is the ‘SRI VENKATESHWARA TEMPLE in TIRUMALA. It stands on top of a 2500 ft. hill and is surrounded by sandalwood and mango trees. The inner enclosure called the ‘Ananda Nilayam’ is opened only once a year. The image in the shrine is a standing Vishnu, atop a lotus flower. On either side are his consorts- Bhuderi and Sridevi. About a Kilometer away are naturally formed rocks resembling a couch shell, a discus and a serpent. About 3 Kms. south of the temple are the sacred waterfalls called ‘Akash Ganga.’

At Tirupati, you can see the ‘Sri Venkateshwara Museum’. At the Tirumalai temple, is a museum showing a collection of Indian musical Instruments including stone images as well as wood and metal images, pottery, coins and inscriptions.

Moving towards the North East, you can move inwards and reach the Eastern Ghats. One of the places from where you can divert is ‘Rajamundry’. About 80 kms. Northwest of this town the Godavari River cuts through a gorge and we find magnificent lakes one after the other. Boat trips can be taken on these lakes.

Further up ‘Vishakhapatnam’ has a cliff rising about 175 m from the sea. It is called the ‘ Dolphin’s Nose’. On it is built a lighthouse with a beam strong enough to penetrate 64 kms. out to the sea.

To the North of Vishakhapatnam is the city of ‘Waltair’. The three hills found here are sacred ones in their unique way. The Venkateshawara Kunda’ has a Hindu Venkateshwara temple built in 1866 by Capt. Blackmoor. The ‘Darga kunda’ has a Baba Ishaq Madina Mausoleum. The highest of the three; Rose Hill has a Roman Catholic Church.

About 10 km. North of Waltair is the ‘SIMHACHALAM HILL’. It has a Varaha Narsimha temple.

‘BORRA CAVES’ are found in the nearby limestone hills. They are said to have about a million year old stalactites and stalagmites.

‘TALIBANDA HILL’ is found near the town of ‘Adoni’ – a major cotton market. It is about 20 km. away from the Town of Aspari, which lies between Kurnool and Bellary (both are in the south of Hyderbad). This hill has the tomb of Malik Rahman Khan. It is a pilgrimage center. The lower fort citadel is built on fire hills and rises about 250m above the plateau.

ALAMPUR is about 10 kms North East of Kurnool. It has 7th and 8th Century Siva temples known as the ‘Nva Brahma’ temples. The temples are beautifully carved and are made in Orrisan Temple style. The ‘Papanatham’ temples are Chalukyan in style and are dedicated to the Shakti (Yogini). In the middle of the site is a museum.

GANDIKOT - is a fort more than 500m above sea level. It was built around 1589 and was attached by the Golconda kings, the Nawab of Gddappah, Haider Ali and the British. Today, only some remains are left.

AHOBILAM - has two sets of temple complexes. The Upper Ahobilam temple is about 8 kms away from town. Amongst the lime stone hills surrounding the area, there can be found natural caves. People use some of these caves as temples. The Ahobilam temples are dedicated to Narasimha. The Upper Ahobilam temple is also made in a natural cave.

NANDI DURG: -is found in the Nandi Hills. It is named after the sacred bull Nandi belonging to Lord Shiva. Today, it is a minor hill resort. At one time, it was a summer retreat palace for Tipu sultan. On three sides it has vertical cliffs, and on the western side, Tipu Sultan had the ‘Durg’ fortified by a 300 m high wall. The hill has the ‘Bhognandishvara temple at its base.