Hello all,
I am writing about my latest trip to Srisailam:Mallikarjun Swamy Jyotirling from Bangalore. I hope that it will be useful for Bangalore based devotee travelers for a short weekend getaway.
I am writing about my latest trip to Srisailam:Mallikarjun Swamy Jyotirling from Bangalore. I hope that it will be useful for Bangalore based devotee travelers for a short weekend getaway.
Srisailam is a scenic spot located around 540-550 km from Bangalore and around 200-210 km from Hyderabad.
So, before planning for the trip, you'll have to be cognizant of- Your Budget, People Number(Family/Friends/Lone Traveler), Travel Time, Language constraints, Food availability, Mode of Travel etc.
Starting from Bangalore, there are two ways to travel to Srisailam:
One is a seater(non-sleeper) APSRTC bus from Majestic bus station, which when I last checked was running from 6:45 PM from Bangalore and reaching Srisailam early in the morning around 8:30AM. The same bus starts from Srisailam running from 4:30PM on wards reaching Bangalore by 6:30AM.The journey looks fairly simple, giving you good 8 hrs in Srisailam, if you are booking the bus back on the same day as that of reaching Srisailam.The bus fare will be around (675+675) for two way trip. You can book the bus with this link: http://www.apsrtconline.in/oprs-web/guest/home.do?h=1
The second one, I'll say is more convenient but has some amount of risk comparatively, plus this will be a bit more expensive than the earlier method. This method is preferred if you want a healthy night's rest both ways :)
So, before planning for the trip, you'll have to be cognizant of- Your Budget, People Number(Family/Friends/Lone Traveler), Travel Time, Language constraints, Food availability, Mode of Travel etc.
Starting from Bangalore, there are two ways to travel to Srisailam:
One is a seater(non-sleeper) APSRTC bus from Majestic bus station, which when I last checked was running from 6:45 PM from Bangalore and reaching Srisailam early in the morning around 8:30AM. The same bus starts from Srisailam running from 4:30PM on wards reaching Bangalore by 6:30AM.The journey looks fairly simple, giving you good 8 hrs in Srisailam, if you are booking the bus back on the same day as that of reaching Srisailam.The bus fare will be around (675+675) for two way trip. You can book the bus with this link: http://www.apsrtconline.in/oprs-web/guest/home.do?h=1
The second one, I'll say is more convenient but has some amount of risk comparatively, plus this will be a bit more expensive than the earlier method. This method is preferred if you want a healthy night's rest both ways :)
Train has to be booked here, but well in advance(1-2 months). The nearest railhead to Srisailam jyotirlinga is Markapur road(MKR) railway station, located around 85-90 km from Srisailam. Details follow:
The train that I'll suggest you is probably the only one that runs on the my preferred timings i.e. starting from Bangalore late at night and reaching Markapur road station early morning. This is the Puri-Garib rath, starting from Yeshwantpur(Bangalore) at around 10:40PM. The constraint here is that this train runs only on Saturdays, while for journey back, the preferred train would be Prasanthi Express, running from Markapur station at around 10:55PM on all days.
The fare will be around Rs 700 from Bangalore to Markapur road station and Rs 930 for other way round. The train reaches at around 9:30AM(expected time), but can be a bit late. From Markapur road station, you can easily get shared Autos till Markapur city with per person fare of Rs 10 with a travel of 10-15min. The road from railway station to the Markapur town is under widening(WIP) and hence can be a bit shaky.
Coming to Markapur, which is a fairly decent town with lodges/small businesses and has a healthy mix of people from various religions.The town also has a temple of Lord Lakshmi Chennekeshva in its heart with huge Gopurams. The shared auto can be deboarded at Markapur Bus Stand from where you can easily get Public Buses to Srisailam. The cost of the bus ticket will depend from Rs 60-100, depending on the type of the bus for a distance of 80-85km. On the way, there is a beautiful Lord Ayappa Swamy temple, which is an apple to the eye.
The bus will easily take around 2.5-3hrs to travel, with 40km uphill travel, without much hairpin bends. I reached by 1PM starting from Markapur around 10:30AM.
From the window seat of the bus, having the first glimpse of Srisailam with a dam alongside, gives a feeling that you are in some other heaven, and correctly so as it the city of Lord Shiva where mother goddess also resides as Bhramarambha Shakti (also considered as a Shakti-peeth).
The Srisailam town has a number of lodges/dharamshalas with a nice small market selling religious stuff. I felt that it is a town with close to 100% telugu people, with little understanding of Hindi. Additionally, if you a lone male traveler along with not being able to speak Telugu, then it is fairly difficult task to get accommodation.It took me an hour to find suitable accommodation, but, still Lord favors the brave, there is a place called Mallikarjun Sadan( Which also resembles the name of the presiding deity of Srisailam, and Mallikarjun Sadan means the home of God,which also gives an indication that Lord will keep his doors open for you when the world is not so generous), where you can get a dormitory with a locker for Rs200 (you can definitely bargain here). I didn't had much time to bargain, hence paid as people there made me conscious that the temple closes from 3-6PM or 3-5:30PM. It is advisable to keep all your stuff in the dormitory lockers, and go for darshan, though while going for darshan, there are also additional and separate places to keep Bags/Phones(no mobile phones allowed inside temple)/Shoes for a minimal/no charge. It is also advisable for family travelers, to pre-book rooms/lodges.Have a bath, dress up, have quick lunch and stand in ques for darshan. I started in the "free" que at around 2:15PM and by 3:15-3:30PM had darshan.(There are also que for Rs 100/500 for quick darshan). I am still not sure about the timings of the temple(close/open)
Now to the darshan, the Shivalinga radiates energy and it feels like the lord is actually watching you. It is indeed a heavenly experience. After darshan, you move again in que to Barahmbha Devi temple, located at the back side of Sanctum Sanctorum. Have a darshan of mother goddess and you move out of the temple complex.Collect your stuff and now with a satisfaction in the heart, you can go for little sightseeing.There are auto wallas who will ask you for sightseeing of around 4-5 temples. Additionally, there is another way of going for Boating/Ropeway in the dam site. I chose the second option.
Srisailam sits on a mountain, drained by Krishna river called as Patalganga locally and it also divides the states of AP and Telangana. It is here that there is dam built and you can enjoy ropeway/boating for Rs60/50 each. There is another speedboat available for Rs 300. Please note that ropeway closes at 6PM, so plan accordingly.
After a day full of the above adventures. I headed back to Srisailm Bus Stand where you can find buses back to Markapur till 7PM. Head back to Markapur and then to Markapur road Railway station. I reached back by 9-9:30PM to catch the Prasanthi Express at around 10:55PM for heading back to Bangalore, which reaches by around 11:30-12noon in Bangalore.
So, a person can leave at Saturday night and come back on Monday morning if all goes well within a budget of 3k.
Now to the darshan, the Shivalinga radiates energy and it feels like the lord is actually watching you. It is indeed a heavenly experience. After darshan, you move again in que to Barahmbha Devi temple, located at the back side of Sanctum Sanctorum. Have a darshan of mother goddess and you move out of the temple complex.Collect your stuff and now with a satisfaction in the heart, you can go for little sightseeing.There are auto wallas who will ask you for sightseeing of around 4-5 temples. Additionally, there is another way of going for Boating/Ropeway in the dam site. I chose the second option.
Srisailam sits on a mountain, drained by Krishna river called as Patalganga locally and it also divides the states of AP and Telangana. It is here that there is dam built and you can enjoy ropeway/boating for Rs60/50 each. There is another speedboat available for Rs 300. Please note that ropeway closes at 6PM, so plan accordingly.
After a day full of the above adventures. I headed back to Srisailm Bus Stand where you can find buses back to Markapur till 7PM. Head back to Markapur and then to Markapur road Railway station. I reached back by 9-9:30PM to catch the Prasanthi Express at around 10:55PM for heading back to Bangalore, which reaches by around 11:30-12noon in Bangalore.
So, a person can leave at Saturday night and come back on Monday morning if all goes well within a budget of 3k.
For other details about the temple, please have a look at below link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sp1as5HRRfc
This ends my blog, I hope it was useful.
Har Har Mahadev!
