Weekend Attractions in Hyderabad

I spent my entire last month attending a training program at the University of Hyderabad. Due to the hectic schedule of the course, we only had Sundays free to travel around. Making the best out of the limited time I had in hand, made 6 trips and covered 6 of the best weekend attractions in Hyderabad.

With only four weekends in hand, I decided to rent a motorcycle and venture out of the city on day trips not too far from the city. After some research on the web, I zeroed in on Bhuvanagiri, Medak, Nagarjuna Sagar, Ananthagiri Hills, Chilkur Balaji temple, and a city tour in whatever time I could squeeze out of the busy schedule.

Thankfully, I was able to cover all these destinations during my stay. This blog gives a brief account of my rides to these locations.

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As soon as I arrived in Hyderabad (from Delhi) on 20th June, I straight away headed to a motorcycle renting agency (Onnbikes) and picked up an NS 200 for the first three weeks.

Week 1 – Bhuvanagiri

The class ended at around 5 PM on Saturday. I decided to leave the same day for Bhuvanagiri which is famous for its fort on a big “Uluru type” rock and nearby Yadagirigutta temple. I quickly booked a guest house through Goibibo near Yadagirigutta.

Even though the total distance to be traveled that day was a tad below 100 km, it took me more than 3 hours to reach the hotel as the entire city needed to be crossed in the rush hour before I hit the highway. The hotel was an isolated property some 8 km further away from the town.

By the time I reached, it started to rain. Apparently, I was the only person staying there that night, and heck it was full of all sorts of insects. Nevertheless, the sun was shining in the morning and I decided to head straight to the fort.

Road to Bhuvanagiri (Bhongir) fort

It is at least an hour-long climb to the top of the fort. The stairs are carved out in the rock.

Halfway up

The town from the top of the fort.

Bhuvanagiri fort sitting on the top of the rock.

I reached back to the city at around 3 PM in the afternoon. Decided to park my motorcycle and take a walk around the Hussain Sagar lake in the evening.

Hussain Sagar Lake

Week 2 – Medak

This weekend I could cover more destinations as we got free after lunch on Saturday. I kicked off for Medak at around 2 PM and reached the town well before 5 PM covering around 100 km. The entire road was single but well tarred with less traffic.

I booked the “Haritha Heritage Hotel” in advance which is situated right inside the Medak fort. I decided to put my luggage in the room and explore the fort for the rest of the evening. The fort is in ruins and lacks maintenance.

It was a short climb to the top of the fort which offers a panoramic view of the area. Medak city on one side has vast grasslands and fields on the other. It is a perfect place to witness a sunset. I didn’t miss it too.

Road to Medak

Medak Cathedral visible from Haritha Heritage Hotel

From the top of the fort. Green pastures visible from the fort.

Sunset from Medak fort

Medak Fort

After early morning breakfast, I decided to spend the morning at Pocharam Lake (some 20 km from the town).

Pocharam lake

A quick visit to Edupayala Vana Durga Bhavani temple on the way back to Hyderabad.

Week 3 – Nagarjuna Sagar & Ethipothala waterfalls

This week, I did not ride alone. Pankaj, a fellow participant in the program lives on the campus and owns a Thunderbird 350. He said that his friend, Brijesh was visiting from Delhi that weekend and they wanted to go for a ride as well. So, we three decided to ride together to Nagarjuna Sagar and Ethipothala waterfalls.

There are two ways to reach the dam, one is a straight road (190 km) which is mostly single and another one goes via Nalgonda which is slightly longer (205 km) but double for more than half of the journey. We decided to go via Nalgonda and come back via a straight route.

We started the journey at around 2 PM on Saturday. Our estimate was that we would reach around 6:30 PM (that’s what the google maps lady told us). She was wrong. It took us more than 2 and a half hours to cross the city and we reached at around 8:00 PM.

Since Nagarjuna Sagar lake forms the border between Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, hotels are also situated on both sides. I wanted to stay on the Andhra side, but Pankaj and Brijesh convinced me to stay on the Telangana side so that we can cross the river in the morning and click some pictures there.

We decided to stay in the Telangana Govt. Hotel. Only after check-in, we found out that it was in horrid condition. Dirty blankets to snail pace service, all bad things in one place. A little after-ride celebration party saved the night. We woke up early in the morning and rode towards the Krishna bridge.

Nagarjuna Sagar Dam Lake

Krishna river, which also serves as a border of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.

At Krishna bridge with Brijesh.

Road to Nagarjuna Sagar. Lake visible in distance.

Nagarjuna Sagar lake

An inverted “Parisal” boat serving as a rain shelter.

Birds flocking around the lake

Ethipothala Waterfalls

Ethipothala waterfalls, at a distance of some 20 km from Nagarjuna Sagar. Even though the falls were dry, lush green surroundings made it a worthy visit for us.

After this long journey, I returned the NS 200 and hired Dominar 400 for subsequent rides.

Week 4 – Ananthagiri Hills

All alone again, I decided to ride to the Ananthagiri hills, famous for their lush green grasslands. The class got over at 5:30 PM and after a hurried packing, I left for Vikarabad, a small town just before the hill station. It was raining all through the ride and the road was single and bumpy.

An old raincoat and Dominar’s fine suspension saved the day. I checked into a small guest house near the railway station and despite being dirt cheap, it was nice and clean. I woke up early in the morning and headed towards the Ananthagiri Hills viewpoint.

Grasslands from Ananthagiri viewpoint

Road to the Naga Siva temple from Ananthagiri viewpoint

Ananthagiri hills forest trek starts from the Naga Siva temple.

I reached Hyderabad pretty early on Sunday afternoon and joined my friends from the training program for lunch at the famous Paradise restaurant in Secunderabad.

Week 5 – Chilkur Balaji Temple & Osman Sagar (Gandipet) Lake

Since all the weekends were over, I only had some weekdays to travel around. Some of my friends (Manish aka Apna Manish, Baliram aka Ballu, Moumita, Anitha, and Bhagya) expressed their interest to go to the Chilkur Balaji temple. I happily agreed.

Moumita, Manish, Anitha, and Bhagya hired an Uber and I rode my Dominar to the temple which was some 25 km from the campus. The temple was clean and not really as crowded as a famous temple is supposed to be.

After offering our prayers, we also went to see the Osman Sagar (Gandipet) lake which is very near to the temple but can be reached only after you negotiate with a muddy and slippery path.

L to R: Baliram, Manish, Moumita, Bhagya, and Anitha

Osman Sagar (Gandipet) Lake

It was an evening well spent

Week 6 – Golconda Fort and Char Minar

This was the last day of the training. Today, before we part our ways, many of us wanted to spend some good time together. I hired an Innova this time. After our valedictory session, we decided to have our lunch near the Golconda fort, one of the last two entries in my list of weekend attractions in Hyderabad.

With 9 of us squeezed in the car and tripling on a couple of scooters, we headed towards the fort. Three of our friends (Abid, Vishnu, and Putta) were residents of the city and showed the entire fort to us better than those guides could have ever shown.

The gang at the entrance of the Golconda fort.

For one day, we painted the fort in vivid colors.

From the top of the fort

Golconda Fort

After the visit to the fort, it was time for some of our friends to bid adieu and only me, Moumita, Anitha, and Rakhi were left to visit the Charminar for some last-minute shopping. Abid (the most helpful chap I have ever met) accompanied us to Char Minar.