The Unexplored Lakes

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They say “Beauty lies in the eyes of beholder.”

Water-bodies & mountains always fascinated me like my two long lost friends – Ganges & Arabian Sea. But as they are somewhat far from Hyderabad to visit on weekends, we rummage around for unexplored cousins of them nearby.

Read a few blogs and could get some pictures of those three places but that could be highly misleading considering past experiences. And there is no Google Street view in India even for metros, forgot the interiors that too naxal dominant places.

The Pakhal Lake, “Laknavaram Lake & Suspension Bridge” and historic Ramappa Temple & Ramappa Lake which are all around 60-100 kms from Warangal, Andhra Pradesh.

I was surprised to know no one whom I asked had heard about any of these three places but surprisingly APTDC ( Andhra Pradesh tourism Development Corporation ) had few guest house at Laknavaram Lake but when I called those guy at 3 PM they said, all are vacant but when I went to book after four hours they were all booked one day before. I didn’t expect that level of communication from APTDC folks but had to lookout for options. I dug more and found another places where APTDC had cottages 30 Kms from Laknavaram. The point in Google maps was promising , the guest house was suppose to be just beside Ramappa Lake, a huge one, thrice bigger than Hussain Sagar. I booked the cottages and left rest on luck. I was taking four more folks with me and a bad arrangement could highly put my likeness at risk.

Next Morning was a bright one, we hoped for cloudy day but it was hot and humid unlike present Hyderabad where the weather felt like Ooty in last few months. Soon my Polo was kissing the 4 lane Bhongir – Warangal expressway but good things seldom last.  Rest of the highway was good but mostly no divider in between. After crossing Jangaon and Warangal we were about to reach Mulupu when we had to stop suddenly downhill.

The road ahead was laid inside water. A lake had over flown and washed away good part of the road, left very little for us to drive that too was submerged in water.  But taking the guide of locals and some daredevil autos crossing it we decide to cross it too. Once we did we looked back and thought experiences like that happens rarely. We also became sure of one more thing the lakes would be full of water too. We drove towards Jangalpally from where we had to go 12 kms inside for Ramappa Lake & temple which was built 800 years back in 1213.

I expected a bad road, but though single the road was well motor able, a view of peaking Ramappa Lake on left and endless paddy fields and small mountains. The landscape was an amaze.  We crossed the temple which looked deserted, only few shops nearby and fewer devotees and then the road suddenly became steep, we could only see one APTDC board and nothing else, I hoped to have a great view when we reach the board. Soon we reached the top point there was the Lake just in front of us in Blue and Green. It was a mesmerizing backdrop . A pump station on our left and on our right seven cottages on high grounds and a restaurant all lake facing. It was more than I had imagined from a unexplored place like this.

While booking they said only Non AC rooms were available but we found five out of seven rooms were with AC so we interchanged our rooms with a small extra price. We being the only guest we enjoyed the wholesale attention. I have visited couple of APTDC resorts before, so I was not very excited about the quality of room but this place surprised me.  The rooms were bigger with separate sitting area, a balcony and three big windows overlooking the lake but but… there was a small problem – Out Host “A small Cobra” was waiting for us near the stairs.

Well we got rid of it and waited for sun to fall.  The place was quite but hot, lunch was ok ok, they claimed the fish fry they server was local catch from the lake but it can be a topic of debate. Among locals Laknavaram was famous because of its hanging (suspension) bridges which connects 2 out of its 13 islands and the mainland.

To reach main road we had to first travel that 12 kms single lane road and then 11 kms of road towards Chalvai which is dream of every driver, but next 7 Kms were horrible. Trust me, my Polo had a nightmare with low ground clearance. There were more muddy swimming pools in road than the road itself. It took 45 mins to drive but when we reached Laknavaram we found a large crowd already there being a weekend. There was scarcity of parking but we managed to park on a slope by the side of lake.

The base of the bridge was almost kissing the water, they say it rarely happens but it rained a lot this year posing some serious threats to crops. The “L” shape hanging bridge which connects two islands with mainland was overcrowded too and it was shaking making many feel thriving.  But something was missing. Where was the first island where two bridges meets?

Oh God then I found after some inspection that island was completely submerged in water. We went on to the second one - the main highland where APTDC had its “Resort”. Seeing the rooms I thanked the people who booked the rooms before me. Rooms were made on temporary structure out of iron All rooms had A/C but didn’t have any open windows to enjoy the lake breeze so was the restaurant on top of them, Poor design you may say .

Overall the location was superb but very less space to roam around; water had already grabbed most part of that island too.  Boating been the only recreation activity we thought to avoid the long queue and headed back to the suspension bridge and enjoyed every bit of it. It reminded me of Ram Jhula & Lakshman Jhula of Rishikesh and Ganges flowing beneath.

On the way back to our cottages the outlook the Sunset which was aboriginal to me. In Bengali we call it “Godhuli” the sky was painted in blue and pink. We stopped our car and bystander it for long until it was dark. 

Back at our cottages the whole scene was black. Power cut I guess but they did start the generator as we arrived. The morning event with Cobra was still large in our heart. The place was quitter than “pin drop silence classrooms” and the cold breeze of the lake took away all the muscle pains. After long long time  we saw so many firefly all over. The twinkling stars on other side of the lake were like Boats on Arabian Sea when seen from Goa beaches.  The experience was overwhelming.

Next morning started with a visit to Ramappa Temple which was merely 1 kms from the cottage. Devoted to Hindu God lord Shiva the temple was built 800 years back that’s 1213 AD. Though surrounding structures couldn’t stand the time well, but the temple stands still. We offered a puja there and came back to pack our bags and head towards Pakhal.

We were suppose to take left turn from Mallapalli but once we entered the muddy boulevard the road didn’t look very promising. We waited and asked few autowals which were coming from opposite direction, what they said we didn’t want to hear. “Most of the road was like what was laid before us. It was tough to call that a road. “There was no way our car could take that toll. If only we had a Jeep or Truck or something like that we could have tried. Again the thought of buying a Jeep sparked inside me.

We had to skip Pakhal Lake, felt gloomy but other two lakes did exceed our expectations.  The return journey was non adventurous except the over flown lake which we crossed the last day. The water level had come down and bridge beneath that water was visible this time. I tried to get some snaps from heel deep water. A passing by car slowed down to avoid spitting of water a rare show of compassion in this part of India.  I turned back to say a thank, she smiled back and waved her hand saying bye. Almost all of a sudden some violinist played in sync and freshness of Barbados beaches filled the space. And for rest 150 kms I was continuously teased by all for that “Bye” .

FactSheet

• Laknavaram lake & Suspension Bridge is 231 Kms from Hitech City Hyderabad via Warangal - Mallapalli - Chalvai . Road is good upto Chalvai But from Chalvai to Laknavaram lake the road condition is pathetic. try not to drive at night. Its Motorable but don't take low clearence cars like my Polo. Jeep or SUV will be best.
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•  Best time to visit Morning or Evening. These palces are most humid and hot than Hyderabad. Take food with you. APTDC harita restuarents are hopeless and charge heavily. You might not even get cold drinks also.
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• There is APTDC guest house at Laknavaram , You can't book it ONLINE. Nearest place to book from APTDC office is at Night Market next to Shilparamam, Hitech City.
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•  Personally I found the  APTDC guest house at Ramappa Lake is far better, spacious ,scene and private. Cost is 1350 ( Including Tax on weekends ) for AC rooms charge is 2000 INR. You can book it Online.
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• Ramappa temple is a must visit its 1 kms from Gust House. Ramappa to Laknavaram is 30 Kms. Takes one hour.
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• Currently the road towards Pakhal is hard to drive, We could not drive though the Mallapalli road  but if you are going from Warangal you may try the Warangal - Nashampet ( Its 55 Kms from Warangal ) road.
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• There is no accommodation options near Pakhal that I have heard.
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• Currently after monsoon the Place is full of water, heard it was dry as brick in June. So I guess best time is After Moonsoon to Nov-Dec.
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If anyone need any further assitance feel free to comment , I will reply back.