KOILKONDA FORT AND KOILSAGAR DAM:

Distance (From Mahabubnagar): 25 Kms

Commonly Visited From: Mahabubnagar

Trip Duration (From Mahabubnagar, Including Travel): 4 Hours/Half Day

Transportation Options: Bus / Cab / + Walk/Trek

Travel Tips: None

At a distance of 1.3 km from Koilkonda Bus Stand, 25 km from Mahabubnagar Bus Station and 128 km from Hyderabad, Koilkonda Fort is situated at Koilkonda in Mahabubnagar district of Telangana. This is one of the best one day trip from Hyderabad.

Koilkonda Fort is the erstwhile outpost of the Qutab Shahi dynasty situated on a hilltop. To reach the top, one needs to hike across a deep gorge on the west or a series of streams if coming through east before reaching a plight of steps that leads to the fort. To enter the Koilkonda Fort, seven gates have to be crossed. The first one spots an inscription of Ibrahim Qutab Shah that belongs to 1550 AD. Fourth gate leads to a dilapidated palace. There is also a mosque, an Idgah and a pond here. The Fort also has a ashurkhana dedicated to Bibi Fatima and is revered by both Hindus and Muslims.

The Kolisagar Dam is a medium-sized irrigation project that was constructed in the period of the 
Nizams during 1945-48. The Koilsagar Dam, which is about 10 km from the Koilkonda, stretches across the Peddavagu River, a minor tributary of the River Krishna. The western stretch of this picturesque reservoir is surrounded by high hills, making it a beautiful spot and is a treat for eyes during sunrise and sunset.

Sri Ramkonda Hill is another prominent Hill with a temple dedicated to Lord Rama, which is 3 km from Koilkonda Fort. There is no motorable road to Sri Ramkonda Hill, one has to trek 3 km from the Fort. This hill is also famous for lot of herbal medicinal plants.

There is an another hill named Verrabhadra Swamy Hill nearby, to reach this hill one has to trek 2 km from Koilkonda Fort.

KHILLA GHANPUR / GHANPUR FORT:

Distance (From Mahabubnagar): 25 Kms

Commonly Visited From: Mahabubnagar

Trip Duration (From Mahabubnagar, Including Travel): 4 Hours/Half Day

Transportation Options: Bus / Cab / + Walk/Trek

Travel Tips: None

At a distance of 2 km from Khilla Ghanpur Bus Stand, 25 km from Mahabubnagar and 109 km from Hyderabad, Khilla Ghanpur Fort is located near Khilla Ghanpur village in Mahabubnagar district of Telangana. This is an ideal weekend getaway from Hyderabad to spend full day.

The Ghanpur Fort is a hill fort built on a rocky hill by King Gona Ganapa Reddy in early 13th century. He ruled this area as a feudatory to Kakatiya rulers. Gona Ganapa Reddy is son of Gona Budda Reddy who was famous as the poet of Ranganatha Ramayana, a pioneering Telugu Literature. The name of Ghanapuram Killa came into existence from the name of Kakatiya Ruler Sri Ganapathi Deva. The fort is spread on rocky and hilly area of 4 Sq kilometers and there are fort buildings spread across the top most part of the hill.

The fort was well built with cannons on the upper side of the fort. There are several remains of the walls and building blocks inside the fort. There are several temples inside the fort like Veerabhadra Temple, Narsimh Temple and Chowdeswari Temple. There are several caves on the hilltop and provide good opportunity for exploration.

There are two ponds inside the fort with fresh water and they are good for swimming. There are several hills around the fort and they provide good opportunity for trekking as well. Ghanpur Lake is a large lake situated close to the Ghanpur village and the view of the lake from the fort is picturesque.

The fort & monuments demand about 2-3 kms trek from Ghanpur village. It usually takes about 2 hours to trek, explore the fort & caves and come back to Ghanpur village.

AHOBILAM TRAVEL GUIDE

AHOBILAM TRAVEL GUIDE:

Ideal Trip Duration: 1-2 Days

Base Station: Ahobilam, Nandyal (66 Kms)

Nearest City to Ahobilam: Kurnool (137 Kms), Hyderabad (350 Kms)

Best Time to Visit Ahobilam: October to March

Peak Season: February to May

State: Andhra Pradesh | District: Kurnool

Ahobilam Weather: Summer: Maximum - 41°C & Minimum - 22°C 
Winter: Maximum - 30°C & Minimum - 15°C

At a distance of 66 km from Nandyal, 137 km from Kurnool, 114 km from Kadapa, 348 km from Vijayawada, 350 km from Hyderabad and 407 km from Bangalore, Ahobilam or Ahobalam is an important pilgrimage center located in the Kurnool district of Andhra Pradesh. Ahobilam is one of the most famous pilgrimage sites in Andhra Pradesh and also one of the best Places to visit in Andhra Pradesh.

Ahobilam is the holy abode of Lord Narasimha, an incarnation of Lord Vishnu in man-lion form. According to legend, this is the place where Lord Narasimha killed Hiranyakasipu and saved Prahalada. Though the initial temples were built by Chalukyas in 8th century, most of the current structures were rebuilt by Vijayanagara kings around 15th century.

Situated amidst dense Nallamala Forest, Ahobilam is one of the 108 Divya Desams. This place is also called as Nava Narasimha Kshetra since Lord Narasimha is worshipped in 9 different forms and separate temples exist for all the forms within a radius of 5 km from the main temple. Jwala Narasimha, Ahobila Narasimha, Malola Narasimha, Kroda Narasimha, Kaaranja Narasimha, Bhargava Narasimha, Yaogananda Narasimha, Chathravata Narasimha and Paavana Narasimha are the nine forms of Lord Narasimha in Ahobilam. Few of these temples have easy access, but most of them have to be reached by difficult treks through thick forest and rocky paths.

The town is divided into two parts, Lower Ahobilam and Upper Ahobilam. Of these nine shrines, Yogananda, Chathravata and Bhargava Narasimha swami shrines are situated in Lower Ahobilam and the remaining six are in upper Ahobilam. There is also another temple of Lord Narasimha Swami in the lower Ahobilam where the idol of the Lord is believed to be installed by Lord Venkateshwara of Tirupati. 

Ahobilam is a small town and food is available at small hotels and canteens. There is a Brahmana Nitya Annadana Satram in the Upper Ahobilam where food is provided daily for nearly 400 people. In addition, Sri Ahobila Matham has established a trust called Annamacharya Nitya Annadana Trust. Food is provided free of cost to the devotees of Sri Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy.

Brahmothsavam is celebrated in the month of February to mid-March. All the 9 shrines can be visited in 2 days with help of guide. 

Hyderabad Airport is the nearest airport, 333 km from Ahobilam. Nandyal Railway Station is the nearest railway station, located 66 km away from Ahobilam. It is connected to major cities like Howrah, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Goa, Machelipatnam, Vijayawada, Hubli, Puri, Vizag and Bhubaneswar. Ahobilam is very well connected by bus with nearest town Allagadda (25 km). There are state buses available from Chittoor, Nandyal, Kadapa, Hyderabad, Tirupati, Nellore, Chennai and Kurnool for Allagadda.

The best time to visit Ahobilam is from October to March while the peak season is from February to May. Usually it takes 1 day to visit Ahobilam.

Temple Timings: 
Lower Ahobilam: 6 AM - 2:30 PM and 5 PM - 8 PM
Other Temples: 6 AM - 1 PM and 3 PM - 5:30 PM