As part of this travel series, we would also love to hear from you about your experiences. Especially, if you have been to any of these places mentioned by us earlier or even if you would like us to cover a new holiday destination, then please do let u know.
This week we bring you the fourth destination in Paytm’s travel series to get you on the road. Enjoy a tryst with the history in an overnight journey from Hyderabad to Eluru.
Our fourth Stop — Eluru
The Dwaraka Tirumala Temple
Eluru, formerly known as Helapuri, is the headquarters of the West Godavari district in the state of Andhra Pradesh. This temple town has a number of religious shrines in its vicinity and boasts of a rich cultural and political history. It has the ideal setting for a calm and serene holiday.
Eluru has the Dwarka Tirumala which is located on Seshadri Hills and is one of the most popular temples from the ancient times. The small temple town also has Gangleshwaralayam which is located 20km from Eluru and Sri Venkateswara Swami Vari Alayam temple situated in the town.
If you have a thing for history, then here is some interesting background. Eluru has been part of multiple dynasties ranging from Vengi, an ancient Buddhist Kingdom between 700 and 1200 to Kalinga Empire, Vijaynagara Kingdom and finally the Sultan of Golkonda. It was later merged into Madras presidency during the British rule and then made part of Machilipatnam district. In 1859 it was included in the Godavari district and then later West Godavari was formed with its district headquarters in Eluru. In fact Eluru very recently became a city in 2005, when it was upgraded to a municipal corporation by the government of Andhra Pradesh.
Each dynasty left a lasting imprint on this region in the form of various monuments and temples. These can be found in the rock cut caves of Guntupalli, which has some of the ancient structural and monolithic remains ranging from rock cut temple of Vritta Chaitya, stone stupa and a big monastery.
Kolleru Lake
For the nature lovers, there is plenty to be excited about too. Eluru has Kolleru Lake, which is the largest fresh water lake in India. It is also known as “Peerless Fisherman’s Paradise and Bird Haven” as you can spot a lot of migratory birds from November till end March. There is also the Kolleru Bird sanctuary which has a wide variety of birds such as bill stork, reef heron, jacana and common moorhen.
An overnight bus ride from Hyderad, Eluru lies on NH-5, well connected to Vishakapatnam and Vijayawada. There are plenty of Volvo AC buses plying between these cities and the road conditions here are pretty good.
Happy travelling to Eluru!
