Places to visit in Yadadri-Bhuvanagiri

Yadadri-Bhuvanagiri district has been carved out of the erstwhile Nalgonda district. The district shares boundaries with Nalgonda, Suryapet, Warangal Urban, Siddipet, Medchal and Shamshabad districts. The administrative headquarters is located at Bhongir.

The district comprises of 16 mandals and 2 revenue divisions. The district is spread over an area of 3,091.48 square kilometres and according to 2011 Census of India, the district has a population of 7,26,465.

Bhongir Fort

Bhuvanangiri Fort was built by Tribuvanamalla Vikramaditya who was a Chalukya king. The Fort was built sometime during the 12th century as was supposed to provide protection to the kingdom.

The fort has been built over an area of 40 acres and is atop a hill. The fort is at a height of 500 meters from ground level. The fort is a popular destination among tourists because of its unique construction and architecture.

The fort is oval in shape and can be entered from two gates. Outside the fort were put tons of moat so as to make it absolutely inaccessible. Inside the fort are underground chambers and long corridors that have secret passages, trap doors, a secret room for storing weapons and also a stable for horses. The upper level of the fort has two ponds and some deep wells to fulfill the water needs. One can easily reach the top of the fort by taking a dark stairway or by going up through a winding and steep track.

Bhongir Adventure

Bhuvanagiri, also known as Bhongir is located only at a distance of 48 kilometers from Hyderabad. The place, which falls on the way to the well-known temple town of Yadagirigutta, is well accessible by road and rail. The place is quiet popular for its mesmerizing fort atop the monolithic hill, which has many tales of times immemorial. The Bhongir hill is a huge rock formation. It is more than 700-feet high and is sprawled over 40 acres of land. This unique rock is locally known as the ‘Eka sila’.

The Telangana tourism department has taken new initiatives by launching many adventure sports here. Rock climbing in Bhongir is quite popular among people who yearn to face the thrill of living on the edge. These adventurous activities are a perfect exercise to instill the attitude of adventure, which is also key to build a strong personality. Scores of youngsters and corporate employees make it to Bhongir to scale the hill that has become a hub of adventure sports for people who enjoy the sense of adrenaline rush. Even private organizations organize rock-climbing sessions at this place.

Yadagirigutta Temple

Sri Lakshminarasimha Swamy Temple or Yadagirigutta is a popular Hindu Temple devoted to Lord Narasimha Swamy, an incarnation of Lord Vishnu. It is situated over a hillock in the Nalgonda district, Telangana at a distance of 6 km from Riagir Railway station, 13 km from Bhongir and around 60 kilometers from the capital city of Hyderabad.

Yadagirigutta is a unique and pleasant hillock that enjoys moderate climate in all seasons. The place witnesses a heavy rush of devotees, not less than 5000-8000 pilgrims on average each day for offering their vows, performing pujas, kalyanam, abhisekam etc. while the crowd grows substantially during weekends, holidays and festivals.

According to legend in Tretayugam, there was a sage called Yadarishi, who was son of the great sage Rishyasrunga and Santa Devi and performed penance inside a cave with Anjaneya's blessings. Pleased with his devotion Lord Narasimha reportedly appeared before him in five different forms namely Sri Jwala Narasimha , SriGandabherunda, Sri Yogananda, Sri Ugra and Sri Lakshminarasimha which later manifested into finely sculpted forms and hence it is worshiped as Pancha Narasimha Kshetram. According to Skanda Purana, there is a cave temple of Lord Vishnu where several years ago the invincible Sudharshna chakra moved in the direction like a compass guiding them towards this temple. Here Aaradhana and Puja are performed as per Pancharatra Agamam. The puja vidhanam here is done as prescribed by Late Sri Vangeepuram Narasimhacharyulu who had served as Sthanacharya of this famous temple. In 15th Century, the Vijayanagara king Sri Krishnadevarayalu had mentioned about the temple in autobiography that before going to war he always visited the temple praying the lord for victory. The temple town has facilities for accommodation of pilgrims while many tonsure their heads after fulfillment of a wish. The town is well connected by a ghat road to the capital and nearby key towns. There are many restaurants here for the sake of devotees while the devasthanam board continues to make other amenities available for the public including special darshan, kalyanam, providing prasadams etc. The temple is highly revered in the Telangana region.

Kolanupaka Temple

Kolanupaka Temple is a Jain shrine at the village of Kolanupaka in Yadadri district, Telangana, India.The temple houses three idols: one each of Lord Rishabha, Lord Neminath, and Lord Mahaveer.The temple is about 77 km from Hyderabad on the Hyderabad-Warangal Highway.The Kolanupaka Temple is said to be more than two thousand years old. In its present form, is more than eight hundred years old. It is believed that Jainism was prevalent in Telangana before the 4th century, and Kolanupaka was one of the prominent centres of Jainism from early times.Lord Rishabha, popularly called Adinath Bhagvan, was the first Tirthankars in the Jain religion. It is believed that the original idol of Lord Adinath, known locally as Manikya Deva, has made Kolanupaka its abode.

There are eight idols of the other Tirthankars on both the sides of the main temple. The statue of Lord Mahaveer is 130 centimetres (51 in) tall and is said to be made of a single piece of jade. Idols of Lord Simandar Swami and Mata Padmavati are installed on either side of the main temple.Kulpakji is an important pilgrimage center for Svetambara Jains of South India.

Also, the Someshwara Temple is very famous, which was established by Chalukya’s about 800 years back. Kolanu means a Lake and Paka means a Hut. There used to be lots of lakes and huts and this caused to get this name.

Source: Telangana Tourism