Nagarjunasagar (Nagarjund Konda)

Nagarjunasagar - the tallest and biggest masonry dam in the world accross the river Krishna, is about 150 km away from the metropolitan city of Hyderabad. It creates the third largest man-made lake in the world. Nearby Nagarjunakonda is known for its extensive ruins of Buddhist Stupas, Viharas and a university that flourished under Acharya Nagarjuna, the great Buddhist savant, scholar and philosopher who migrated to Nagarjunakonda from Amaravati to spread the message of the Buddha. Interestingly excavations conducted here have also revealed Brahmanical temples, which reveal the friendship that existed here centuries ago between the two faiths. Now though the actual site of the excavations have been flooded with the waters of the migty river, the relies of the ruins have been reconstructed and kept in an Island Museum, the largest of its kind in the world and are in an excellent state of preservation-thanks to the efforts of the Archaelogical Survey of India. Today Nagarjunakonda along with Nagarjunasagar attracts many tourists from South East Asian Countries and also from all over India.

Area: 39 km²
Altitude: 244 metres
Temparature (°C):
Summer: Max 39.4, Min 20
Winter: Max 22, Min 13.8
Rainfall: 89 cms
Best Season: July to March

How to get there

	Air: The nearest airport is Hyderabad (149 kms) connected by Indian Airlines, East West Airlines & Continental Aviation to Mumbai (Bombay).
	Rail: The nearest railhead is at Macherla which is 27 kms from Nagarjunasagar. However the convenient railhead is Vijaywada (177 kms) for tourist travelling from Mumbai (Bombay).
	Road: Vijayapuri (Nagarjunasagar) is connected by good motorable roads with Amravati 179 kms, Bangalore 619 kms, Mumbai (Bombay) 888 kms, Kolkata (Calcutta) 1422 kms, Delhi 1602 kms, Ethipothala 11 kms, Guntur 145 kms, Hyderabad 149 kms, Kurnool 261 kms, Macherla 27 kms, Chennai (Madras) 546 kms, Tirupati 493 kms, Vijayawada 177 kms, Vishakhapatnam 543 kms etc.
	Local Transport: There are regular bus services to Nagarjunasagar from all important towns in Andhra Pradesh. Tourist Taxis & Autorickshaws are available. Coaches are also available. Contact the Transport Unit, Andhra Pradesh Travel & Tourism Development Corporation, Project House, Hill Colony Tel: 3633.

Places of Interest

at Nagarjunasagar

Left Canal (Lal Bahadur Canal) (9.5 kms)
Model Dam (8 kms)
Pylon, Right Bank Tunnel (Jawahar Tunnel) (13 kms)
View Point (4 kms)

at Nargarjunakonda

Archaelogical Museum
Mahastupa
Bodhisri Chaitya
Simhala Vihara
Mahisaka Vihara
Brahusutiya
Vihara
Ashwamedha and Royal Bath

Excursions

Ethipothala Waterfalls (11 kms)
downstream of dam site. The water falls from a height of 70 feet into the gorge.
Very good picnic spot with deep valleys and cave temples.

The Region