24 Places of interest in Tirupati (Part 3)

7. Talakona Waterfalls

At a distance of 49 km from Bakarapet, 64 km from Tirupati, 120 km from Horsley Hills, 192 km from Chennai, 241 km from Bangalore and 89 km from Chittoor, Talakona Falls are situated in Sri Venkateswara National Park near Nerabailu Village of Yerravari Mandal of Chittoor district in Andhra Pradesh. The gorgeous waterfall falling deep into a valley from a height of around 270 feet makes it the highest waterfall in Andhra Pradesh and also one of the top Tourist places in Andhra Pradesh. It is one of the ideal getaways from Chennai & Bangalore for a day trip.

The waterfalls are placed amidst dense forest surrounded by natural beauty and greenery. It is believed that the water of Talakona Falls is enriched with herbs with healing powers. Talakona was declared as Bio-Sphere Reserve in 1990 because of wide variety of plant species present in the region. In this forest, one can find variety of endangered species like sambar, porcupine, cheetal, golden gecko, Indian giant squirrel, slender loris, panther and mouse deer etc. Talakona means 'head hill' in Telugu. This place is believed to be the starting point of Seshachalam Hills which are extended till Tirumala.

There is a 240 m long canopy rope walk, about 35 to 40 feet in height, giving a thrilling experience to the visitors while walking. There are mighty trees around with birds and monkeys during the canopy walk. There are number of trek routes in different categories of difficulty, giving an option for the visitor to choose their route. There are also several caves dotted over the mountains where it is believed that sages meditate eternally.

Situated close to this waterfall is a small temple dedicated to Lord Siddeswara Swamy. This temple is believed to be built by a devotee named Appa Swamy in 1811 AD. The temple is usually crowded by devotees during the festival of Shivaratri, which is a very popular event in this region. The falls have to be reached by 2 km trek from Siddeswara Swamy Temple which is the nearest motorable road to the falls. The duration of the trek is about 30 minutes (one way) through dense forest and slippery road.

Accommodation is also available in this dense forest; it gives immense pleasure for visitors to spend time during nights. One can find two different Guesthouses - Forest Guest House and TTD Guest House. The forest guest house is maintained by Forest Department of AP, where you have 6 Suites (rooms) and 2 Dormitories with attached toilets and cost is also very minimal, Room costs around Rs 600/- per day and Dormitory costs around Rs 1000/- per day. Visitors can avail the facility of advance booking from the forest department website www.seshachalavanadarshini.com.

TTD Guest House at Talakona is for pilgrims. There are 12 rooms and each room has two beds with attached toilets costing Rs 250/- per day. There is no advance or online booking for TTD rooms.

October to January is the best season to visit. Usually it takes one full day. There are several private transport facilities to Talakona Falls from Bakarapet, which has direct bus services from Tirupati and Chittoor.

8. Kanipakam

At a distance of 71 km from Tirupati, 13 km from Chittoor, 175 km from Chennai, 181 km from Bangalore, 50 km from Vellore, 59 km from Sripuram, 420 km from Coimbatore and 575 km from Hyderabad, Kanipakam is a village and pilgrimage center located in Chittoor district of Andhra Pradesh. Famous for the Varasiddhi Vinayaka Temple (Kanipakam Temple), Kanipakam is one of the top Andhra Pradesh places to visit. This is one of the ideal weekend getaways near Bangalore & Chennai for a day trip and a major pilgrimage site in Andhra Pradesh.

This village lies close to Karnataka & Tamil Nadu border on the banks of Bahuda River. The temple was constructed in the 11th century by Chola king Kulothunga Chola I and was expanded further in 1336 by Vijayanagara Kings. Kanipakam temple is a rare temple with a self-manifestation (swayambhu) idol of Lord Ganesha.

The striking feature of the idol is that it is still growing in size. According to a legend, there were three handicapped brothers, Dumb, Deaf and Blind. They were farmers and used to draw water for farming from a well nearby. One day the well got dried and they could no longer continue cultivation. One of them got into the well and started digging it up. He was shocked to see blood coming out of the well. Within in a few seconds the entire water turned red. All the three became normal getting rid of their deformities. As soon as the villagers came to know about this miracle, they thronged to the well and tried to deepen the well further. They found swayambhu idol (the self-manifested) of Lord Vinayaka emerging from the swirling waters.

The Annual Festival (Brahmotsavam) is conducted for 21 days starting on the Hindu festival of Vinayaka Chavithi (or Ganesh Chaturthi) that generally falls in the months of August/September. Kanipakam is directly connected by bus with Tirupati (every 30 minutes) & Chittoor.

There are few other temples to visit in Kanipakam like Sri Manikanteswara Swami temple and Sri Varadaraja swami temple. Sri Ardhagiri Veeranjaneya Swamy Temple, Sri Boyakonda Gangamma Temple and Sri Kalyana Venkateswara Swamy Temple are some other temples nearby Kanipakam.

Renigunta is the nearest airport (83 km from Kanipakam) which serves direct flights from Delhi, Hyderabad, Chennai as well as Bangalore. Chittoor Railway Station (12 km away) is well connected with Hyderabad, Madurai, Trivandrum, Jammu, New Delhi, Vellore, Bhubaneswar, Kolkata, Nagercoil, Vizag, Bangalore, Jharkhand, Odisha, Kochi, Patna, Mangalore, Kanyakumari, Tirupati, Coimbatore, Mumbai, Pondicherry, Vizag and Madurai. Buses are available from Kanipakam to the adjacent cities like Tirupati, Chennai and Vellore.

There are 6 rooms run by the Kanipakam Devasthanam and 14 rooms run by Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) Choultries along with few private lodges.

The best time to visit Kanipakam is from Sep to Feb while the Peak Season is August to October & April to May. Usually it takes half day to full day to visit Kanipakam.

Timings: 4 AM to 9.30 PM

9. KODANDARAMA SWAMI TEMPLE

At a distance of 2 kms from Tirupati Railway Station & 24 km from Tirumala Tirupati Balaji Temple, Kodandarama Swami Temple is situated in the heart of Tirupati town. The presiding deities are Sita, Rama and Lakshmana.

This temple was constructed by the Cholas in 10th century AD. The temple of Anjaneyaswami, which is directly opposite, is a mini shrine situated in the temple complex. According to legend, this temple commemorates the visit of Sri Rama to Tirupathi. The festivals of Ugadi and Sri Ramanavami are celebrated in this temple on a grand scale.

Every year the temple celebrates the Brahmotsavams to the Lord Sri Rama.

....to be continued.