For most tourists taking the road to Srisailam, the view of the imposing dam with river Krishna’s waters gushing out of its gates and a darshan of Lord Mallikarjuna Swamy is not enough without a glimpse of dense Nallamala forest in Farahabad.
The best part of the 250-km drive to and fro Srisailam is that about 70-km stretch goes through the Nagarjunasagar-Srisailam Tiger Reserve, which is the biggest in terms of area, and about 80 km through the dense forest and Nallamala Hills.
One can see waterfalls and several species of wildlife. For the discerning urbanite, everything appears different, far from the madding crowds and concrete jungle.
About 2,500 light vehicles pass through the Mannanur check-post in the weekends while on weekdays it’s around 1,000 vehicles, whose owners pay a token of Rs. 10 towards the Environment Conservation Fund. Away from the main road, Farahabad Tiger View Point from the entrance is about 8 km. The fact that it takes about 50 minutes to reach the View Point shows how dense the forest is.
Finally, when the tourists reach the spot, the view is simply breath taking. The forest cover is so thick that one cannot see the land beneath, a few 100 metres below the sheer drop. The wildlife that tourists can easily see are spotted deer, ‘Sambar’, ‘Neelghai’, ‘Chousinga’, ‘Chinkara’, antelopes, monkeys, ‘Langurs’, porcupines, rattles and water dogs, apart from reptiles and bears that make an occasional appearance. All through the drive, the noise of engines recedes into the background, overtaken by the chirp of the birds.
Though it is called the Tiger View Point, spotting a tiger or a leopard is very difficult, considering that there are only 25 to 30 in all, going by the latest survey this May, that uses scat and pug marks collection and photographs.
