Last Updated on 20 December 2023 by Poorna & Brinda
Rayalaseema region in Andhra Pradesh and Telengana is unexplored. Here is a detailed itinerary from Bangalore to explore Rayalaseema Wonders!
The natural wonders Bellum (Caves), Gandikota (Canyon), Oravakallu (Natural stone formations) lovely forts at Chandragiri, Penukonda, temples at Lepakshi, Tadipatri, Alampur, Ahobilam, Vontimitta. And of course the famous temple town of Tirupati.
The Circuit
Bangalore – Lepakshi – Penukonda – Anantpur – Tadipatri – Bellum caves – Yaganti – Kurnool – Oravakallu – Rollapadu – Mahanandi – Ahobilam – Gandikota – Kadapa – Horsely Hills – Madanapalle – Tirupati – Srikalahasti – Chandragiri – Bangalore
Total Distance – 1343 KMs
To help get the details on the map, we have spilt the circuit into two.
Circuit 1 – Bangalore – Lepakshi – Penukonda – Anantpur – Tadipatri – Bellum caves – Yaganti – Kurnool – Oravakallu – Rollapadu (512 KMs)
Google Map
Circuit 2 – Rollapdu – Mahanandi – Ahobilam – Gandikota – Kadapa – Horsely Hills – Madanapalle – Tirupati – Srikalahasti – Chandragiri – Bangalore (831 KMs)
Google Map
The road condition throughout is very good. You may find small stretches of bad roads but it is not a big deal. If you want to know the latest conditions then we strongly recommend you to become a member of this lovely driving community on Facebook
H V Kumar forum Day 1 – Bangalore – Lepakshi – Penukonda – Anantpur (Night Stay)
Distance – 245 KMs
Nagalingeshwara Temple, Lepakshi
Penukonda has a nice fort with remains of the palace and other structures from Vijayanagar era. You should spend an hour exploring it.
Have lunch in Penukonda or at any of the many dhabhas on the highway. If you are a devotee of Sri Sathya Sai Baba, then you can take a detour to Puttaparthi and visit his memorial and then proceed to Anantapur.
Reach Anantpur by evening. Visit the lovely ISKON temple in the city.
Retire for the night.
Day 2 – Ananatpur – Tadipatri – Bellum caves – Yaganti – Kurnool (Night Stay)
Distance – 215 KMs
Unfinished Gopuram at Bugga Ramalingeshwara Temple, Tadipatri
Fascinating interiors of Bellum Caves
An interesting day of exploring Rayalaseema wonders of caves and some lovely temples.
Leave around 7 AM and drive to Tadipatri which has two beautiful temples of Vijayanagar period.
The base of the incomplete main gopuram of Bugga Ramalingeshwara Swamy temple is so big that the acclaimed historian James Fergusson has mentioned that had it been completed then it would have been the tallest gopuram in the country.
After visiting the temples, have breakfast and then drive to the spectacular world of Bellum caves.
Explore the caves and it will take at least two hours to explore the cave.
The next stop is Banaganapalli which has a lovely fort now known popularly as “Arundhati fort” after the Telugu blockbuster “Arundhati” was shot here.
After visiting the fort, have lunch as you won’t get anything in Yaganti.
After Banaganapalli drive to Yaganti cave temple. Explore the cave temple.
From Yaganti drive to Kurnool and retire for the day.
Day 3 – Kurnool – Alampur – Oaravakallu – Rallapadu – Nandyal (Night Stay)
Distance – 171 KMs
Sangameshwara Temple, Alampur
Stone wonders, Oravakallu
After early breakfast, explore Kurnool Fort and Konda Reddy Burj.
Drive to Alampur which is close to Kurnool and be mesmerised by the Nava Brahma temples of Vijayanagar era and exquisite Chalukayn temples.
After Alampur – where you would spend 90 minutes – drive to Oravakallu. Get bowled over by the natural these Rayalaseema wonders of rock formations in this small little place.
Have lunch in the AP Tourism restaurant or any other place on the highway.
After lunch drive to Rallapadu Great Indian Bustard Sanctuary, one of its kind in the country. Spending an hour or two here and driving to Nandyal.
Night stay at Nandyal.
Day 4 – Nandyal – Mahanandi – Ahobilam (Night Stay)
Distance – 87 KMs
Holy tank, Mahanandi
Natural beauty @ Ahobilam
After breakfast depart from Nandyal and Drive straight to Mahanandi temple.
Visit the famous temple and after the darshan of Lord Mahadeva, drive to Ahobilam.
After lunch, visit the Navanarasimha temples in Upper and Lower Ahobilam.
Stay in Ahobilam.
Day 5 – Ahobilam – Gandikota – Sidhout Fort – Vontimitta – Kadapa (Night Stay)
Distance – 236 KMs
Famed canyon @ Gandikota
Wonderful Vontimitta temple
After early breakfast depart Ahobilam and head straight to Gandikota. Spend an hour and a half exploring the lovely canyon of Gandikota and beautiful temples (See in this blog on
Gandikota for details).
Day 6 – Kadapa – Thimmama Marimummu – Horsely Hills (Night stay)
Distance – 185 KMs
Banyan tree
Lovely view from viewpoint @ Horsely hills
A nice drive from Kadapa after breakfast will bring you to the largest banyan tree in the world. Spread over 20000 sq mtrs, it is an amazing sight.
After spending an hour here, drive to Horsely hills for late lunch.
Explore the hills and in the evening if interested visit the famous Rishi Valley School established by philosopher J Krishnamurti.
Night stay in Horsely Hills.
Day 7 – Horsely Hills – Madanapalle – Tirupati
Distance – 140 KMs
Besant Theosophical College, Madanapalle
After breakfast, depart for Tirupati. On the way stop over at Besant Theosophical College to check out the place where Rabindranath Tagore composed National anthem for the first time!
Reach Tirupati for a late lunch.
Depending upon the darshan timings, one can utilise the post-lunch time to explore the next day’s options.
Night stay at Tirupati
Day 8 – Tirupati – Tiruchanur (Mangapuram) – Sri Kalahasti – Tirupati (Night Stay)
Distance – 79 KMs
Lord Venkateshwara temple, Tirumala
Srikalahasti temple
If you have completed darshan at Tirumala on the previous day, then you can explore these places. If not, you can skip this or do it next time when you come to Tirupati.
Day 9 – Tirupati – Bangalore
Distance – 213 KMs
After breakfast, drive back to Bangalore. On the way, don’t forget to visit the beautiful fort complex of Chandragiri which will be the last stop in this exploration of Rayalaseema wonders.
Travel Tips
1. The best time to explore this region is in winter. Summers are very hot in this region. Monsoon is also a good time to travel especially in the forested areas of Ahobilam where you can see some lovely waterfalls.
2. We have made this road trip from Bangalore an easy one to do with not more than 250 KMs driving a day. We would recommend that way as it will allow you to explore the places well.
3. You may not see good highway restaurants or dhabhas on these roads. Make sure you eat at any good places you find on the way. Same with loos. We are not sure of them except for major towns or National Highway.
4. There are many detours one can take if you have time to explore Rayalaseema wonders. These are – Srisailam from Kurnool ( We avoided it here as it would take two full days for a round trip), Gooty Fort from Anantapur and then one can come to Tadipatri, Temple town of Kadiri are few examples. If you have more number of days, you can do them as well.
5. Ahobilam itself requires a full day to fully explore as it requires a bit of climbing. It depends on the availability of time.
6. At Tirupati, we have left the option open for exploring nearby places as one is never certain about the darshan of Lord Balaji.
Lastly, the road conditions change for various reasons. It will be good to join a road trip enthusiasts group HVK Forum managed by H V Kumar, the doyen of road trip in India. You can get the latest updates on the road conditions in this very active group.
We strongly suggest that you download customised Routo app from H V Kumar. HVK as he is fondly called, provides you with customised route maps, live support on the road trip and will also help you with hotel accommodation. Check out all the details here.
Routo – The Right Route & Travel Support For The Motorist Traveller
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After deciding an eight day tour to RAYALASEMA, I accidentally came across this blog and astonished what I was searching for. I am strange to RAYALASEMA, but got confidence by reading your experience. I am departing Banglore on 6th, coering all the places you mentioned, will return on13th night.
Thank you Kumar