The Indian Grand Canyon...!!

River Colarado cuts through the state of Arizona in the U.S. to form the world renowned Grand Canyon. Half a globe away in the Rayalseema region of Andhra Pradesh, Pennar river cuts through Kadappa district to form the Indian Grand Canyon, better known as Gandikota gorge.

After traversing through the barren brown hills and a few sunflower fields of Rayalseema, we reached Jammalamadugu, a small town in Kadappa. From there a narrow but well asphalted road took us further higher onto the hills of Erramala. The landscape though being devoid of greenery was expansive and a sight to behold.  After a fifteen kilometer drive through the beautiful landscape we reached Gandikota fort. The fort was under rennovation. All that we wanted to see was the canyon and headed there. It is small walk from the fort to the canyon. The gorge forms the background for the fort and also gets its name from the same. The fort also houses a Masjid, Madhavaraya temple, Raghunatha temple and a granary.

As we walked towards the gorge all that we could see were the vast plains and the big red boulders. The gorge was nowhere to be seen till we reached very close to it. Then from nowhere the 300 feet deep gorge appeared leaving us wonderstruck. Though it cannot come anywhere close in size and beauty to the Grand canyon of Arizona, it definitely can be named the Indian grand canyon. We were disappointed as there was hardly any water and the hot summers of the region had made the river into a green slush of weeds and grass. Post the monsoons it would definitely resemble the Grand canyon and would leave all visitors gaping at its natural formation. However, the huge red boulders made for a magnificent background and the landscape looked majestic. Even without water, the gorge did leave us spellbound for quite a while with its gargantuan vistas.

The place still remains unexplored with very few visitors other than the locals. Make sure to visit the gorge after the monsoons to enjoy this scenic natural wonder.

Signing Note- Indeed our own Grand Canyon...!!


  Route- Bangalore- Chikaballarpur- Gorantla- Kadiri- Pulivendula- Jammalamadugu- Gandikota
(Once you cross Andhra border ask for Gorantla deviation)


Distance- 290 Kms

Sunflowers...!!

This stunningly beautiful field of sunflowers was a delight to capture. Rayalseema, Andhra Pradesh. August 2012.

Wish you all a Happy Onam...!!

Down the Stream...!!

On world photography day, this frame was captured at Hogenakkal, Karnataka-Tamilnadu border. August 2012.
Eid Mubarak to all...!!

Published Articles

This article of mine was published on spiceflair.com

Tranquil and Relaxing beaches of Gokarna

Gokarna, better known as a hippie’s paradise is a small coastal temple town on the western coast of India. Situated at a distance of less than 80 Kms from Goa, this beautiful hamlet in Karnataka boasts of some of the most secluded beaches in India.It is a 10 Km detour from National highway- 17 that takes one to Gokarna.

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Colours Through My Lens...!!

This post is my entry for Capture the colour contest by travel supermaket.com. The contest is about submitting photographs capturing the five vibrant colours- Yellow, White, Blue, Green and Red.

YELLOW

Think of yellow and what flows through my mind are the blazing yellow sun, fluttering sunflowers and the shining yellow metal. 

This photograph was clicked inside Batu caves, Malaysia. It is one of the shrines inside the cave and what attracted me to this was the yellow light which had spread across, making the stalactites and the shrine glow in it.

WHITE

White stands for purity but for me it has always been either clouds, snow or fluffy cotton.

This photograph was captured from KL Towers, Kuala Lumpur. The huge white cloud seemed like a crown for the miniature looking tall sky scrappers of the city and the distant hills. My imagination of the crown is what attracted me to the moment.

BLUE

Blue is my favourite colour and for me it symbolizes the sky and the ocean.

This turquoise blue waters of the Indian Ocean was captured from a view point en route to the famous Le Morne mountain in Mauritius. What caught my fascination was the magnificent shades of blue that the waters displayed.

GREEN

I can relate green only to verdant forests, plantations or pastures and nothing else.

On my way to B.R. Hills, near Bengaluru I was fascinated by this mesmerising landscape of green paddy field, green trees and green hills. The colour green was so hard to ignore and that made me photograph this.

RED

I associate Red to blood and to the sun.

A wonderful evening was enjoyed on Pantai Cenang beach, Langkawai capturing the the blue sea, the blue sky and the interesting visitors. However as the sun set, what attracted me was the red shade that spread over a certain section of the sky. The sun had set but the colour red was so dominant in the blue frame.


 As a part of the contest I am nominating fellow bloggers to participate in the same.

My nominees are :

Bhushavali Natarajan

Sankara C

Sneha Diwakar

Arun Bharadwaj