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| Nagarjuna Sagar Dam |
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History
The Nagarjuna Sagar Dam is constructed on the Krishna River and lies between the Guntur and Nalgonda districts in Andhra Pradesh. It is located at a distance of around 150 kilometres from the capital city of Hyderabad and holds the record for being the world's largest masonry dam and is considered a wonder of engineering excellence. The construction of the dam was started in 1955 and went on for another 12 years with the dam being completed in 1967.
The Nagarjuna Sagar Dam is one of the most visited tourist attractions of the area. The size of the dam is bound to leave one astounded as it has a height of 150 m with an incredible width of 1.6 km along with 26 gates that control the water flow. The dam also has two canals with the left one being the Bahadur Canal and the right one, the Jawahar canal. These canals cater to the watering needs of very large areas and have played a leading role in helping Andhra Pradesh become the ‘Rice Bowl of India’. The water being let through the dam gates and gushing into the canals is something one should not miss. The dam also offers a panoramic view offered of the River Krishna with the blue waters of the river brought to a near standstill surrounded by greenery.
In the middle of the reservoir of the dam lies an island named, Nagarjuna’s Hill. It was formed when the area surrounding the hill was submerged because of the construction of the dam. Since the surrounding area was a very important Buddhist excavation site, some of the artefacts found were moved to the Nagarjunakonda Museum which is in the form of an ancient Buddhist Vihara and is situated on the island which can be accessed through a ferry. The objects displayed in the five galleries of the museum contain carved lime stone slabs, sculptures, inscriptions and other antiquities belonging to 3rd-4th century AD.
At a distance of just 11 km from the dam is located the Ethipothala Waterfall which is on the Chadravanka river, a tributary of the Krishna river. The water fall offers picture postcard surroundings, where one can see the milky white water cascade down 70 feet into a lagoon which has been converted into a crocodile breeding centre where one can safely see the reptiles from a close range.
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Best time to visit
The summer months March- June are blistering hot with temperatures hovering around 40 degrees. The winters are pleasant with temperatures lying around 10 degrees.
The best time therefore to visit therefore lies between the months of November to March.
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Trivia
The Nagarjuna Sagar has an installed power generation capacity of 816 MW and is one of the world’s largest masonary dams with 26 crest gates.
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Timing
The timings of the museum are 9.00 am to 4.00 pm and the museum is closed on Friday.
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Travel Tools
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