Fort Ruins inside The Largest Tiger Reserve in India – Nagarjunsagar Srisailam Tiger Reserve

Nagarjunsagar Srisailam Tiger Reserve is The Largest Tiger Reserve in India, spread across five districts of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana states. The last count, in 1989, puts the number of Tigers inside this Tiger Reserve as 94.

Nagarjuna Sagar Dam inside Nagarjunsagar Srisailam Tiger Reserve
Nagarjuna Sagar Dam inside Nagarjunsagar Srisailam Tiger Reserve.

Nagarjunsagar Srisailam Tiger Reserve is spread across 3,568 square kilometers in the following five districts: Nalgonda, Mahbubnagar, Kurnool, Prakasam, and Guntur. National Tiger Conservation Authority declared the Nagarjunsagar-Srisailam Tiger Reserve as a Project Tiger Reserve in 1983, a project to save India’s National animal, the Royal Bengal Tigers. The Tiger Reserve was renamed Rajiv Gandhi Wildlife Sanctuary in 1992.

Nagarjunsagar-Srisailam Tiger Reserve, or Nagarjuna Tiger Reserve as it is called locally, has many historic places. Ruins of the ancient Nagarjuna Viswa Vidyalayam, started by the great Buddhist scholar Nagarjunacharya in the 2nd century, are found inside the Tiger Reserve. Fort ruins of Ikshwaku Chandragupta, a third-century ruler, are also found inside the Tiger Reserve. Fort ruins of King Pratap Rudra and other rulers are located on the banks of River Krishna, inside this tiger reserve. Ruins of the wall with 169 kilometers, built during the Kakateeyas, are seen here. There are many cave temples and rock shelters in the tiger reserve.

Sri Mallikarjuna Swamy Temple, one among the 12 Jyotirlinga temples dedicated to Lord Shiva, is situated at Srisailam on the banks of the River Krishna. Nagarjuna Sagar Dam and Reservoir is located inside the Srisailam Tiger Reserve, at a distance of 150 kilometers from Hyderabad in the border areas of the Guntur district of Andhra Pradesh state and Nalgonda district of Telangana state. Nagarjuna Sagar Reservoir is the second biggest water reservoir in India.

How Do I Go To Nagarjunsagar Srisailam Tiger Reserve?

Srisailam is at a distance of around 210 kilometers from Hyderabad, the capital of Telangana state. Srisailam is at a distance of approximately 180 kilometers from Kurnool Town in Andhra Pradesh state.