Hyderabad Airport to Srisailam Taxi

Hyderabad Airport to Srisailam Taxi — 195 km from Shamshabad to Mallikarjuna

The drive from Hyderabad airport to Srisailam is 195 km and takes three to four hours. Rajiv Gandhi International Airport at Shamshabad lies on the south side of the city, already in the direction of Srisailam, so you do not have to go into Hyderabad at all. You land, meet the driver, and head south. Pilgrims fly in for this from Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Maharashtra and abroad, because Srisailam holds both the Mallikarjuna Jyotirlinga and the Bhramaramba Shakti Peetha on one sacred hill.

Meeting your driver at Shamshabad

The driver’s name, photo and car number reach you before the flight lands. When it does, he rings you or sends a WhatsApp message and waits at the arrivals pickup point with your name on a board. Mention the flight number when you book. We track it, and if the arrival slips the pickup moves too, with no extra charge for a delay that was out of your hands.

The airport entry or parking fee and the tolls are paid at actuals. Srisailam is in Andhra Pradesh while the airport is in Telangana, so the inter-state permit is also paid at actuals.

The one thing to plan around: the forest stretch

The last part of the road runs through the Nallamala forest inside the Amrabad Tiger Reserve. The forest stretch has night-time restrictions, so plan to cross it in daylight, and check current timings before you fix your flight or your departure. On this route that single fact shapes the whole trip.

• Morning landing. This is the ideal case. Leave the airport straight away and you are through the forest by midday, with the afternoon and evening at the temple.
• Midday or early afternoon landing. Usually still workable if the flight is on time, but there is little slack. Check the timings for that day and do not linger at lunch.
• Evening or night landing. Do not try to push through. Stay the night near the airport or in Hyderabad and leave early the next morning. If the start is before 6 AM, the night allowance for 10 PM to 6 AM driving applies, paid at actuals.

South from the airport

From Shamshabad the car takes the Outer Ring Road a short way and joins the Srisailam highway heading south. The first two hours are open Telangana country, all fields and small market towns, with Kalwakurthy the largest of them. Have your meal and fill water bottles in this stretch; once the forest begins there is very little on the road.

At Mannanur the trees close in. Inside the reserve the speed is kept low, stopping is discouraged, and you may see deer, langurs and peafowl by the road. Phone signal can be patchy here, so tell anyone waiting for you at Srisailam that you may be out of touch for a while. Towards the end the road winds down a ghat through the hills to the Krishna, crosses near the great dam into Andhra Pradesh, and climbs to the temple town on the plateau.

After the flight: comfort on a winding road

The first half is easy and many people sleep through it. The descent to the river is a continuous run of bends, and after a flight and an early start that can unsettle a stomach. Anyone prone to motion sickness should take the front seat and eat lightly beforehand. The driver will pull over at a safe spot outside the reserve if you need air.

A sedan fits two large suitcases with cabin bags, an SUV three, and an Innova four. Families travelling with elders often choose an SUV or Innova for the higher seats and the extra legroom on a three-to-four-hour run.

Timing darshan with your arrival

The Mallikarjuna temple keeps a full day with a pause in the afternoon, and the Devasthanam sets the times for special darshans and sevas. If your trip is for a particular seva, or for the touch darshan of the lingam that Srisailam allows at set hours, check the current schedule before you book your flight, so that your landing and the forest crossing both fit the slot. A morning landing usually lets you reach the town, check in and join the evening darshan the same day.

Patala Ganga, the bathing ghat on the Krishna below the town, is where many pilgrims bathe before darshan. It can wait for the next morning if you arrive tired.

Crowded weeks

Maha Shivaratri, in February or March, and the Telugu month of Karthikam, around October–November, bring the largest crowds of the year, with Mondays heaviest. On those dates the forest road is busier and darshan queues are long, so a morning landing and an early start matter even more. Book your room in Srisailam before you book the flight.

Getting back to the airport

The return has the same rule: cross the forest in daylight. For an evening flight out of Hyderabad, leave Srisailam in the morning. For a morning flight, stay the night near the airport rather than driving through the forest late. You can book the return as a round trip with the same driver or as a separate one-way drop.