DOMAKONDA FORT - BASARA (FROM HYDERABAD)

At a distance of 300 m from Domakonda Bus Stop, 87 km from Nizamabad Bus Station and 112 km from Hyderabad, Domakonda Fort is situated in Domakonda Village in Nizamabad district of Telangana.

Domakonda was a princely region under Qutb Shahis and Asaf Jahis. The Reddy rulers of Domakonda built the fort in the 18 century at a sight where a fort existed earlier. The fort posses wonderful architecture to be explored and stands a testimony to the grandeur of Telangana heritage.

This fort is also called Gadi Domakonda or Killa Domakonda. It is one of the beautiful forts present in Telangana. The architecture of the fortress displays both Hindu and Muslim styles. It has an elevated compound of granite rocks that forms the fort wall, followed by the beautiful two-storied fort structure.

There are two palaces and a temple complex inside the fort along with a lotus pond. The ground floor of the palace consists of arched pillars with intricate artwork influenced by Mughal architecture. .....

At a distance of 2 km from Basara Bus Station & 1 km from Basara Temple, Bathing Ghats are situated on the mighty Godavari River at Basara.

The Manjeera river is merged into Godavari near Basara and the flow of water increases at this point. Several pilgrims take bath at the ghats before visiting the main temple. Boating is also available in Godavari River at the ghats.

There are several boats available throughout the day to ferry tourists and natives. Before the construction of new road bridge across Godavari near Basara, most of the people used to depend on boats to cross the river and the other side.

At a distance of 2 km from Basara Bus Station, 1 km from Saraswathi Tempple, Lord Shiva Temple is another important tourist attraction in Basara.

Dedicated to Lord Shiva, this temple is situated on the banks of Godavari River near Bathing Ghat. The nandi bull is situated in the temple mandapa. This is very ancient temple.

At a distance of 1 km from Basara Bus Station, Goddess Saraswathi Devi Temple (Basara Temple) is located on the left bank of river Godavari.

Basara Saraswathi Temple is one of the famous temples in Telangana. The Goddess Saraswathi is known for initiation of Aksharabhyasa and is also called as Sri Gnana Saraswathi. Basara Temple is one of the two oldest Saraswathi Temples of India, the other temple is in Kashmir.

The temple is dedicated to Goddess Saraswati, the goddess of knowledge. The temple also houses the idols of Goddess Lakshmi and Kali. As per history, Bijialudu a Karnataka king, who ruled the province of Nandagiri with Nanded as his capital in the 6th century, constructed the temple at Basara.

According to the legend, Sage Veda Vyasa after the Kurukshetra war was searching for peace and reached Basara situated on the banks of River Godavari in Dandakaranya. He found this place very serene and so started meditating .....

At a distance of 1 km from Basara Bus Station, Vyasa Maharshi Cave is a cave situated on top of a hill next to the Basara Temple of Gnana Saraswathi Devi.

This cave has a narrow entrance and one has to wriggle through it to enter the small enclosure. Here one can see the marble idol of sage Veda Vyasa. Legend says that Veda Vyasa stayed here during his meditation.

It is believed that Maharshi Veda Vyasa, the author of Mahabharata and his disciples and sage Suka decided to rest in a calm and serene ambience after the Kurukshetra war. In the quest for a peaceful abode, he came to Dandaka forest and pleased with serenity of the region, selected this place. Since Maharishi Vyasa spent considerable time in prayers, the place was then called Vasara and turned into Basara.