Sri Venkateshwara National Park - श्री वेंकटेश्वर राष्ट्रीय उद्यान

Sanctuary Name Sri Venkateswara National Park
District Chittor & Cuddapah
State Andhra Pradesh
Near By Cities Tirupati
Area of Park 353.62 Sq. Km.
Date of Establishment 1989
Co-ordinates 13.822078, 79.378967
Wikipedia Links http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sri_Venkateswara_National_Park

Photo by : jyoti pb in flickr
More images...
Sri Venkateshwara National Park extends over two districts of Chittoor and Cuddapah of Andhra Pradesh in an area of 353.62 Sq.km. The park established in October 1989, is named after Lord Venkateshwara of Tirupati. It is located in Rajampet of Cuddapah district and Chandragiri and Bailapadu of Chittoor district.

The hilly terrain bounded by Seshachalam and Tirumala hills is rugged and beautiful with gorges, steep slopes, plateaus and valleys. The park is also famous for its beautiful waterfalls like Talakona, Gundalakona and Gunjana.

The vegetation of the park is dry deciduous with moist deciduous forests seen here and there in the valleys. Some of the valuable tree species of Red Sanders (Pterocarpeis Santatinus), sandalwood, Tamba Jalari, Gymnosperm, Tella Karakkaya etc are found here. It has about 1500 plant species belonging to 176 families.

The fauna found here are tiger, panther, spotted deer, Sambar, black buck, bison, ibex, sloth bear, pig, bear, Bonnet monkey, mongoose, wild dogs, jackal, fox, wolf, civet cat, jungle cat, rare and endangered golden gecko, Indian giant squirrel, tree shrew, lizards etc and birds like partridges, quail, peacock, jungle fowl etc.

There are treks from Mamandur, a small village near Renigunta through the shrub jungle. There is a stream behind the beautiful and elegant forest bungalow here built by the British. Permission from Andhra Pradesh Forest Department needed for stay.

How to Reach

Air

Nearest airport is at Tirupati. Flights to Tirupati are available from Hyderabad, Bangalore, Chennai and Vijayawada. Indian Airlines, Opposite Central Bus stand, Tirupati Ph: 22349

Rail

Nearest railway station is at Hyderabad and the nearest railhead is Tirupati. There are trains that travel via Renigunta or Gudur, but do not touch Tirupati. In such cases, Renigunta (just 10 km from Tirupati) is a convenient point to alight.

Road

10 km from Tirupati by road. The park is a three hours drive or 160 km from Madras, the capital of Tamil Nadu.

Accommodation

There are forest rest houses at Tirupati, Rajampet, Talakona, Kaarapet available for stay. There are also guest houses of Andhra Pradesh Tourist Development Corporation (APTDC) at Talakona. Click here for a list of hotels in Tirupati.

Contacts

Dy. Conservator of Forests,
Sri Venkateswar National Park,
Chittoor

Divisional Forest Officer (DFO),
Sri Venkateswara National Park,
Tirupati - 517 507.
Phone:08574-24980

General Information

Place: Rajampet of Cuddapah district and Chandragiri and Bailapadu of Chittoor district, Andhra Pradesh
Nearest Town: Chandragiri (20 km)
Best time to visit: November to February