Nagarjuna Sagar Dam, Nagarjuna Sagar - Timings, Boating, Best Time to Visit

At a distance of 3 km from Nagarjuna Sagar Bus Station, Nagarjuna Sagar Dam is built on River Krishna between the states of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. It is one of the main places to visit in Nagarjuna Sagar. The dam offers breathtaking views when the gates are open in peak monsoon season (around Sep). This is another popular attraction not to miss in a Hyderabad tour packages.

The Dam was completed in 1966 and it has a height of 124 m and a length of over 1450 m with 26 crest gates. The lake created by the dam is the third largest manmade lake in the world. The dam can store up to 11, 472 million cubic meters of water in the reservoir. There is a viewpoint at a distance of 4 km from the dam that offers a panoramic view of the amazing landscape. It is one of the earliest irrigation and hydro-electric projects in India. The dam provides irrigation water to over 1 million acres of land in Nalgonda, Prakasam, Khammam and Guntur Districts.

The project commenced in February 1956 and after a brief gap, due to lack of modern equipment it was constructed with stone rather than concrete. A cement factory was constructed near Macherla to meet the project requirement. The dam was completed fully in 1972 once the crest gates were installed. The dam has two canals, the left and right canals that supply water from the reservoir. It also boasts of one of the largest networks of canal systems in the world.

The dam derives its name from a nearby hillock and island called Nagarjuna Konda, where the ancient Buddhist excavations are found which can be reached by a boat. There is a famous and well-maintained museum that houses ancient artifacts. Steam boat rides are available in the backwaters of the dam where the turbines can be seen in action. Visitors are not allowed to enter into the main dam structure.

This place is flooded with tourists in monsoon season when all the gates of the Dam are opened, which offers awesome views of the water falling through 26 gates from a height of over 100 meters. Besides the lake, there are other attractions around the Dam like Ethipothala waterfalls, Anupu & Nagarjuna Konda.

Boating is available in the backwaters of the dam from the other side of the dam towards Anupu. Special boats also run from Nagarjunasagar to Srisailam during post monsoon season when the water flow is stable.