Panoramic tour of Andhra Pradesh (AP) and Telangana

Compilation of Panoramic photos from Hyderabad, Rammappa, Ghanpur and Vizag – Araku

Also see: My collection of Panorama Compilation

Panoramic photography is a technique of photography, using specialized equipment or software, that captures images with elongated fields of view. It is sometimes known as wide format photography. Panorama photos are normally shot by stitching  series of photos with sightly overlapping fields to create a panoramic image.

This blog post contains panoramic photos from Hyderabad, Ramappa, Ghanpur and from the Vizag – Araku railway.

Hyderabad

An amazing mix of old and new

Hyderabad the capital of the newly formed state of Telangana and the de jury capital of Andhra Pradesh is an interesting mix of modernity and antiquity. A major contributor to the It industry, The history of Hyderabad dates back to the late 16th century.

The Charminar, built during the Qutb Shahi rule remains the icon of Hyderabad. Charminar, literally meaning four towers (Char = four, Minar = Tower), is synonymous  the Pearl City of Hyderabad. Standing on a traffic island in one of the the most congested part of the old city.

Panoramic View (with Mekka Masjid) from first floor of Charminar, Hyderabad

Today visitors are allowed up to the first floor of the Charminar, which provides a panoramic views of the old town, including the Mekka Masjid.

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Vizag – Araku Train

~ Broad Gauge Mountain Railway ~

As our Kirandul Fast Passenger made its way through the numerous tunnels and bridges I made a desperate attempt to capture the train meandering train on my camera. Sadly my SLR camera (Vivitar v3600s) was too big to pass through the grilled window of the train.

Kirandul Fast Passenger, with Eastern Ghat in backdrop

Suddenly I noticed my wife clicking photos with her newly purchased point and shoot digital camera (Olympus Fe310). I grabbed the camera and it easily passed out of the window grill and captured the Kirandul Fast Passenger making a huge loop with the lush green Eastern Ghats in the background.

Photo Publication – IV

DISCOVER INDIA

JUNE 2012

My photo of the train to Vizag is published in the article titled “The Greener East Side” by Malyan Pereira in the June 2012 issue of Discover India.

Pages of Discover India with my photo

This photo was shot during a family vacition to Vizag – Araku in September 2007. This photo showing the Kirandul Express on the way to Araku was shot from the trin with the camera extended out of the window. It was shot with point and shoot digital camera Olympus FE310, as my SLR (Vivitar v3800s) did not pass through the window grill.

Train to Araku

No trip to Vizag is complete without a visit to the lush green valleys of Araku Valley, along with the Bora Caves. Located North West of Vizag the beautiful valley is connected by a 150 km long rail track. An engineering marvel the rail tracks meanders through the Eastern Ghats passing through 52 tunnels and 84 bridges.

For the best views it is best to take a morning Kirandul Passenger from Vizag, a window sit on the left offers the best views. The train follows the Chenni – Howrah line till Kottavalas from where it takes a left diversion towards the Eastern Ghats.

After about two hours of journey through the lush green coastal plains merges into the even greener Eastern Ghats, marking the starting points of tunnels and bridges. The line meanders past lush green valleys, towering cliffs and thundering water falls, passing through several tunnels some couple of meters long while several others stretching over 100 meters. The longest tunnel has length of 520 meters. Just before reaching Araku the train stops at the Shimiliguda Station, located at a height of 996.32 feet it is the highest broad gauge rail station in India.

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