Visit to the Ancient Temple of Sri Uma Maheswara in Achampet near SriSailam

3rd October 2025, the day after Vijaya Dasami - we had an early morning Sparsh darsanam of Srisailam Sri Mallikarjuna Swamy and close darsanam of Sri Brahmarambika Devi. After energizing with the divine blessings we went on a boat ride in Patala Ganga and were on our way back to Hyderabad.

While driving from Hyderabad to Srisailam, the driver told us about Sri Uma Maheswara Swamy temple - a must-visit place. So on our way back to Hyderabad, he took us to this ancient temple which is located in a serene surroundings of the Nallamalla forest with breathtaking sceneries of the Eastern Ghats and valleys.
As we drove on the Srisailam-Hyderabad highway, from the by-pass we took the left turn at the temple arch (kamaan) and we drove deeper into the village side passing through a stretch of lush greenery on either side of the road where there is less of human interference. It was lonely road and we could hardly see any vehicle or person on the road except few of our ancestors - monkeys haha!.

After a long drive in the lonely village side road, we reached the foothill where there is a newly constructed temple. We took ticket for driving up the ghat road at the small ticket counter and moved up on the ghat road. It was a wonderful scenic drive on the steep curves of the ghat road with tranquil views of the Nallamalla mountains and valleys. We admired and enjoyed the serene views with a touch of spirituality.

There is a temple bus which keeps running up and down with pilgrims. On our way back from the temple, we saw the bus coming up with pilgrims. On reaching the destination we were greeted by a troop of our forefather (haha monkeys), each busy in its own world. We should be a bit careful as these monkeys might snatch the bags in our hands. We washed our legs and walked admiring the ancient rustic beauty of the surroundings with deep valleys full of greenery.
We took 'archana' ticket and had a peaceful pooja with Gotranamalu by the pujari. Unlike other famous Hindu temples, it was very peaceful here with no crowd at all and neither getting sandwiched between the crowd nor 'pondamma / kadalali' (get out fast) shouts from the temple securities / guards. So happily spent some time inside the temple admiring the ancient 2nd century CE (Common Era) Sivalingam. After stepping out of the temple, we enjoyed moving around and looking at the ancient surroundings with rocky mountains and waterfalls on one side and valley view on the other side. It was evening time and the weather was cool on the mountain top. As we walked further, we saw water continuously falling through the rocks of the mountains from a great height.

We came to know from the temple pujari that there is an ancient 'Swayambhu' Sivalingam of Sri Uma Maheswara Swamy inside a cave atop and the Sivalingam is unique as it is formed of two coloured rocks - red on one side and whitish on the other side . We also came to know that there is a gundam (spring) near the cave temple known as Papanasanam where there is a continuous spring of water coming out from underneath the huge rocks and the source from where this spring water is coming is a mystery and is till unknown. Devotees take a holy dip in this spring water as they believe that by doing so they are cleansed and get rid of all their papa karmas. Then they worship the idols of Nagadevatalu which are near the gundam to protect them from Naga dosham, if any. Unfortunately during our visit, cave temple and Papanasam were temporarily closed due to some landslide few days back.

This temple reminded me of Mangalagiri Panakala Narasimha Swamy temple. There is nothing else on the mountain top except this temple. No accommodation, no houses, no shops or no roadside vendors. Absolutely nothing else except this temple. Hope this place will develop in near future due to the inflow of tourists. Let's dive a bit deeper to know about this ancient temple.

About the Ancient Temple of Sri Uma Maheswaram, Achampet

The ancient temple of Sri Uma Maheswara Swamy is nestled in the serene and picturesque Nallamalla Forest Mountain Range with lush greenery, cool breeze and scienic views. The mountain-top temple is around 4 Km from Rangapur village in Achampet Mandalam of Nagarkurnool district in Telangana.

The temple is known as the Uttara Dwaram (North Entrance) of Srisailam and it is said that one must visit this temple after visiting Srisailam otherwise there won't be any good results just by visiting Srisailam temple. May be because of this belief the temple started gaining its lost glory. Being the North Gateway to Srisailam, this is a place for halt and entry to Nallamalla forests during ancient pilgrim trials to Srisailam. As per epigrahical sources, the inaccessible Srisailam temple in the olden days / present as well, is approachable from four cardinal points - East -Tripurantakam in Prakasam Dist, South - Siddhavatam in Cuddapah dist, West - Alampuram in Jogulamba Gadwal dist and North - Sri Uma Maheswaram in Nagarkurnool dist.

Though there is no strong historical evidences, as per locals the temple is built in the 2nd or 3rd century CE. The temple is built in south Indian architectural style with intricate carvings and paintings on stones and pillars. Some South Indian rulers like Pallava Kings who reigned might have constructed the temple, no historical evidence though.

As per locals info, the temple is a sacred grove that is protected by the local community and the surroundings is rich in flora and fauna with different species of medicinal plants.
The temple is open daily from 7 a.m to 7 p.m and there is Devasthanam bus service also daily from 7 a.m to 7 p.m at a frequency of every 15 minutes. The' Annaprasadam' centre in the temple daily serves lunch to devotees. The temple is a bit crowded on auspicious days like Maha Sivaratri and Kartika Masam. While on other days it's very calm and serene with less crowd.

We had a wonderful experience visiting this ancient temple of Sri Uma Maheswara Swamy. We not only had a good time enjoying the scenic beauty of nature at this place but also immersed ourselves in divine vibes exploring the historical rock carvings and paintings. Overall it was a great experience with spiritual awakening and natural beauty. The place is worth a visit.