Total Coverage Area: 506 sq kms/50,060
ha
Established in: 1989 as a National Park
Location: It is located in Chittoor and Cuddapah district and located
at a distance of 10 km. from Tirupati.
Description:
Sri
Venkateshwara National Park extends over two districts of Chittoor and Cuddapah
of Andhra Pradesh in an area of 353.62 sq.km. 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.
Visiting Season:
November to January is the best time to visit the park though it is open throughout
the year.
Access:
By Air: Nearest airport is at Tirupati. Flights to Tirupati are available from
Hyderabad, Bangalore, Chennai and Vijayawada. Indian Airlines, Opposite Central
Bus stand, Tirupati
By 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.
By Road: 10 kms from Tirupati by road. The park is a three hours drive or 160
km from Madras, the capital of Tamil Nadu.
Temperature:
The area is quite hot during the summer and not very cold during the winter
with a max/min of 15 to 40o C. The principal rainfall is from North East monsoon.
Accommodation and facilities:
Accommodation is available at Forest Rest House, Rajampet & Forest Rest
House, Tirupati. Also one can avail luxury hotels at Tirupati.
Wildlife
Flora:
It's dry deciduous mixed type of forest with patches of moist deciduous forest.
It is famous for plant species like Sandalwood, Redsanders, Shorea, Thumbergiana,
Shorea talura,Terminalia pallida, Cycas beddomei, Syzygium alternifolium etc.
It has about 1500 plant species belonging to 176 families.
Mammals The sanctuary is famous for very rare slender Lorises and the rare and
endangered golden Gecko, Indian Giant Squirrel, Tree Shrew and Flying Lizards.
There are other mammal species like the Nilgai, Wildboar, occasional leopard,
hyena etc to be seen here as well.
Birds: There are more than 100 species of birds in Sri Venkateswaram
including Crested Serpant Eagle, Ashy Crowned Finch Lark, Indian Roller, Kingfishers,
White bellied Woodpecker etc. So bird watchers can look forward to a busy and
happy time.
