Warangal Travel Guide:
Warangal
Warangal also known as Orugallu, and Ekasila Nagaram) is a city and a municipal corporation in Warangal district in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. Warangal is located 148 kilometres (92 mi) northeast of the state capital of Hyderabad and is the administrative headquarters of Warangal District.It is part of a tri-city comprising of Warangal, Hanamakonda and Kazipet. It has a population of nearly 11 lakhs including Hanamakonda and Kazipet.(2001 census).
History
Warangal was the capital of a Hindu Shaivaite kingdom[citation needed] ruled by the Kakatiya dynasty from the 12th to the 14th centuries. The old name of this newly formed city is Orugallu. Oru means one and Kallu means stone. The Ancient name was Andhra Nagaram please refer Andhra Maha Vishnu temple.
Kakatiya sculpture at Warangal
Literary evidence shows that long before Satavahanas, a legendary king named Andhra Vi?h?u ruled in and around the Diviseema region of Andhra state. After his reign, people came to believe that he had an amsa of the divine savior Lord Maha Vishnu himself. Perhaps in his honor, people dedicated a new temple now located at Srikaku?am, Krishna District. The lord of the temple is known as Andhra Vi?h?u or Srikaku?andhra Vi?h?u. The Kakatiyas left many monuments, including an impressive fortress, four massive stone gateways, the Swayambhu temple dedicated to Shiva, and the Ramappa temple situated near Ramappa Lake. The cultural and administrative distinction of the Kakatiyas was mentioned by the famous traveller Marco Polo. Famous or well-known rulers included Ganapathi Deva, Prathapa Rudra, and Rani (queen) Rudrama Devi. After the defeat of PratapaRudra, the Musunuri Nayaks united seventy two Nayak chieftains and captured Warangal from Delhi sultanate and ruled for fifty years. Jealousy and mutual rivalry between Nayaks ultimately led to the downfall of Hindus in 1370 A.D. and success of Bahmanis. Bahmani Sultanate later broke up into several smaller sultanates, of which the Golconda sultanate ruled Warangal. The Mughal emperor Aurangzeb conquered Golconda in 1687, and it remained part of the Mughal empire until the southern provinces of the empire split away to become the state of Hyderabad in 1724 which included the Telangana region and some parts of Maharashtra and Karnataka. Hyderabad was annexed to India in 1948, and became an Indian state. In 1956 Hyderabad was partitioned as part of the States Reorganization Act, and Telangana, the Telugu-speaking region of Hyderabad state which includes Warangal, became part of Telangana state.
Air
There is an airstrip at Mamnoor on the south-eastern outskirts of Warangal. It was earlier used as a make shift air force base. The nearest international airport is Rajiv Gandhi International Airport in Hyderabad located 160 km away from Warangal.
Rail
Warangal is well connected to many of the major cities of India by rail. It falls under the South Central Railway zone of the Indian Railways. Kazipet Junction Railway Station in Kazipet, about 13 km from Warangal is a major railway junction on the Hyderabad-New Delhi-Chennai-Kolkata route. Warangal Railway Station in Warangal is a station located on the Hyderabad-New Delhi-Chennai-Kolkata route. Every day nearly 132 trains pass through this section apart from goods trains.
Road
National Highway 202 passes through Warangal and connects it with Hyderabad and Bhopalapatnam in Chhattisgarh.
There are two major bus stations in Warangal and Hanamakonda. Long-distance deluxe buses ply from Warangal to Bangalore, Madras, Hyderabad, Tirupathi, Anantapur, and Hubli, Belgaum; and standard express buses to Guntur via Vijaywada, Cherial, Jangaon, Kodad, Karimnagar, Nizamabad, Adilabad, Suryapet, Palampet, Jagtial, Mahabubabad, Narsampet, Parkal, Khammam, Bhadrachalam and Basar. From Hyderabad there are direct buses available at regular intervals to Warangal.