Climate in GAVI
SUMMER- February to March, during summer temperature may reach 28 C
WINTER-october to january
Monsoon-June to september

GAVI Offers….

* Bird watching
* Wildlife watching
* Trekking
* Stay in tree huts
* camping
* forest journey
*Sabarimala temple view
* Boating in the Gavi and  kochupampa lakes
* Trip to cardamom factory

GAVI ECOTOURISM PROJECT
For the growth of tourism in Gavi, kerla forest development corporation implemented a new project known as GAVI Ecotourism project.After the first phase of project ,the tourism department observed a big hike in number of tourists . Thousands of tourists are reaching Gavi every year, most of them are either nature lovers or adventure tourists. The big advantage of gavi ecoproject is local support. LOcal peoples involving the activities likes cooking , gardening ,guiding etc.

How to reach GAVI ?
Gavi is about 28 km away from Vandiperiyar , a small town in N H 220(Kollam -Madurai).For  enjoying  the real beuty of Gavi , you  have to cover a lot of forest paths so that the best vehicle is jeep.You should obtained the entry passes from the forest check post, located at Vallakadavu.The better choice is advance booking with KFDC, kerala forest development corporation ltd.
Nearest airport is trivandrom international airport about 195 km away .Nearest railway station is at kottayam about 120 km away
Buses are frequenly avilable from kochi and thiruvanthapuram

The Tajmahal

The tajmahal is known as ‘crown of palaces’, it is located in Agra in India.  It was built by Shah jahan in memory of his wife  Mumtaz mahal .  Tajmahal reflects mughal architecture . Since 1983 tajmahal is a world heritage site.

Tajmahal history

Tajmahal is a symbol of love ,  the love story begins in 1612 , when the fifth mughal emperor Shah jahan married , Arjmand Bano (Persian princes) , who later known by the popular name Mumtaz Mahal . The queen mumtaz mahal followed  shah  jahan on his journeys as an advisor and as a friend . The great emperor got  inspiration from his wife , to perform charity and benevolence through out his life.

After giving birth to their  14 th child , an inseperable   friend of Shah Jahan passed away in 1631 .  That was a shock to the great emperor.  The history said that , after the queen’s death , Shah Jahan  became an old man , the color of his hair and beard had turned white.  He decided to built a monument for his wife , that  the world had never seen.

The dead body of  Mutamz mahal buried  in Agra on the banks of  Yamuna river.  The  works for Tajmahal started in  1631 . Group of architects , stonecutters, masons, carvers, inlayers , dome builders , painters  and other artisans assembled from all over the world .  Ustad Isa , a Persian architect selected as a chief architect . how ever the main dome was designed by Ismail khan .  The gold work was completed by Qazim khan, Chiranjal was the chief sculpturist , The chief calligrapher was  Amant khan, from Persia.  The supervisor was Muhammad Hanif . About 20, 000 labourers was continuously worked for 22 years to complete Tajmahal. . For the construction , the high quality marbles was collected from Markana near Jodhpur.

Interior design of Tajmahal

The interior of  Tajmahal comprises a central chamber and four octagonal corner rooms. The interior works were did in precious and semiprecious stones.  The inner chamber has 8 entrances .  The interior walls are about 25 m height and ceiling over them.  Eighth pishtaq arches are located at the ground level.  The windows are designed with marbles call it as  Jali.  The graves  of Shah jahan and Mumtaz mahal are laid in simple crypts .  The bodies of Shah jahan and mumtamz mahal was placed in the inner chamber , facing towards the direction of Mecca.  The cenotaph of Mumtaz mahal  is placed exactly at the centre of the inner chamber .

Tajmahal location

Tajmahal is located in Agra, the third biggest city in north India.  It is a part of Uttar Pradesh state and it is on the banks of river Yamuana.  It lies between 78.02 degree E and 27.18  degree N . it is at an elevation of 171/561 ft. The city is surrounded by Mathura , Firozabad, Fatehabad , and Bharatpur .  Tajmahal is very near to Shah Jahan park, it can be easy accessed by roads. Auto rickshaws and prepaid taxies are available every where in the city.  The famous hotel Mughal Sheraton is  few meters away .

In and around Agra

The prime attraction in Agra is Tajmahal. Another beautiful structure is Agra fort.  Fatehpur Sikri is about 22 km away from Agra.  Itmad – Ud – Daulah’s tomb nick named as Baby taj. It is located on the left bank of river Yamuna.  Akbar’s Tomb is located on the Delhi –Agra highway.  Mankameshwar temple is about 2.5 km away from Tajmahal.

Tajmahal is dieing

Due to the environmental pollution , the beauty of tajmahal is vanishing day to day.  The main problems being faced are toxins from industries and excess no. of tourists  .  Due to this pollution the white marbles turning to yellow. About 2 to 4 million tourists are visiting tajmahal every year.  Mathura oil  refinery is only 25 miles away from  Taj. The toxins from there are badly affecting Tajmahal.

How to reach Tajmahal

Air

Agra airport is about 6 km away from agra city. Delhi – Agra daily flights are available.

Rail

Agra city is well connected Delhi by  Rail network.  The railway stations are Agra cantt railway station., Agra fort. station, Raja ki mundi  station

Road

Agra city is well connected to neighbouring cities …

Kurnool is a beautiful district in Andhra Pradesh. The district have numerous temples and monuments .  The world famous pilgrim spot ‘ manthralaym’ is a part of this district . Ahobilam is another pilgrim spot. Here you can see three ancient temples . This district is also blessed with nature. Nallamali forest , a beautiful landscape is a part of kurnool.  The historically  important  places such as manthralaaym, srisailam, mahanandi etc are also in this district.

It is about 360 km away from Hyderabad and 74 km from Nandhyal.  The place is also know by the name ‘singavel kundram’ . here you can see an ancient temple , it is dedicated to lord narasimha. , a variation of lord Vishnu.

Alamapuram

Alamapuram is located on the banks of river Thungabadra.  The temple here is known by the name Nava Brahma.  The temple reflects Chalukyas architecture.

Mahanandi

It is about 320 km away from hyderabad city.  The temple here is dedicated to Mahanandeswra., a form of lord siva. Mahanandi is the divine bull of lord siva. Five water springs can be seen  near to this temple.

Manthralayam is a sacred place located on the banks of river thungabadra. It is a part of kurnool district of Andhra Pradesh . The famous saint Ragavendra spent his last days here.  The mortal remains of him are kept here .  A lot of devotees following the life of saint Ragavendra.

How to reach Manthralayam ?

Manthralayam is well connected by roads. Buses are available from major cities.  The nearest railway station is at Manthralayam road about 15 km away .

Srisailam is a famous pilgrim spot located in Kurnool district of Andhra Pradesh.  It is about 232 km away from Hyderabad city.  Srisailam is an ancient city situated on the banks of river Krishna.  The temple here is dedicated to lord siva. The Siva linga here is named among 12 jothirlingas in India.  Goddess mahakali is also seated in this temple.

Another attraction in srisailam is srisailam wildlife sanctuary.  A rare species of animals and plants are seen here.

Warangal is a beautiful district in Andhra Pradesh .  the district have beautiful temples, monuments, forts etc. The monuments here have high historic value.  Most of the forts and monuments  were built in Chalukya architecture.  The famous Warangal fort built by kakatiya ruler.  Another attraction is thousand pillar temple. Badrakali temple and Ramappa temple etc are very much famous among pilgrims.

Vemulawada is a famous pilgrimage in warangal district of Andhra Pradesh. The ancient temple here is dedicated to Lord  Raja Rajeswara , a form of lord siva.  The temple is located about 35 km away from karimngar.  A sacred lake namely ‘dharama gundam’ is associated with this temple, the devotees believed that the lake have ability to cure diseases. The annual festival here is Maha sivarathri .

Kolanupaka site museum

Kolanupaka museum have more than 100 ancient images.  These images will give information about  chalukyan rulers.

Someswara temple

The temple is located at kolanupaka . It was built by somswara 111.

Jain temple

It is also located in kolanupaka  . the temple have images of Thirthankaras.  This is an ancient temple dedicated to saint mahaveera.

Kolanupaka

This place have very much historic importance. The legends says that it was religious centre of jains . the battle between chola and chalukya take place here.

The temple is in between warangal city and Hanamkonda .  the temple dedicated to goddess badrakali, godess of bravery . The ancient temple built in chalukyan architecture.

Thousand pillar temple

This is a star shaped temple with three shrines. The temple is dedicated to lord Vishnu, lord siva and lord surya.  As the name indicate the temple have thousand  pillar, that are beautifully carved . The temple is made attractive by means of sculpturing.  It was built in Chalukya architecture.  The legends says that it was built in 1163 by Rudra deva .

Ramappa temple

The presiding deity of the temple is lord siva.  The temple is about 70 km away from warangal city . This ancient temple was built in 1213 AD.  The inscriptions in the temple said that it was constructed by Rudra swami.

Warangal fort is a huge fort located in warangal district of Andhra Pradesh. This fort was built by  Ganapathi Deva , a Kakatiya ruler . it is believed that , the fort constructed in 13 th century .  it have two walls , the inner wall is made up of stones and the outer made by mud . In order to provide extra security , the fort is surrounded by a moat.  The exquisite carvings and excellent sculptures are attracting thousands of tourists.