It’s a pretty long weekend

2014 is unique with many festivals falling on Fridays ensuring a long weekend. And nothing can bring more joy than the current set of holidays starting today which culminate on Monday in lieu of Gandhi Jayanti, Dasara and Bakrid. If you’re mulling on options to rejoice, here’s what we think you should try out

Movies

The film industry was well aware of the long weekend and hence has lined up a series of sizzling movies. A super saturated dose of action by herculean Hritik Roshan and scorching Katrina Kaif starrer ‘Bang Bang’ is hitting the theatres today. This Gandhi Jayanthi is not going to be totally non-violent. ‘Haider’, a desi adaptation of William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, starring Shahid Kapoor in a new avatar, co-starring Shraddha Kapoor of ‘Aashiqui 2’ fame, is being released. ‘Govindudu Andarivadele’ starring Ramcharan, Srikant and Prakash Raj is family drama which was released on Thursday. The movie will surely be a retreat for you and your family.

Foodies

If you are a foodie then this is the perfect time to relish on hand-picked delicacies. For if hunger strikes you early morning or even at midnight and you find your fridge empty, get out and head to ‘Ram Ki Bandi’. The food stall near Charminar is well known for its dosas, which ignite all your taste buds. Also, ‘Dosa Place’ in Madhapur, is a food truck ought to visit. It starts serving exquisite dosas, the bandi way at 5 pm.

Music

For music lovers, the city has got handful of gigs and concerts. The Black Sheep, a reggae and rock n roll band, will be performing at Aqua, The Park, on Friday from 9 pm. The gig is perfect for Bob Marley, Beatles, The Eagles et all in the genre lovers. Grab your drinks and hit the dance floor to shake legs and bang heads as the music builds up.

To lend ears to soft instruments and soothing vocals, take pleasure in the classical beats. Head on to Nanda Brahmotsav, the vocal concert by Dr Shobha Raju at Annamacharya Bhavana Vahini on Friday from 6 pm. With more doses of classical ragas and keertanas, Shobha will be heading the Annamacharya Sankirtanas on Saturday at the same event. Padma Shree awardee Dr Shobha Raju is known as an exponent of sankirtana of the gospel of the 15th-century saint composer Annamacharya.

Hangout spots in city

Phakal Lake

At a distance of 130 kilometers from Hyderabad, Phakal Lake was constructed by Ganapathi Deva in 1213 AD by harnessing a small tributary of the Krishna river.

Adjacent to the lake, Pakhal Wildlife Sanctuary is spread over 839 square kilometers. The sanctuary presents a beautiful landscape with a dense and a rich store of animals. It is indeed a delight for the tourists to see so many animals amidst a wonderful backdrop.

One can spot a tiger or a leopard or a bear and one can find a herd of deer roaming about freely in the wild. The sanctuary harbours panthers, hyenas, wolf, wild dogs, jackals, sloth bear, porcupine, reptiles like python, cobra, common krait, monitor lizard and crocodiles.

Nagarjuna Sagar

Nagarjuna Sagar, located 165 kilometers from Hyderabad in Nalgonda district, is one of the most prominent Buddhist centers in India. Nagarjuna Sagar is a place of immense archaeological significance and excavations revealed this place as a center for the propagation of Buddhist teachings in South India during the third century AD.

The holy land now boasts one of the world's tallest dams. The lake created by the dam is the third largest manmade lake in the world. There is a viewpoint at a distance of 4 kilometers from the dam that offers a panoramic view of the amazing landscape. Nagarjuna Konda, where the ancient Buddhist excavations are found, is in middle of the waters of Nagarjuna Sagar and can be reached by a boat. Telangana tourism operates a wonderful cottage on the banks of Sagar lake, called Vijaya Vihar. Sounds fun, right? So fuel your car and hit the highway.

Mallela Theertham

At a distance of 58 kilometers from Srisailam and 173 kilometers from Hyderabad, Mallela Theertham is a charming waterfall located in the dense Nallamala forest.

With a height of about 150 feet, water directly falls from a high cliff on a ‘Shiv Ling’ kind of rock formations. Bordered by think forest, the surroundings of the falls offer different experience. The water comes from a small stream which flows through the dense jungle and meets the Krishna river. About 380 well laid steps need to be walked down to reach the falls from the road point. The pool below the falls is closed with fencing on all sides. However, there is a path to reach the bottom of the falls and play in the water, if the flow of the stream is not at its peak.

The water from main falls flow into another pool in the vicinity forming another waterfall, though reaching bottom of this fall is little difficult.