Godavari river Launch journey

The launch journey or cruise on river Godavari from Rajahmundryto Sriramagiri or Kunavaram is one of the best tourist attraction in Andhrapradesh state of India. The journey covers approximately 100 kms of travel by launch (diesel motor cruise). The total duration is nearly 12 hours from Rajahmundry to Sri Ramagiri. Another half an hour journey is required if travellers are willing to travel upto Kunavaram by the same launch. 
The journey is through various temples and hill stations and very scenic for the beautiful greenery surrounding the river Godavari. Some important places which can be seen in this river journey are, Pattiseema, Maha Nandiswara temple, Polavaram Project area, Gandi poshamma (Pochamma) temple, Papi kondalu (papi hills), Shiva temple, Peranta Palli, Sri Rama temple at Sri Ramagiri.

Details of trip package

Godavari river flows towards Rajahmundry from Bhadrachalam. Trip packages are also available to cover half of the journey and return to the starting place, either Bhadrachalam or Rajahmundry. Papi Kondalu (Papi Hills) being the main attraction, this hill range is covered more from Rajahmundry side. So, consider the trip from Rajahmundry as the advantages are more. 

Launch Booking office

Plenty of launch services are available at Rajahmundry and Bhadrachalam. At Rajahmundry, Launch booking offices are available nearer to the river bank . For those who start from Bhadrachalam side, though the launch service start either from Kunavaram or Sri Ramagiri, booking is to be done only at Bhadrachalam. Different launch operators have particular schedule. But the service is available on most of the days. Most of the people prefer travelling on Fridays. The reason being, evening they can have darshan at Bhadrachalam temple. Next day they can have local site visit and return back on Sunday either by road or same launch service. Breakfast (tiffin), coffee, tea, lunch, evening snacks are included in the package. 

Best time to Visit

The normal time period to plan this trip is during September to December and continue till Feb - March. October is the best time as the water in river Godavari is optimum. If rains occur, better to avoid the journey. If the water level is less in the river Godavari, launch service will be limited to Peranta palli. So one third of the launch journey will be missing. October is also the season for depressions at Bay of Bengal, so take your precautions. 
Launches with 50, 80 and 120 members capacity are available. One can purchase the ticket near the starting point in the booking office. Advance booking is also available if people are travelling in groups. If the entire launch is to be booked exclusively, minimum 75 members are needed to operate on any day of the week. APTDC also conducts the same Godavari launch service trip package but the days are fixed.

At Present due to low water level at Rajahmundry, all boats starts from Pursathapatnam at around 10 AM , so reporting time at Rajahmundry is 7.30 AM. Tourist will be taken to Pursathapatnam by road ( one and half hour duration , 35 KM )

By road from Rajahmundry to Pursathapatnam ,35 KM

All the booking offices including AP tourism are located at Godavari river Bund road by the side of the river. Tourist were asked to report at office of the travel agent between 7 and 7.30 AM. However the vehicles start around 8 AM. Different type of tourist vehicles are used for taking tourist upto Pursathapatnam ferry terminal . Some tourists prefer to take their own vehicle to reach the Jetty point. During this road journey Godavari river will be at your left side and you will be travelling upstream direction of the river flow. The road passes through highly fertile sugarcane cultivated areas. The villages here have modern agriculture equipment with rich rural economy.

Places to see during launch journey

After boarding the boat , breakfast will be served. Around 10 AM the boat starts from Pursathapantam. These boats have two floors and the lower flower is having AC facility. Top floor is the open deck with cover at top for sun control. Toilet facility is available at bottom floor. Initially all tourists prefer to sit at top of the boat but as the journey progress it is the lower floor where all will assemble to enjoy different entertainment programs organized. These boats have good music system with high power speakers at both the floors. There will be continues Announcements and information were given about the areas while travelling using these speakers. 

There is a small temple located on top of a small hill. The temple is for the god Sri Uma Maha Nandiswara swamy. There is some information saying that there was an under ground way to reach kashi from this temple. The temple is constructed during 12th century. The Polavaram project can be seen from the temple area at the back side. 
The second stop is at Gonduru, just one hour journey from Pattiseema. Goddess Gandi Poshamma temple can be seen here. The view of river Godavari is also pleasant from the temple premesis. Entrance ticket is to be taken for INR 2 and for special darshan (only on Sunday and Tuesday) INR 5. Additional amount is to be paid for special pujas. Photography is not allowed near temple premesis. 
There will be one more stop at a check post before entering into Papikondalu (papi hills) area. This one is for a very short duration. Then the journey is through Papi hills which is very scenic. The journey is through thick forest surrounded by hills both the sides. The atmosphere is very pleasant and quiet. This part of the journey is quite for a longer distance and also the major one.

Papikondalu

Slowly the boat will enter into hilly areas where Godavari will be flowing through big hills on both sides. This area is know as Papikondalu or Papi hills. At Rajahmundry the width of Godavari is nearly 5 to 6 KM but at Papi Kondalu the width reduces to nearly 500 ft only. Depth of water is more here. With rocks and hills on both sides navigating through boat is a tough job here. Small water streams flowing from hills will be joining Godavari River on both sides. 

Kolluru Bamboo Huts

After lunch the boat will pass through Kolluru Bamboo Huts. These huts are constructed over river sand at right side bank of Godavari. Each hut can accommodate 4 persons ( one family ) and there are nearly 100 huts available at these places. From here Perantalapalli hill is visible. Similarly the colourful bamboo huts are visible from Perantalapalli. These huts can be booked for one day including boat journey from Rajahmundry for Rs 2000/ per head. This package includes veg and non vegetarian food for 24 hours. While staying here tourist can enjoy Jungle atmosphere by staying in a traditionally constructed huts. Tourist reach this point around 1 PM and enjoy the evening sunset here. Camp fire is organized here. Next day morning tourist visit the Local tribal village and take bath at a nearby waterfall. 

This is a mixed experience of enjoying local hospitality inside Jungle. ( These are not included in one day package trip and you can't get a chance to get down from boat at Kolluru Bamboo Huts) 

Perantalapalli

At left bank of Godavsdari river this place is just 2 KM from Kolluru Bamboo huts. People are served lunch at this place or sometimes before reaching this area, depends on the timing. Tourist need to climb steps to come out of the river bank the road passes through tribal huts and reaches the Sri Krishna Munivaatam. Balananda Swami established this as a temple and Ashram. Inside the Ashram photography is prohibited. Sri Ramakrishna Hermitage is the major attraction at Peranta Palli You can carry your gadgets but never try to use it. Even Mobile camera is also not to be used. There is water stream flows by the side of the temple. 
Local tribes sale beautiful hand made flowers and crafts made of Bamboo leafs and slices. There will be some special occassions during Vijaya Dashami (Dasara), Mukkoti Ekadashi and Maha Shivarathri (February or March). The Hermitage has been started by Sri Swamy Balananda. 
Your boat will give you 20 minutes to complete the trip and return to boat. From the top of the river bank the view of Godavari is spectacular. There is a camera man available who can take your photo and handover you the print when you return after visiting temple. 

This is the last point for the tourist who came for One day trip from Rajahmundry and return to same place. Others can continue their journey beyond Perantalapalli towards Bhadrachalam

After Peranta Palli, there will not be any more stops. Some launch service people consider giving one more stop near some resorts constructed recently at Koneru area. This area too is surrounded by Papi hills. People will be reaching Sri Ramagiri around 4.30pm. Before that, evening snacks will be served. Some launch services proceed upto Kunavaram. Better to consider Sri Ramagiri as the end point. Because the temple of Sri Rama can be seen here which is supposed to be older than the temple at Bhadrachalam. Temple Darshan can be availed. 
If travellers have not booked the vehicle from Sri Ramagiri to Bhadrachalam, it will be difficult to proceed as the direct transportation is not available. One or two APSRTC buses come but during peak season heavy rush occurs. If vehicles are not booked in advance, one can consider travelling towards Rekha palli (Rekapalli). Rekhapalli is just 6 Kms from Sri Ramagiri. Auto riksha facility is available at a nominal price. Plenty of buses available from Rekapalli to Bhadrachalam. One and half hour to two hour journey from Rekhapalli to Bhadrachalam. 
For the total trip, the cost for an adult is INR 650 for an adult (above 12 years) and INR 400 for a child above 5 years. This includes journey between Rajahmundry and Sri Ramagiri (or Kunavaram) and food. 
To know the accurate and exact route map for this cruise click on the first image at the top of this page.