Medak is a quaint little place about 100 Kms from Hyderabad and a perfect daylong getaway destination. Our mode of travel was ‘Rent-A-Cab’ and the town is 2-3 hours’ drive away from Hyderabad.The way to Medak town was eye soothing with greeneries all around, away from the hustle and bustle of city life. Interestingly enough, Medak offers a mix of all the three architectural styles – Hindu-Islam (Medak Fort) and Christian

MEDAK FORT

​First stop was Medak Fort. The grand structure was built by the Kakatiya ruler, Prataparudra in the 12th century and was later restored by the Qutub Shahi rulers.The fort thereby has a unique style representing both Hindu and Muslim architectural grandeur and stands as a silent testimony to the mighty Kakatiya dynasty. In order to reach the summit, three doors need to be crossed – Prathama Dwaram, Simha Dwaram (2nd Entry Point) and Gaja Dwaram (Final Point). It is a good trekking spot as well. Having visited the marvelous citadel, we planned to go to our next destination, Medak Church.

MEDAK CHURCH

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Medak Cathedral is the single largest diocese in Asia and second largest diocese in the world after the Vatican, a proud piece of fact, which was unknown to me before the visit. The magnificent granite structure is one of the finest examples of ‘Gothic Revival Style’in India and can accommodate5000 people, all at the same time. The church took 10 years to complete from 1914 to 1924. I was totally enthralled by the 3 brilliantly painted stained glass windows inside the church which depicts different stages of Jesus Christ’s life. If in luck, you can even witness some exorcism, superstitious and spooky it may sound but keep in mind the place, it is a small town after all.

After our visit, we chose one of the several benches in the garden encompassing the church for our alfresco lunch and opened our packed lunch boxes, extra careful of the monkeys roaming freely all around.

POCHARAM RESERVOIR LAKE

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After lunch we started for Pocharam Wildlife sanctuary which is about 15kms from Medak. But sadly enough, the sanctuary was closed on account of a heavy rain. We had to drop the plan and instead went to the Pocharam Dam Reservoir built on river Aler. It is a popular destination for fishing, we even found some fishermen getting the bait ready in hope of a big catch. It does not have any floodgates unlike other dams and is a lovely sight to see the excess water overflowing during heavy rains.We spent some time here walking along the banks of the dam while soaking in the scenic beauty the place has to offer.

Right near to the Pocharam Dam, there is Nizam’s House, which is said to be haunted if local stories are to be believed. Even trekkers and campers share their experience often but probably it is more to do with the timeworn building (almost a century old) rather than any ghostly activities.

We chose not to explore this place and so, Pocharam water project marked the end of our trip. We returned to the city at around 5 in the evening.