Nagarjunsagar-Srisailam Tiger Reserve, Tiger reserve in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, India
Nagarjunsagar-Srisailam is a tiger reserve spanning five districts in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, covering wide tracts of dry forest and rocky slopes. The terrain rises to the Nallamala Hills, where open grassland alternates with dense tree cover and streams flow through gorges.
The government declared the area a protected zone for the region's tigers in 1978 after forest cover and prey populations had declined. Five years later, it joined the national program to rescue Bengal tiger populations.
The reserve takes its name from the Nagarjunasagar and Srisailam reservoirs on the Krishna River, which runs about 130 km through the reserve in a basin almost 200 m deep. Within its bounds stand the Srisailam temples, dedicated to Mallikarjuna and Bhramaramba and counted among the twelve Shaiva Jyotirlingas and eighteen Maha Shakthi peethas. The area also holds rock shelters and cave temples such as Akka Mahadevi Bhilam, Dattatreya Bhilam, Umaa Maheswaram, Kadalivanam and Palankasari.
The cooler months between November and February suit forest drives best, as animals appear more often at water sources then. Visitors can register at entry points in surrounding towns, where guides adjust routes depending on season and weather conditions.
The reserve's two parts are counted separately: the Andhra Pradesh section keeps the Nagarjunsagar-Srisailam name, while the Telangana section is managed as Amrabad Tiger Reserve across Nalgonda and Nagarkurnool districts. A 2016–2019 study valued its free regulating services, such as carbon sequestration and water provisioning, at about Rs 16,041 crore a year.
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