Warangal largest city in telangana tourism hotspot

HYDERABAD: After fervently spearheading the campaign to put Hyderabad on Unesco's heritage list, albeit without success, the Telangana government has now redirected its focus on the districts surrounding the twin cities, which they agree have been a neglected lot.

Warangal, the second largest city in Telangana, has been identified as a 'spiritual' and religious destination and several theme-based tourism circuits will soon be developed to promote the Kakatiya style of architecture and sculpture, distinguished by rock-cut elephants and structures made of black basalt, found in many parts of the district. Brochures recently released by the Telangana State Tourism Development Corporation Ltd (TSTDC) feature pictures and brief descriptions of the stunning temples and lakes of a city steeped in a wealth of architecture.

Sources in the state tourism department ascertain that the government, which has until now restricted its efforts to the Qutub Shahi monuments of Hyderabad, will now aggressively push for World Heritage Site tag for the 'keerthi thoranas' of Warangal fort, the Rudreswara temple (Thousand Pillar temple) at Hanamkonda and Rudreswara (Ramappa) temple at Palampet, all of which have already made it to the tentative list of the Unesco's World Heritage sites.

"In the race to make Hyderabad a tourist destination, the other districts have been overlooked. In fact, we have found that every district in Telangana has something unique to offer tourists. Medaram, a small village in Warangal, for instance, is the site of one of the largest tribal religious confluences in the country - the Sammakka Saralamma Jatara," said TSTDC managing director Christina Z Chongthu.



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