BharatSangraha

Rayalaseema · Deccan Inland Plateau

Terrain and eco-zones

Semi-arid, and the driest part of the Telugu country by a wide margin. Anantapur averages around 550 mm and is routinely described as the most drought-prone district in India after Jaisalmer; Kurnool and Kadapa run 600–750 mm. The region sits between two monsoon systems and is failed by both — it is in the rain shadow of the Western Ghats in June to September, and too far inland to get the full north-east monsoon in October and November. Summer maxima reach 42–45 °C, and the diurnal range is wide because the air is dry and the rock radiates at night.

Landforms

Peninsular granite and gneiss with quartzite ridges — the Erramala, Palakonda and YerramalaisThe Nallamala, Seshachalam and Veligonda ranges of the Eastern Ghats, forested and cut by deep valleysRed gravelly chalka and shallow black soils, thin and quick to lose moistureInselbergs and boulder fields around Anantapur, Gooty and PenukondaThe Gandikota gorge, where the Penna cuts through the Erramala quartziteKarst limestone at Belum and Yaganti, with cave systems and perennial springs

Rivers and waters

Penna (Penneru) — the principal river, rising in the Nandi Hills and reaching the sea past NelloreTungabhadra — the northern and western boundary, and the region's most reliable waterChitravati, Papagni, Kundu, Sagileru and Hundri — Penna tributaries, all seasonalKrishna along the far north, in the Srisailam gorgeSwarnamukhi — the Sri Kalahasti river, off the Seshachalam slope

Through the year

SeasonMonthsTypicalWhat it is like
SummerMarch–June28–45 °CTanks and open wells empty. Ragi java and ambali replace cooked breakfast, and the drinking-water tanker is a normal feature of village life in the Anantapur belt.
South-west monsoonJune–September25–35 °CWeak and unreliable — the region is in the Ghats' shadow. Groundnut is sown against this rain and the crop's success or failure is decided in a fortnight.
North-east monsoonOctober–November22–32 °CThe Kadapa basin and the Tirupati slope get more of this than the west does. Cyclone remnants crossing from the Bay occasionally deliver a year's rain in two days.
WinterDecember–February15–31 °CDry, mild and the season for everything — the fort and temple landscape, the ghat climb at Tirumala, and the jatara and Brahmotsavam calendar in the smaller shrines.

Best time to visitNovember to February. Gandikota and Belum are unpleasant from March onward and best in the fortnight after heavy rain; Tirumala is crowded year-round but at its worst during Brahmotsavam in September–October, at Vaikunta Ekadasi and through the summer school holidays. Lepakshi's murals need late-morning light.

The climate, landforms, rivers and seasons of Rayalaseema, and the best time of year to visit. (4)