About Us

The Mannanur and Farahbad Tiger reserve are located at a reachable distance of 140 km from Hyderabad and it is one of the largest tiger reserves in the country it is a mere two and half hours’ drive from the city, this hilly region is at a height of 1400 to 1800 feet above sea level and is covered by thick forest.

Being India’s largest tiger reserve it is home for the chinkara commonly known as the Indian gazelle, sambar, spotted deer, blue bull, tiger, bear, leopard, panther, hyena, wolf, fox, wild dogs, mountain lizards, anteaters, languor, red squirrel, to name a few and birds such as peacock, jungle fowl the yellow-footed green pigeon, bulbul, red-crowned parrot are commonly seen. The small town of Mannanur located up on the hills of Amarabad is historical in its own way. Mostly colonies of the local tribe “chenchus”.

It was explored by Dr. Aprot and Syed Yousufuddin Mohammed in the mid-1800’s (19th century). As the early reports of Mannanur suggest the population of chenchus in 1895 was 170 mud house and a total of 811 tribal people. This tribe still is existent in the inner areas of the forest region. Ancient ruins that were discovered in the region and early reports suggest that the tribe of Chenchu be in the army of the Hindu god Ram during the period of Ramayana. The highest plains of Vatkapalli are recorded at 3200 feet above sea level, Amarabad at 2548 feet, and Kullam at 2873 feet making it the highest hill station of Telangana. The early language is spoken in the region is known to be “Telangi”.

JUNGLE CAMP VIKHARABAD

The GrassWalk Jungle Camp is a place forgotten by time. An oasis of charm and grace, where everyday problems melt away. The camp is situated at one & a half hours drive from the main city of Hyderabad. The camp is known for its beauty and close to nature recognition. It is a definitive destination for guests who like to visit the most remote places away from the crowd. Vikharabad was the hunting place of the 6th Nizam and his nobles. The town Vikharabad was named after the Vikhar-ul-Umra, The then prime minister of Hyderabad. The Dama-Gundam Temple is situated in the middle of the forest surrounded by the freshwater springs which flow throughout the year. The temperature here is known to always be 5*C less than the city, The forest is interconnected till the Ananthagiri hill range and rasnam, The breeze is healthy and pure, The 7th Nizam built a sanitarium 60 years ago at Ananthagiri for the T.B patients and is about 30 km away from our camp and is located and on the other side of the Vikharabad town.

The Vikharabad is also known for mango farming (amrai). We are situated on the edge of the Damagundam forest. Forest is home for Sambar, Blackbuck, Cheetal (spotted deer) Chowsingha (four-horned antelope), Chinkara (Indian gazelle), Junglee Bakri (wild goat), Mouse Deer, rabbit, hare, wild boar, bush pig, porcupines, python, monitor lizards, etc. Among the birds, peacocks are the most common that are regularly found feasting in the fields. Then there is Double Spur or jungle fowl, quails and partridges, etc. In the monsoons, black bug migrations happen from the neighboring plains. .The GrassWalk Jungle Camp is ideally located to promote eco-tourism in the area and we encourage people to learn rules of the jungle and camping, We are the pioneers in Hyderabad to commercially establish camping accommodation at Gudpally Village. The camp was appreciated by (T.I.E.S) The International eco-tourism society (Washington D.C –U.S.A) & is their member since 2012.