Sita Ramachandra Temple Ammapalli

Getting there

• By air

  The temple is about 5 km from Shamshabad airport, which is Hyderabad's international airport.

• By train

  Shamshabad has a railway station named Umdanagar, part of the South Central Railway.

Rules to know

• A Telangana Today report says film shootings on the temple premises have been banned.

Why devotees come here

Sita Ramachandra Temple stands at Ammapalli, near Shamshabad in Telangana, close to Hyderabad's international airport. It is dedicated to Sita and Rama, and its gali gopuram rises 80 feet into the air.

Legend says the temple was built in the Kalyani Chalukya period. No inscriptions at the site give a date. A Telangana Today report says the temple owns about 250 acres of land. Its full name is Sri Sitaramachandra Swamy Temple. The stepwell is believed to date back to the 13th century. It served pilgrims and local communities with water for centuries.

The gali gopuram rises 80 feet into the air. It is built of limestone plaster, baked bricks and stucco. A Deccan Chronicle report says it is similar to the gopurams at Hampi and Tirupati, but leaner. The same report says restoration of the gopuram has been taken up.

The temple has long been popular with filmmakers. Many Telugu and other-language films were shot on its premises until recently. A Telangana Today report says film shootings have been banned. The reasons cited include shooting indecent sequences on the temple premises.

Tips for your visit

• When you ask for directions, use the name Ammapalli, the village where the temple stands.
• A Telangana Today report says Bharat Biotech will revive the Ammapalli Temple stepwell, so check its condition before you go.

Questions people ask