Atop Ugra Sthambham, Ahobilam

BY: SUN STAFF - 27.2 2017

Ugra Sthambham, Ahobilam, Nallamala Hills, Andhra Pradesh

From Youtube poster, 'ChennaiNature': 'Took a more-than-1hr long detour from the trail to go to Jwala Narasimha - an exhausting trek. The last stretch requires you to descend a bit along a ridge that drops off almost vertically on either side - the ridge is also somewhat narrow at places - this I found a bit unsettling.

The rocks are covered with what appears to be some orange colored lichen or fungus. At the top is a small open air shrine with a pair of feet carved in stone signifying Lord Narasimha.

There are many temples across India with impressive structures - Ahobilam, with its 9 Narasimha temples, appears to be one of the exceptions where nature's grandeur overwhelms anything man-made. This shrine sits at the edge of a precipice, another in a cave behind a waterfall, some others are situated in deep forest. In today's world, though, roads have been built to four or five of the temples; the rest are accessible only by trekking - I hope they remain that way.

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