Beautiful Dams

7 Amazingly Beautiful Dams To Visit In India

Planning for your next travel? Then do visit these amazingly beautiful Dams in India and add this to your travel list. Dams are the temples of secular India and almost worshiped. They are huge, wet cement flags that wave in our minds. They are the symbol of nationalism to many. Dams are structural barriers built to obstruct or control the flow of water in rivers and streams. They are designed to serve two broad functions. The first is the storage of water to compensate for fluctuations in river discharge or in demand for water and energy. The second is the increase of hydraulic head , or the difference in height between water levels in the lake created upstream of the dam and the downstream river.

1. Nagarjuna Sagar Dam

This is one of the beautiful Dams in India. Nagarjuna Sagar Dam is one of the largest dams built in Asia. The tallest masonry Nagarjuna Sagar Dam is certainly the pride of India. This colossal dam supplies water for irrigation purposes to the districts like Nalgonda, Prakasam, Khammam and Guntur in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh catchment area of 215000 sq km. It is one of the largest networks of canal systems. This mighty Nagarjuna dam, which was completed in 1969, owing to its confounding height of 124 meters, and 1 km long, and has 26 crest gates. Nagarjuna sagar Dam can store up to 11, 472 million cubic meters in its reservoir. The project started in February 1956 but due to scarcity of funds modern equipment was not available. The project was constructed with stone instead of concrete. A cement factory was constructed near Macherla to meet the project requirement. A railway line was laid connecting the project location and the cement factory. Stones were supplied from the near by Sunkesula quarries. Sand was supplied from Rayavaram stream and Halia river.

2. Idukki Dam

The Idukki Dam on the Periyar River in Idukki district of Kerala stands 168.91 meters or 554 feet tall. As the River Periyar flows through the narrow gorge between two hills, Kuravanmala  and Kurathimala, the Idukki Arch Dam built between these two hills obstructs its flow. Although envisaged in the pre independence era, the project was finally planned and commenced in 1969 and was completed by 1973 when the water in the Idukki Reservoir began to be filled. The Idukki Dam is the tallest Arch Dam in Asia and the third tallest in the world. In theory, Idukki dam can be described as concrete double, curvature parabolic, thin arc dam. The Idukki dam and the other two dams, Cheruthoni and Kulamavu dams were constructed and owned by the Kerala State Electricity Board and produce 780 MW hydroelectric power at Moolamattom Power House which is a unique underground power generating station located at Moolamattom in Muvattupuzha Valley 43 km away from the Dam.

3. Tehri Dam

This is also one of the amazingly beautiful Dams in India. The dam, located in the Himalayan foothills, happens to be a main attraction in India. It provides amazing views and is also an impressive piece of workmanship, being one of the world’s largest hydroelectric projects. The dam is located where the Bhagirathi and Bhilangna rivers meet. The area is a favorite spot for tourists to relax, enjoy the scenery, and have picnics. The area of Tehri Dam and surrounding locales can be reached by air, rail, car or bus. If you decide to travel by road, you will be treated to hills and valleys that can create some fascinating scenes and opportunities for the taking of photos. Car and bus travel are the best ways to partake of the beautiful surroundings. The height of the dam is 855 feet. At this height, it is the fifth tallest in the world. The length is 1,886 feet, and the base width is 3,701 feet. It is an embankment construction consisting of rock-fill and earth. Tehri Dam is gate controlled. The huge dam has been the subject of much protest due to families that were displaced due to its reservoir.

4. Hirakund Dam

Hirakund dam was the first post independence river valley project in India. Situated at a distance of 15 km to the north of Sambalpur, it holds the distinction of being the longest dam of the world. It is a complex structure built across the river Mahanadi and was formed for the purpose of irrigation and flood control. Hirakund dam is about 4.8 km long, bordered by earthen dykes on its left as well as right. Along with the dykes, the length of the dam increases to 25.8 km. the storage capacity of Hirakund Dam is 5818 m. Stretching over an area of 743 sq. km, the reservoir serves as one of the biggest artificial lakes in Asia. The 21 km long stretch along the dyke provides the perfect locale for going on a long drive. Enjoy the scenery of the mighty Hirakund dam and rest assured that you will be fascinated with the larger-than-life image that the Hirakund dam offers. A revolving minaret at the top of the dam, known as the Gandhi Minar provides a lovely scene with its vast expanse of water. The Hirakund dam was constructed to regulate the even flow of the Mahanadi River in Orissa. 

5. Bhakra-Nangal Dam

Bhakra-Nagal Dam is situated near the border of North Indian states of Punjab and Himachal Pradesh, Bhakra Dam is the highest straight gravity Dam in the world. This four decade old dam lies in the Bhakra village of Bilaspur, which is about 13 km upstream from Nangal township. The idea of construction of Dam goes to the Sir Louis Dane, the then Lieutenant Governor of Punjab. The total area covered by the Bhakra Dam is about 168 sq km, of which 90% is the part of Bilaspur and 10% of the area belongs to the Una district. The construction of the Dam began in the year 1948 and was completed in 1963. This concrete arch Dam has been constructed with the blood of 150 martyrs and sweat and toil of around 13, 000 workers and 300 engineers. The Dam is three times taller than the Qutab Minar and occupies the important position on the map of India. It is visited by more than 2 to 3 lakh visitors every year from all over the world.

6. Sardar Sarovar Dam

Sardar Sarovar Dam on the Indian Narmada river, is located in the village of Kevadia in the state of Gujarat. It is one of the largest and most controversial interstate, multipurpose river valley infrastructure development projects in the country. The Sardar Sarovar Project also consists of auxiliary works and a 1,450 MW power complex. The Sardar Sarovar Dam is a 1,210 m long concrete gravity dam with a proposed final height of 163 m above the deep foundation. Its present height is 121.9 m. Its construction required pouring of about seven million cubic meters of chilled concrete. The Sardar Sarovar reservoir, built for the main dam, has 0.95 million hectare meter of gross storage capacity and 0.586 Million hectare meter of live storage capacity. It occupies an area of 37,000 hectares with an average length of 214 km and width of 1.7 km. The river catchment area above the dam site is 88,000 square kilometers. It has a spillway discharging capacity of 87,000 cubic meters a second.

7. Srisailam Dam

Srisailam Dam is the 2nd largest capacity hydroelectric project in the country. The dam is constructed on the Krishna River which flows in the Kurnool district of Andhra Pradesh. It is located at a distance of around 150 kilometers from the capital city of Hyderabad and is surrounded by the Nallamala Hills on the southern and eastern sides.  The Srisailam Dam is a man made marvel that has become one of the main tourist attractions of the area. This is not only because of the structure of the dam but also the effort that was put in into making the dam. The construction of the dam started in 1960 and took over 20 years to be completed and was opened in 1981. The time period alone is an indication of the magnitude of the task that had been achieved in the construction. The dam itself is an architectural wonder, and was built in a gorge in the Nallamala Hills through which the river majestically winds through. The dam has a length of over half a km (512 m) and holds the water at a height of 885 ft. The dam has 12 radial crest gates through which water can be let out for power generation, and a reservoir covering an area of 800 square km.

8. Nathpa Jhakri Dam

The Nathpa Jhakri Hydroelectric Station of 1500 MW capacity is the country’s largest hydro power plant. The run of the river project is located on River Sutlej, a major tributary on the Indus basin, in Shimla district of Himachal Pradesh in North India. The Nathpa Jhakri plant is designed to generate 6950.88 (6612) million units of electricity each year but quality management at the plant has enabled generation to exceed yearly targets. A Memorandum of Understanding for execution of the Nathpa-Jhakri project was signed between Government of India and Government of Himachal Pradesh in July, 1991. The Nathpa Jhakri Hydroelectric project has been financed on a 50:50 debt equity ratio basis. The project had the backing of World Bank. The project was completed at a cost of Rs 8187 Crore. The Nathpa Jhakri project was commissioned in May, 2004 and officially dedicated to the nation by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on May 28, 2005. Power allocation from Natpha Jhakri hydroelectric plant to the North Indian states of Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Jammu & Kashmir, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and the cities of Delhi and Chandigarh has enabled the grid to overcome power shortages in the region.

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