Andhra Pradesh Tourist Attractions

Amaravati

Amaravati is situated in Sattenapalli Taluk of Guntur District and it is famous as the seat of a temple to Lord Shiva worshipped here as Lord 'Amareswara' and also for the Buddhist sculptures, which are world famous. 'Amareswaram' is considered sacred because of three things, the Krishna River, an important Kshetra with a 'Sthalamahatyam' and the Sri Mahalinga Murthy, which are three sacred principles embodied in one.

Hyderabad

Hyderabad, the capital of Andhra Pradesh was founded in the late 6th century by Qutab Shahi dynasty line of Kings known for their beautiful monuments and mosques, Medieval Indian, Saracenic, Mughal and Colonial architecture which, create an architectural richness rarely found in other parts of the country.

Places Of Interest:
Birla Temple, Hussain Sagar, Indira Park, Charminar, Mecca Masjid, Osmania University, Qutub Shahi Tombs & Golconda Fort, Nehru- Zoological Park, Public Gardens, Race Course, State Central Library, Tank Bund, Asmongarh, Khajana Museum, Planetarium, State Archaeological Museum, Salar Jung Museum.

Vijayawada (Video)

Vijayawada or the "City of Victory" as it literally translates is called so as it was here or so it is believed that Arjuna, the Pandava Prince was rewarded for his penance, which he did on Indrakiladri Hill. Today, with excellent communications, perhaps the best in the South where railways are concerned, Vijayawada is looking forward to an exciting future. A predominantly business city of the Coastal Anthra, Vijayawada on the banks of the holy river Krishna attracts many piligrims as well for its temple dedicated to Durra. The city is also a base for visiting the Buddhist excavations at Amaravati, which is less than 70 kms, away. Also accessible from Vijayawada are the towns of Kuchipudi, Mangalagiri and Kondapalli which are famous for dance, temple and handicrafts respectively. So altogether Vijayawada presents a colourful and varied picture and can be termed as a business cum pilgrim cum tourist center.

Places Of Interest:
Akkana & Madanna Caves, Gandhi Hill, Hazrathbal Mosque, Kanakadurga temple, Mary's Temple, Milk Powder Factory, Mogalrajapuram Caves, Prakasam Barrage, Victoria Jubilee Regional Museum.

Warangal

Warangal was the ancient capital of the Kakatiya rulers. It was here that the fort was constructed by king Ganapathi in 1199 A.D and completed by Rudramadevi in the year 1261. The thousand pillard temple with its star shaped shrines dedicated to Shiva, Vishnu and Surya, the famous Ramappa temple & lake, the Pakhal lake are worth visiting. It is known for Thousand Pillar Temple. A fine specimen of Kakatiya architecture and sculpture, the Thousand Pillar temple as the name implies has many pillars, all efficient carved. The temple is built in Chalukyan Style. The Nandi here has beautiful finishing.

Places of Interest:
Thousand Pillar Temple, Fort-Warangal, Bhadrakali Temple, Planetarium.

Visakhapatnam (Video)

Lapped by the Bay of Bengal, on the eastern part of Andhra Pradesh lies the beach city, Vishakapatnam. Ages ago there stood a temple on the shores dedicated to Vaisaka, the God of Valour in the Hindu pantheon. The mighty sea has since swept away the shrine, but the name survived for identifying the now sprawling City of Visakhapatnam.

Places Of Interest:
Andhra University Building- 4 kms, Dolphin's Nose, Sri Venkateswara, Konda, Hindusthan Shipyard, Simachalam Temple, The Three Hillocks, Indira Gandhi Zoological Gardens, Port, Visakha refinery.

Tirupati (Video)

Tirupati is one of the important pilgrim centre in India. It is famous for the shrine of the seven hills, dedicated to Lord Venkateshwara, of Tirumala. The principal deity of this temple is Lord Venkateswara also known as Balaji. The temple is a masterpiece of Dravidian architecture with its gopuram facing east. The vimana is completely covered with gold plate and this is known as Ananda Nilayam. The statues of Krishnadevaraya and his consort can be seen in the temple. The Brahmostavam or annual festival is celebrated in September.

Places of Interest: Lord Venkateswaram Temple, Govindarajaswamy Temple, Kapilathiraham, Kodandaraswamy Temple, Padmavati Temple.

Nagarjunsagar

Nagarjunasagar - the tallest and biggest masonry dam in the world accross the river Krishna, is about 150 kms, away from the metropolitan city of Hyderabad. It creates the third largest man-made lake in the world. Nearby Nagarjunakonda is known for its extensive ruins of Buddhist Stupas, Viharas and a university that flourished under Acharya Nagarjuna, the great Buddhist savant, scholar and philosopher who migrated to Nagarjunakonda from Amaravati to spread the message of the Buddha. Interestingly excavations conducted here have also revealed Brahmanical temples, which reveal the friendship that existed here centuries ago between the two faiths. Now though the actual site of the excavations have been flooded with the waters of the migty river, the relies of the ruins have been reconstructed and kept in an Island Museum, the largest of its kind in the world and are in an excellent state of preservation-thanks to the efforts of the Archaeological Survey of India. Today Nagarjunakonda along with Nagarjunasagar attracts many tourists from South East Asian Countries and also from all over India.

Places Of Interest:
Left Canal (Lal Bahadur Canal), Model Dam, Pylon, Right Bank Tunnel (Jawahar Tunnel), View Point. Archaeological Museum, Mahastupa, Bodhisri Chaitya, Simhala Vihara, Mahisaka Vihara, Brahusutiya, Vihara, Ashwamedha and Royal Bath.

Srisailam

The temple at Srisailam is dedicated to Lord Shiva and is considered as one of his twelve Jyotirlingas. Srisailam, also known as Sriparvata is situated in the Rishabgiri Hills on the Southern banks of the river Krishna in Kurnool district of Andhra Pradesh. Mention of Srisailam as Sriparvata has been made in the immortal epic of the Hindus - the "Mahabharata".

Places Of Interest:
Damsite, Hatekeswaram, Pathalaganga, Mallikarjuna Swamy Temple, Sakshi Ganapathi Sikharam.

Links of Interest

AP Tourism Virtual Video Collection