Andhra Pradesh is promoted by tourism department as "Koh-i-Noor of India."
Andhra Pradesh is the home of many religious pilgrim centres. Tirupati, the abode of Hindu god Venkateswara, is most visited religious center (of any faith) in the world. Srisailam, nestled in the Nallamala Hills is the abode of Mallikarjuna and is one of twelve Jyothirlingalu in India. Amaravati's Shiva temple is one of the Pancharamams, as is Yadagirigutta, the abode of an avatara of Vishnu, Lakshmi Narasimha. The Ramappa temple and Thousand Pillars temple in Warangal are famous for their temple carvings. The state has numerous Buddhist centres at Amaravati, Nagarjuna Konda, Bhattiprolu, Ghantasala, Nelakondapalli, Dhulikatta, Bavikonda, Thotlakonda, Shalihundam, Pavuralakonda, Sankaram, Phanigiri and Kolanpaka.
The Badami Chalukyas (Badami is in Karnataka) in 6th century built the 'Alampur Bhrama temples, an excellent examples of Chalukya art and sculpture. The Vijayanagara Empire built number of monuments, the Srisailam temple and Lepakshi temples.
The golden beaches at Visakhapatnam, the one-million-year old limestone caves at Borra, picturesque Araku Valley, hill resorts of Horsley Hills, river Godavari racing through a narrow gorge at Papi Kondalu, waterfalls at Ettipotala, Kuntala and rich bio-diversity at Talakona, are some of the natural attractions of the state. Kailashagiri is near the sea in Visakhapatnam. A park is on the hill top of Kailashagiri. Visakhapatnam is home to many tourist attactions like INS Karasura Submarine museum (The only one of its kind in India), the longest Beach Road in India, Yarada Beach, Araku Valley, VUDA Park, and Indira Gandhi Zoological Gardens.
The Borra Caves are located in the Anatagiri Hills of Eastern Ghats, near Vishakapatnam, Andhra Pradesh State in India. They are at a height of about 800 to 1300 metres above Mean Sea Level and are famous for million-year-old stalactite and stalagmite formations. They were discovered by William King George, the British geologist in the year 1807. The caves get their name from a formation inside the caves that looks like the human brain, which in the local language, Telugu, is known as burra. Similarly, the Belum caves were formed due to erosion in limestone deposits in the area by Chitravati River, millions of years ago. These limestone caves was formed due to action of carbonic acid — or weakly acidic groundwater formed due to reaction between limestone and water.
The Belum Caves are the second largest cave system in the Indian sub-continent. The Belum Caves derive their name from Bilum, the Sanskrit word for caves. In Telugu, the caves are known as Belum Guhalu. The Belum Caves have a length of 3229 meters, making them the second largest natural caves on the Indian subcontinent. The Belum Caves have long passages, spacious chambers, freshwater galleries and siphons. The caves' deepest point is 120 feet (37 m) from the entrance and is known as Patalganaga.
Horsley Hills Horsley Hills, elevation 1,265 m, is a famous summer hill resort in Andhra Pradesh, about 160 km from Bangalore and 144 km from Tirupati. The town of Madanapalle lies nearby. Major tourist attractions include the Mallamma temple and the Rishi valley school. Horsely Hills is the departure point for the Koundinya Wildlife Sanctuary at a distance of 87 km. Nirmal is very famous for its handicrafts and nirmal paintings which were well known all over the world. Kuntala waterfalls is the biggest (45mt) waterfall in the state. Charminar, Golconda Fort, Chandragiri Fort, Chowmahalla Palace and Falaknuma Palace are some of the monuments in the state.
Kanaka Durga Temple in Vijayawada in Krishna district, Venkateswara Temple in Dwaraka Tirumala, West Godavari District (it is also called Chinna Tirupathi), and Surya temple in Arasavelli in Srikakulam District are also places to see in Andhra Pradesh. The Annavaram Satayannarayana Swami temple is in East Godavari. |
