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Tourist Places/Sites in Andhra Pradesh State of India

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Andhra Pradesh is a southern coastal state of India which is bordered by Chhattisgarh state in north, Odisha state in northeast, Telangana & Karnataka states in west, Tamil Nadu state in south and about 975 Kms coastline of Bay of Bengal in east. Hills of Eastern Ghats and its long coastline has blessed this state with hill stations, several rivers, waterfalls, beaches, wildlife sanctuaries & national park, exotic flora and fauna and  pleasant & tropical climate. There are many forts, palaces, monuments, ancient historical sites, ancient & most revered temples/pilgrimage centers/religious places which are the witness of glorious past of this region of India. There are six airports (three International and three domestic) in Andhra Pradesh along with well connectivity by roads and railways and ports. Tirupati Balaji temple, the most popular temple of world, dedicated to Lord Vishnu is also located in this state where a massive number of pilgrims are visiting daily. Hence this state has attractions for all types of tourists and travelers with all types of accommodation facilities. 

Famous Hill Stations and Waterfalls in Andhra Pradesh

The hills of Eastern Ghats have blessed with the Andhra Pradesh with many famous hill stations and waterfalls as under:

Famous hill stations in Andhra Pradesh are:

Araku valley (this valley is located in Alluri Sitharama Raju district and its tourist attractions are Borra caves, Dubriguda waterfalls, Aruka valley coffee museum, Ananthagiri hill station, Tribal museum, Katiki waterfalls, trekking & camping facilities), Horsley Hills (are beautiful series of hills in Chittoor district, tourist attractions are Horsley Hills Zoo, Chennakesava Temple, Kaigal Falls, trekking etc), Nagari Hills (Located in Chittoor district is best picnic spots, tourist attractions are  Nagari Nose, Gurramkonda fort, Kailasakona falls, trekking alongside the Kushasthali river etc), Maredumilli (this famous tourist spot is village in East Godavari district and tourist attraction are Jalatharangini falls, Amruthadhara Falls, Rampa waterfalls, Sokuleru Vagu, Manyam Viewpoint etc), Tirumala (This town located in Chittoor district is famous Hindu pilgrimage center as  Devsthana Tirupati at about 20 Kms  and tourist attractions are trek sites, Akasa Ganga waterfall and Venkateshwara temple),  Nallamala Hills (Located in Kurnool, Guntur, YSR Kadapa & Prakasam  districts of Andhra Pradesh state & Mahabubnagar district of Telangana state, here tourist attractions are Nagarjunasagar Srisailam Sanctuary, Cumbum Lake, Srisailam Temple and eye-catching view of nature by Kaveri and Pennar rivers), Lambasingi (This famous hill station  also called as the ‘Kashmir of Andhra Pradesh’ is a small village in the Visakhapatnam district at about 1000 meters above sea level, tourist attractions are Kothapalli waterfall, Thajangi Reservoir), Papikondalu  (a hill station located in Eluru district on the bank of Godavari river is an ideal place for trekking and tourist attraction are Bhadrachalam temple, Papikonda Wildlife Sanctuary, Kinnerasani Wildlife Sanctuary, Pattisam island),Nagalapuram or the Nagala Hills (this hill station located in Chittoor district is the part of Eastern Ghats and its tourist attractions are  Veda Narayanaswami temple,  Mini Courtallam, Shiva Temple falls, Ubbalamadugu waterfalls) etc.

Famous water falls in Andhra Pradesh are:

Kothapally waterfalls (located near Paderu in the Alluri Seethamaraju district), Kailasakona Falls (This waterfall believed to have medicinal powers is located near Tirupati, a holy place, in Chittoor district), Ethipothala Falls (This waterfall is located at about 12 Kms from Nagarjuna Sagar Dam in Palnadu district and has a crocodile breeding centre in ponds formed by it), Talakona Falls (Located near the Sri Venkateswara National Park at about 40 Kms from Tirupati, a holy town, in Chittoor District), Ubbalamadugu Falls or Tada Falls (Located in the forest Kambakam in Chittoor district at about  80 Kms from Chennai can be reached by trekking and get crowded during Mahasivarathri due to a myth associated with Lord Shiva), Katiki waterfalls (This much attractive waterfall is located at about 4 Kms from the Borra Caves in Arraku Valleys in Alluri Sitharama Raju district can be reached after 2 Kms trekking and has its origin from Ghostani River), Thatiguda Falls (Located in Ananthagiri hills in Vishakhapatnam district is a stream of  Ghostani River), Kaigal Waterfalls (also known as Dumukurallu Waterfalls is located near Koundinya Wildlife Sanctuary in Chittoor District), Nagalapuram Waterfalls (Located near Arai, a village near Nagalapuram town, in Chittoor district), Maredumilli Amruthadhara Falls (Located in Alluri Sitharama Raju district near Rajahmundry is a must visit place), Rampa waterfall (Located near Rampachodavaram village in East Godavari district can be reached after small trek), Kothapally waterfalls ( Located in Visakhapatnam district), Papavinasam Thirtham ( Located at about 4 Kms from Tirupati, a holy town, in Chittoor district is one of seven holy theerthams in Seshagiri hills and it is believed that its holy water  releases the devotees from  his  all sins), Veyilingakona waterfalls (located near Sahasralinga temple near Tirupati, a holy town, in Chittoor district, Veyilingakona literly means ‘valley of the thousand lingas’ ) etc.

Famous Beaches in Andhra Pradesh

About 970 Kms long coastline of Andhra Pradesh has blessed this state with number of famous beaches like Rishikonda Beach (This exotic beach is located in Vishakhapatnam), Yarada Beach (Located near Dolphin’s Nose and Gangavaram Port at about 15 kms from Vishakapatnam), Mypad Beach (Located at about 20 Kms from Nellore city near Nelaputtu Bird Sanctuary, it is calm beach to spend some lonely time with nature), Ramakrishna Beach (Located near Ramakrishna mission ashram & INS Kursura submarine museum in Vishakapatnam district, it is much liked beach among youths due to various entertainment facilities nearby, also called R K beach), Bheemunipantan Beach (located in Visakhapatnam near Sri Kanka Mahalakshmi Temple, a famous temple dedicated to Goddess Sri Lakshmi, old churches &  large Buddha head statue are other attractions), Kalingapatnam Beach (This beach located in Kalingapatnam village in Srikakulam district on the delta of Vamsadhara River is a famous tourism destination), Perupalem Beach (This beach located at about 20 km from Naraspur town in West Godavari district is a famous tourism destination),Motupalle Beach (This calm beach located in Prakasam District at about 150 Kms from Guntur and about 180 Kms from Vijayawada is a beautiful beach), Manginapudi Beach (This beach located at about 12 Kms from Machilipatnam city, the district headquarter of Krishna district, is an important tourism spot and excellent seafood available here is famous), Vodarevu Beach (This beach located at about 6 Kms from Chirala town in Bapatla  district is a sightseeing place to relax), Bhavani island(It is the largest island in the Krishna River located at about 7 Kms from Vijaywara city of Krishna district is an ideal holiday destination), Gangavaram beach(This scenic beach  located in Visakhapatnam city remains the attraction for film and TV serial makers ), Uppada beach (This is a most beautiful beach at about 5 Kms from Kakinada city which is ideal for sunbathing and swimming) etc.

Famous Forts and Monuments in Andhra Pradesh

There are many forts and monuments in Andhra Pradesh reflecting the glorious history of this state as under:

Famous Forts in Andhra Pradesh are :

Chandragiri Fort (it is 11th century fort of Chalukya dynasty located near Tirupati in Chittoor district was annexed to Golkonda, Its exciting part is Raja Mahal or Palace which is now a museum), Kondapalli Fort (known as Kondapalli Quilla is 14th century fort constructed by King Prolaya Vema Reddy of Kondavidu is a pleasure place located near Vijayawara city in NTR district), Gurramkonda Fort (This hill fort located in Gurramkonda village in Annamayya district was built by Vijayanagara dynasty), Kondavidu Fort (Located at Kondavidu village near Guntur city was built in 14th century by Reddy dynasty), Gooty Forts (It is an ancient hill fort which is actually having about 15 small forts with separate entrance located at Gooty  town in Anantapur district), Penukonda fort (This fort having many Jain temples inside it and built in Jainism style by Krishna Deva Raya to protect Jain temples from Muslim invaders is located Anantapur), Madakasira Fort (This is a hill fort in a horse shoe shape built by Marathas in 18th century), Bandar Fort or Dutch Fort (Located in Machilipatnam in Krishna district, Built by the Dutch East India Company in 16th century) etc.

Famous Monuments in Andhra Pradesh are:

Nagarjunasagar Dam (one of the biggest dams in world is a wonderful sight with water related actives near it, which islocated on the border of Palnadu district of Andhra Pardesh & Nalgonda district of Telangana),Hemavathi (it is a historic village having group of ancient Hindu temples and a Jain temple built in 8th century during Nolamba Dynasty), Dolmen at Kalyandurg (Kalyandurg is a town in Anantapur district and Dolmen, a rectangular shaped three sided room, is a pre-historic place of sacrifice used for religious purposes), Lamp pillar (Located in Penukonda town in Sri Sathya Sai district, it is a long monolithic pillar with a cubical on top having an iron lamp for lighting the street used in past), Manchikallu Buddhist remains (These are the remains of Buddhist monasteries at Manchikallu in Palnadu district), Nagarjunakonda ancient remains (These are the remains of Buddhist monasteries at Nagarjunakonda hill, a historic town, in Guntur district), Jonnagiri inscription (These are the oldest discovered inscriptions in Prakrit & Brahmi language in India located at Jonnagiri village in Kurnool district related to King Ashoka ),Tomb of Abdul Wahab ( a 17th century tomb of 1st Nawab of Kurnool, Abdul Wahab Khan, on the banks of River Handri in Kurnool city is elaborate architecture), Mogalarajapuram caves (These are ancient five rock-cut cave temples located near Vijayawada in Krishna district) etc.

Famous Museum in Andhara Pardesh

Some famous museums in Andhara Pardesh state are:

Vishaka Museum (located at Beach Road in Visakhapatnam it is the collection of artefacts related to  Kalingandhra dynasty), INS Kurusura Museum (INS Kursurasubmarin converted in a museum at port of Vishakapatnam is a must visit place), TU 142 Air Craft Museum (It is a preserved Tupolev Tu-142 located in Visakhapatnam),Naval Museum or Swarna Jyoti Museum (Located in Naval area of Vishakhapatnam city houses the models naval ships, guns and weapons), Chaitanya Jyoti Museum (This museum in Ashram of Sai Baba in  Puttaparthi town in  Sri Sathya Sai district houses all stories and incidents of the life of Sai Baba), Amaravathi Archaeological Museum (It houses the records of Satavahana era, ruins of Buddhist & Jataka, Drum slabs etc located in Amaravati city in Guntur district), Sri Venkatesvara Museum (Located in the complex of Lord Sri Venkatesvara temple on Tirumala hills near Tirupati town in Chittoor district is a must visit place), Sri Vari Museum (Located in Tirupati town in Chittoor district houses the collection of artefacts to get a glimpse into the religious history of the region), Regional Science Centre (Located at foot hills of Tirumala near Tirupati town in Chittoor district), Seshachala Vanadarshini Forest Museum (It is a forest museum located in Tirumala hills near Tirupati town in Chittoor district), Rural Handicrafts Centre (Located in Srikalahasti town in Chittoor District which is famous for handicrafts), Araku Tribal Museum (This museum having collections related to indigenous tribal culture of various tribal communities located in Araku hill town in Alluri Sitharama Raju district is the most popular tourist site), Coffee Museum (Located in Araku hill town near tribal museum in Alluri Sitharama Raju district is tourist attraction and much liked  place to enjoy coffee drinking), Rallabandi Subbarao Government Museum (This museum is collection of sculptures & inscriptions related to true history of Andhra pardesh, which is located in Rajamahendravaram Town in East Godavari district), Victoria Museum (This museum located in Vijayawada in Krishna District houses the collections of ancient inscriptions, sculptures, manuscripts, Neolithic & Microlithic implements, paintings, idols, ancient stone tools, arms, coins, pottery etc), Chenchu Lakshmi Tribal Museum (This museum located in Srisailam town in Kurnool district is place to understand the practices and culture of tribes of Nallamala Hills), Bhagavan Mahavir Government Museum (It is an archaeological museum located in Kadapa and having collections of 5th century antique sculpture of Hindu deities evacuated from nearby areas) etc.

Wildlife Sanctuaries and National Park in Andhra Pradesh

The geographical situation and Eastern Ghats hills have blessed the Andhra Pradesh state with enormous flora & fauna due to which there are number of wildlife sanctuaries, national parks & brackish-water eco-system, some famous are:

Coringa Wildlife Sanctuary (famous Wildlife Sanctuary located in  Coringa, East Godavari Dist, Kakinada), Kambalakonda Wildlife Sanctuary (famous Wildlife Sanctuary located in   Visakhapatnam district), Rollapadu Wildlife Sanctuary (a popular wildlife sanctuaries located at in Nandyal district ), Sri Venkateswara Wildlife Sanctuary (Located near Tirumala  near Tirupati,pilgrimage city, in Chittoor district), Krishna Wildlife Sanctuary (Located in Krishna delta in Krishana and Guntur districts),Koundinya Wildlife Sanctuary (This Wildlife Sanctuary located in Chittoor district is also an elephant reserve), Gundla Brahmeswaram Wildlife Sanctuary (a must visit sanctuary located in Prakasam & Kurnool districts in serene forests of Nallamala ), Nagarjunsagar-Srisailam Tiger Reserve (it is the largest Tiger Reserve in India located in Nallamala Hills along Krishna River & Srisailam reservoir and Nagarjunasagar reservoir are in it), Papikonda National Park (located in the Papi Hills of Eastern Ghats in Alluri Sitharama Raju  and Eluru districts), Rajiv Gandhi (Rameswaram) National Park (located on the north bank of the Penna River in Rameswaram of Kadapa district), Pulicat Lake Wildlife Sanctuary (It is a brackish-water eco-system located in Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu), Sri Lankamalleswara Wildlife Sanctuary (known for Jerdon’s  courser  bird & located in the southern part of the Nallamala Hills of Kadapa district), Sri Penusila Narasimha Wildlife Sanctuary (a forest area in Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and Andhra Pradesh), Kambalakonda Wildlife Sanctuary (Located in Vishakhapatnam district), Nellapattu Wildlife Sanctuary (Located in Nellore district) etc.

Famous Religious Places in Andhra Pradesh

Famous Hindu Temples in Andhra Pradesh are: Tirupati Balaji or Shree Venkateshwara Swami temple (This most popular temple on the earth dedicated to Lord Vishnu is located on Tirumala hills near Tirupati town in Chittoor district. It is believed that Lord Vishnu is residing during Kali Yuga here), Padmavathi Temple (This famous temple also called Alamelumangapuram dedicated to Goddess Padmavati companion of Lord Venkateshwara /Balaji is located at about 5 Kms from Tirupati, a holly town, in Chittoor District, it is believed that  Tirumala is only benefited if devotee visits this temple too), Govindaraja Swami Temple (This famous temple built by Saint Ramanujacharya in 12th century and dedicated to Sri Govindaraja Swami is located in Tirupati, a holy town, in Chittor district), Gudimallam temple (this ancient temple built by Pallavas dedicated to Lord Shiva and known as Parasurameswara temple is located in Gudimallam village about 30 Kms from Tirupati, a holy city, in Chittoor district), Mallikarjuna Swamy Temple (This temple dedicated Malleswara Swami, a form of Lord Shiva,  is  one of 12 Jyotirlingas located at the banks of the Krishna River on the Shri Shaila Mountain in  Srisailam town   in Kurnool district), Ramalingeshwara Temple (This temple dedicated to Lord Shiva located in Tadipatri in Anantapur District. It is believed that Linga in this temple is ‘Swayambhu’, means formed itself as not made by any human beings), Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy temple ( this temple dedicated to Lord Narasimhaswamy who is belived as one of the ten avatars of Lord Vishnu is located in Kadiri town in Anantapur District), Chennakesava Temple (This ancient temple located in Pattikonda in Anantapur district is an amazing architecture, which is having massively beautiful photo of ‘Mulavirat Channakesavaswami’ of black granite), Mallikarjuna Temple, Kambaduru (It is 8th century temple dedicated to Lord shiva located in Kambaduru village in Anantpur district), Venkata Ramana Temple (This beautiful temple of architectural importance dedicated to Lord Vishnu built in 16th century is located in Tadipatri in the Anantapur District), Thimmamma Marrimanu (This pilgrimage is about 35 Kms from Kadiri in Anantapur district, here a much old banyan tree is known as Thimmamma Marrimanu which is said to be grown on the spot where Setti Balijia performed Setti in  funeral pyre of her husband. It is believed that pray in  this tiny shrine below this tree can blessed a lady by son),  Umakamandeleshwara or Sri Jagan Mohini Keshava Swamy Temple (Located in Ryali village at about 25 Kms from Rajamundry town in East Godavari District, this ancient temple associated with a myth is dedicated to Lord Umakamandeleshwara a form of Lord Shiva), Saneeshwara Temple (This temple dedicated to Lord Shiva and also known as Sri Madeswara Swami or Someshwar temple is located in Mandapalli village in East Godavari District which is visited by large number of devotees due to a myth associated with it), Chennakesavaswami Temple (This temple located in Pushpagiri city in YSR Kadapa District and dedicated to Chennakesavaswami is an antique & beautiful architecture and there are many other ancient temples near it which are mostly in ruins condition), Gunupudi Someshwara Temple (This temple dedicated to Lord Shiva is located in Bhimavaram city  which is headquarter of West Godavari District, It is believed that Linga in this temple is ‘Swayambhu’, means formed itself as not made by any human beings),

Buddhist Centers in Andhra Pradesh are: Dubaraju Gudi Buddhist site (This site located in Adurru village near Nagaram in East Godavari district is the remnants of ancient Buddhist monestaries on the bank of Vainetaya branch of Godavari River), Kodavali Buddhist sites (This ancient site is located near Kodavali village in Gollaprolu mandal of East Godavari district), Chandavaram Buddhist site (This site located on the bank of Gundla Kamma River in Chandavaram village near Singarayakonda town in the Prakasam district is ruins of a monastic complex of period 2nd BC to 2nd AD in hillock of Nallamala range), Salihundam Buddhist site (There is a Buddhist monument of ancient Kalinga period at hilltop in Salihundam village in Srikakulam district which is a major tourist attraction), Guntupalli Buddhist Caves (These are ancient rock-cut  caves believed to be older than Ajanta and Ellora caves located near Kamavarapukota town at about 40 Kms from Eluru), Dhanadibbalu and Pandavula Guha (These are important  ancient  Buddhist  sites located near Kotturu village in Vishakhapatnam district), Amaravati Buddhist sites (This site having the stupa and monastery built during the sovereignty of Great Ashoka is located on the bank of the Krishna river near Amaravati city in Guntur district).

Famous Jain Temple in Andhra Pradesh: Shree Shankheshwar Parshwanath Jain Temple (Located in Gummileru village in East Godavari district, this temple has been built on unearthed statues of Lord Parshwanath in the mudra of ‘Ardha-Padmasana’ belonging to Mauryan Dynasty period ).

Famous Mosque in Andhra:   Jumma Masjid (This mosques built in 17th century during kingdom of Adil Shahi is a beautiful marvelous Muslim architectural located in Adoni town in Kurnool District).

Famous Churches in  Andhra Pradesh:

St. Mary’s Church (also called Taj Mahal of south is located in Machilipatnam town in Krishna district of Andhra Pradesh), St. Stephens Orthodox Church (Located in Vishakhapatnam ).

Districts of Andhra Pradesh are:

Alluri Sitharama Raju District (1), Ananthapuram District(2), Anakapalli District(3), Annamayya District(4), Bapatla District(5), Chittoor District(6), East Godavari District(7),  Eluru District(8), Guntur District(9), Kakinada District(10), Kona Seema District(11), Krishna District(12), Kurnool District(13), Manyam District(14), NTR District(15), Nandyal District(16), Palnadu District(17), Prakasam District(18), SPS Nellore District(19), Sri Satyasai District(20), Sri. Balaji District(21), Srikakulam District(22), Vishakhapatnam District(23), Vizianagaram District(24), West Godavari District(25), YSR Kadapa District(26).

Airports in Andhra Pradesh

There are six airports (three International and three domestic) in Andhra Pradesh along with other small airports as under:

Visakhapatnam Airport (International Airport located in Visakhapatnam city), Vijayawada Airport (International Airport located at Gannavaram at about   Kms from Vijayawada city), Tirupati (Renigunta) Airport (It is an international Airport located at Renigunta at about 16 kms from Tirupati and 40 kms from Venkateswara Temple), Rajahmundry Airport (Domestic airport located at Madhurapudi, 16 km from Rajamahendravaram), Kurnool Airport (It is domestic airport named as Uyyalawada Narasimha Reddy Airportand also known asOrvakal Airport which is located at Orvakal at about 15 Kms from Kurnool and 55 Kms from Nandyal), Kadapa Airport (Domestic airport located at about 10 Kms from city), Sri Sathya Sai Airport (It is small airport at Puttaparthi for chartered flights), Nagarjuna Sagar Airport (a private airport located in Guntur District for private and chartered flights)

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