travel guide
Things to do in Guntur
Beyond the chilli yard: caves, a bird sanctuary, a hill temple with jaggery water and the fieriest meals in the state.
5 min read · Updated 22 August 2026 · Aandhra.com Editorial
Guntur is a working city — colleges, hospitals, the Mirchi Yard — rather than a tourist town, which is exactly why its surroundings are underrated. Everything below is within an hour.
In the city
- Guntur Mirchi Yard in season (January–April): the largest chilli market in Asia in full swing by 8 am
- Lunch at an unlimited meals restaurant in Brodipet or Arundelpet — Guntur meals are the standard against which the state measures spice
- Uppalapadu Bird Sanctuary (8 km): pelicans and painted storks in a village tank, October to March
Half-day trips
- Undavalli Caves and the Amaravati capital (30 km)
- Mangalagiri: the Panakala Narasimha temple and the handloom street (20 km)
- Amaravathi Mahastupa and Dhyana Buddha (35 km)
- Kotappakonda hill temple (55 km) — go on Shivaratri for the prabhalu
Full day
Suryalanka beach via Bapatla (55 km) for a family day; or Tenali and Bhattiprolu for the theatre town and the 3rd-century BCE stupa.
Cities in this guide: Guntur, Mangalagiri, Tenali
