Where will Andhra take you?
970 km of coast, the Eastern Ghats, a river delta, canyon country and some of the most visited temples on earth — pick a direction.
The unmissables
Araku Valley
Coffee, cloud and a train ride through 58 tunnels
Borra Caves
Million-year-old limestone caverns lit like a cathedral
Lambasingi
The 'Kashmir of Andhra' — where winter mornings touch zero
RK Beach
Vizag's living room — a submarine, an aircraft and an evening promenade
Rushikonda Beach
Blue Flag-certified sands, water sports and a golden curve of bay
Coringa Wildlife Sanctuary
India's second-largest mangrove forest, by boat and boardwalk
Papikondalu
A day on the Godavari through the Papi hills
Dindi Backwaters
Houseboats and coconut canals — Andhra's Kerala
Kolleru Lake
A Ramsar wetland where pelicans nest by the thousand
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Kanaka Durga Temple
The goddess on Indrakeeladri, above the Krishna
Undavalli Caves
A four-storey rock-cut monastery with a giant reclining Vishnu
Suryalanka Beach
The nearest wide beach to Guntur and Vijayawada
Amaravathi Mahastupa & Dhyana Buddha
The great stupa of the Satavahanas and a 125-ft meditating Buddha
Tirumala Sri Venkateswara Temple
The seven hills of Venkateswara — the world's most visited temple
Srikalahasti Temple
The Vayu-linga on the Swarnamukhi — home of Rahu–Ketu pooja
Horsley Hills
Rayalaseema's hill station at 1,265 m
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Gandikota
The 'Grand Canyon of India' — a red gorge and a fort above it
Srisailam
Jyotirlinga and Shakti Peetha above the Krishna gorge
Belum Caves
3 km of underground passages — the longest caves open to the public in India
Lepakshi
A hanging pillar, a giant Nandi and Vijayanagara murals
Beaches
RK Beach
Vizag's living room — a submarine, an aircraft and an evening promenade
Rushikonda Beach
Blue Flag-certified sands, water sports and a golden curve of bay
Yarada Beach
A secret cove behind Dolphin's Nose
Bheemili Beach
Dutch ruins and a calm estuary beach at the end of the coast road
Baruva Beach
Casuarina groves and an empty coast near the Odisha border
Uppada Beach
A fishing beach and the home of Jamdani silk
Perupalem Beach
The delta's quiet beach near Narsapur
Manginapudi Beach
Black sand and shallow water — Machilipatnam's beach
Hamsaladeevi
Where the Krishna meets the sea
Suryalanka Beach
The nearest wide beach to Guntur and Vijayawada
Kothapatnam Beach
Ongole's beach — 20 km of road and a quiet coast
Mypadu Beach
Nellore's beach resort and a long, clean shore
Hills
Araku Valley
Coffee, cloud and a train ride through 58 tunnels
Lambasingi
The 'Kashmir of Andhra' — where winter mornings touch zero
Ananthagiri Hills
Coffee plantations and viewpoints on the Araku ghat road
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Kailasagiri
The hilltop park with a ropeway and the best view of Vizag
Horsley Hills
Rayalaseema's hill station at 1,265 m
Waterfalls
Maredumilli
Rainforest, waterfalls and bamboo chicken above the Godavari
Katiki Waterfalls
A jeep ride and a stream walk to a 50-ft fall near Borra
Ethipothala Waterfalls
A 70-ft fall on the Chandravanka, near Nagarjuna Sagar
Talakona Waterfalls
The tallest waterfall in Andhra Pradesh, inside a national park
Temples
Simhachalam Temple
Varaha Narasimha on the lion hill, seen without sandal paste one day a year
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Arasavalli Sun Temple
One of India's few living temples to the Sun god
Srikurmam Temple
The only major temple of Vishnu as the tortoise
Ramatheertham
A Rama temple and Jain–Buddhist ruins on three hills
Annavaram Satyanarayana Temple
The hill temple of the Satyanarayana vratam
Draksharamam Bhimeswara Temple
A Pancharama and Trilinga kshetra with a 60-ft Shiva-linga
Antarvedi
Where the Vasishta Godavari meets the sea
Ainavilli Vinayaka Temple
The Siddhi Vinayaka where Konaseema starts its journeys
Ksheerarama Temple, Palakollu
A Pancharama with a nine-storey gopuram and a milk-white linga
Dwaraka Tirumala
'Chinna Tirupati' — a hill Venkateswara temple with two idols
Kanaka Durga Temple
The goddess on Indrakeeladri, above the Krishna
Mangalagiri Panakala Narasimha Temple
The Narasimha who drinks jaggery water
Kotappakonda
Three peaks, one Shiva — and the tallest Shivaratri prabhalu in Andhra
Penchalakona
Narasimha in the hills, with a stream and waterfall
Tirumala Sri Venkateswara Temple
The seven hills of Venkateswara — the world's most visited temple
Kapila Theertham
A Shiva temple at the foot of the hills with its own waterfall
Srikalahasti Temple
The Vayu-linga on the Swarnamukhi — home of Rahu–Ketu pooja
Kanipakam Vinayaka Temple
The self-manifested Ganesha said to be still growing
Ardhagiri Anjaneya Swamy Temple
A hilltop Hanuman shrine near Aragonda
Vontimitta Kodandarama Temple
Rama, Sita and Lakshmana carved from a single stone
Pushpagiri
'Dakshina Kashi' — a cluster of temples on the Penna
Srisailam
Jyotirlinga and Shakti Peetha above the Krishna gorge
Mahanandi
Crystal-clear spring pools at a Shiva temple in the Nallamala
Ahobilam
Nine Narasimha shrines in the forest, reached by trek
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Yaganti
The Nandi that grows — a cave temple in the Yerramala hills
Mantralayam
The Brindavana of Sri Raghavendra Swamy on the Tungabhadra
Tadipatri Temples
Vijayanagara stone carved like lace on the Penna
Lepakshi
A hanging pillar, a giant Nandi and Vijayanagara murals
Forts
Bobbili Fort
The fort of the 1757 battle and the town of the veena
Kondapalli Fort
A 14th-century hill fort and the village of painted toys
Udayagiri Fort
A 14th-century hill fort on the Sanjeevi hills
Chandragiri Fort
The last Vijayanagara capital, with a Raja Mahal museum
Gurramkonda Fort
A hill fort of the Vijayanagara kings and Tipu Sultan
Gandikota
The 'Grand Canyon of India' — a red gorge and a fort above it
Adoni Fort
A hill fortress that passed from Vijayanagara to the Nizams
Konda Reddy Buruju
Kurnool's watchtower landmark from the Vijayanagara era
Gooty Fort
A shell-shaped hill fort above the Bengaluru highway
Penukonda Fort
The second capital of Vijayanagara, with the Gagan Mahal
Caves
Borra Caves
Million-year-old limestone caverns lit like a cathedral
Undavalli Caves
A four-storey rock-cut monastery with a giant reclining Vishnu
Bhairavakona
Eight rock-cut Shiva shrines beside a forest waterfall
Belum Caves
3 km of underground passages — the longest caves open to the public in India
Buddhist trail
Bojjannakonda
Rock-cut Buddhas and stupas on twin hills at Sankaram
Salihundam
Buddhist stupas on a hill above the Vamsadhara
Guntupalli Buddhist Caves
A circular rock-cut chaitya from the 2nd century BCE
Bhattiprolu Stupa
One of the oldest stupas in the south — and a script of its own
Amaravathi Mahastupa & Dhyana Buddha
The great stupa of the Satavahanas and a 125-ft meditating Buddha
Wildlife
Coringa Wildlife Sanctuary
India's second-largest mangrove forest, by boat and boardwalk
Uppalapadu Bird Sanctuary
Pelicans and painted storks in a village tank near Guntur
Nelapattu Bird Sanctuary
A village tank that hosts one of Asia's largest pelicanries
Rollapadu Wildlife Sanctuary
Grassland refuge of the Great Indian Bustard
Lakes & rivers
Totapalli Reservoir
A quiet reservoir among the Manyam hills
Kolleru Lake
A Ramsar wetland where pelicans nest by the thousand
Nagarjuna Sagar
One of the world's largest masonry dams and an island of Buddhist history
Cumbum Lake
A Vijayanagara-era tank, one of Asia's oldest man-made lakes
Somasila Dam
A Penna reservoir with boating and a Someswara temple
Pulicat Lake
A flamingo lagoon behind the Sriharikota launch pads
Heritage
Dowleswaram Barrage
Sir Arthur Cotton's 1852 anicut that turned the delta green
Kadiyam Nurseries
Hundreds of plant nurseries in one green village
Kuchipudi Village
The village that gave a classical dance its name
Prakasam Barrage
A kilometre of river, lights and evening breeze
Amaravati Capital Region
The capital city taking shape on the Krishna's south bank
Tallapaka
Birthplace of Annamacharya, the poet of 32,000 kirtanas
Ameen Peer Dargah
Kadapa's 'Pedda Dargah', where all faiths gather on Thursdays
Orvakal Rock Garden
Silica rock formations, a cave temple and a lake outside Kurnool
Thimmamma Marrimanu
A single banyan that covers five acres
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Prasanthi Nilayam, Puttaparthi
Sathya Sai Baba's ashram on the Chitravathi