Other sights in Andhra Pradesh
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Chowmahalla Palace
In their latest act of architectural showmanship, the nizam family has sponsored a restoration of this dazzling palace – or, technically, four (char) palaces (mahalla). Begun in 1750, it was expanded over the next 100 years, absorbing Persian, Indo-Saracenic, Rajasthani and European styles. The southern courtyard has one mahal with period rooms that have been reconstructed with the nizams’ over-the-top furniture; another mahal with an exhibit on life in the zenana (women’s quarters) that includes bejewelled clothes, carpets and a bride palanquin; antique cars (one nizam allegedly used a Rolls Royce as a garbage can); and curiosities like elephant seats, a clock with a…
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Museum of Habitat
Andhra’s best train ride is through the magnificent Eastern Ghats to the Araku Valley, 120km north of Vizag. The area is home to isolated tribal communities, and the tiny Museum of Habitat has fascinating exhibits of indigenous life. APTDC runs tours from Vizag, which take in a performance of Dhimsa, a tribal dance, and the million-year-old limestone Borra Caves, 30km from Araku.
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1000-Pillared Temple
Built in 1163, the 1000-Pillared Temple on the slopes of Hanamkonda Hill, 400m from Hanamkonda crossroads, is a fine example of Chalukyan architecture in a peaceful, leafy setting. Dedicated to three deities – Shiva, Vishnu and Surya – it has been carefully restored with intricately carved pillars and a central, very impressive Nandi (bull; Shiva’s mount) of black basalt.
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Birla Mandir
The Birla temple, constructed of white Rajasthani marble in 1976, graces Kalabahad (Black Mountain), one of two rocky hills overlooking the Hussain Sagar. Dedicated to Venkateshwara, it’s a popular Hindu pilgrimage centre and affords excellent views over the city, especially at sunset. The library here is worth a visit (open 4pm to 8pm).
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Thotlakonda
The Vizag area’s natural harbours have long been conducive to dropping anchor, which helped monks from Sri Lanka, China and Tibet come here to learn and practice meditation. Thotlakonda was a popular hilltop monastery on the coast that hosted up to 150 monks at a time – with the help of massive rainwater tanks and a natural spring.
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Paigah Tombs
The aristocratic Paigah family, purportedly descendents of the second Caliph of Islam, were fierce loyalists of the nizams, serving as statespeople, philanthropists and generals under and alongside them. From 1797, the two families began inter-marrying as well, solidifying their close bond. The Paigahs’ necropolis, tucked away in a quiet neighbourhood 4km southeast of Charminar, is a small compound of exquisite mausoleums made of marble and lime stucco. The main complex contains 27 tombs with intricate inlay work, surrounded by delicately carved walls and canopies, stunning filigree screens with geometric patterning and, overhead, tall, graceful turrets. The tombs are…
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Sankaram
Forty kilometres south-west of Vizag is this stunning Buddhist complex, better known by the name of its two hills, Bojjannakonda and Lingalakonda. Used by monks from the 1st to 9th centuries AD, the hills are covered with rock-cut caves, stupas, ruins of monastery structures, and reliefs of the Buddha that span the Theravada, Mahayana and Vajrayana periods. Bojjannakonda has a two-storey group of rock-cut caves flanked by dwarapalakas (door-keepers) and containing a stupa and gorgeous carvings of the Buddha (some restored). Atop the hill sit the ruins of a huge stupa and a monastery; you can still make out the individual cells where monks meditated. Lingalakonda is piled…
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Amaravathi Stupa
Once the Andhran capital and a significant Buddhist centre, Amaravathi is India’s biggest stupa, measuring 27m high. It was constructed here in the 3rd century BC, when Emperor Ashoka sent monks south to spread the Buddha’s teaching. Located 60km west of Vijayawada, all that remains are a mound and some stones, but the nearby museum has a small replica of the stupa, with its intricately carved pillars, marble-surfaced dome and carvings of scenes from the Buddha’s life. It also has a reconstruction of part of the surrounding gateway, which gives you an idea of the stupa’s massive scale. It’s worth the trip, but many of Amaravathi’s best sculptures are in London’s…
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AP State Museum
The continually renovated AP State Museum hosts a collection of important archaeological finds from the area, as well as a Buddhist sculpture gallery, with some relics of the Buddha and an exhibit on Andhra’s Buddhist history. The ever-expanding museum also has Jain and bronze sculpture galleries, a decorative-arts gallery, an exhibition of paintings by Lahore painter AR Chughtai, and an Egyptian mummy. The museum, like the gorgeous Legislative Assembly building down the road (both commissioned by the seventh nizam), is floodlit at night.
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Nehru Centenary Tribal Museum
Andhra Pradesh’s 33 tribal groups, based mostly in the north-eastern part of the state, comprise several million people. This museum, run by the government’s Tribal Welfare Department, exhibits photographs, dioramas of village life, musical instruments and some exquisite Naikpod masks. It’s basic, but you’ll get a glimpse into the cultures of these fringe peoples. There’s a small, interesting library here, and next door is the tiny Girijan Sales Depot, selling products made in tribal communities. Both are across from Chacha Nehru Park.
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Heh the Nizam’s Museum
The 16th-century Purani Haveli was home of the sixth nizam, Fath Jang Mahbub Ali Khan (r 1869-1911), rumoured to have never worn the same thing twice. His 72m-long, two-storey wardrobe of Burmese teak is on display at this museum. Also on exhibit, in the palace’s former servants’ quarters, are personal effects of the seventh nizam and gifts from the Silver Jubilee celebration of his reign. The pieces are unbelievably lavish and include some exquisite artwork. The museum’s guides do an excellent job putting it all in context.
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Kondapalli Fort
Situated strategically on the old Machilipatnam-Golconda trade route, Kondapalli fort was built in 1360 by the Reddy kings, and was held by the Gajapathis, the Qutb Shahis, the Mughals and the nizams before becoming a British military camp in 1767. Today it’s a quiet, lovely ruin. On weekdays, you’ll likely have the place to yourself and you can easily spend a few hours hiking around. Kondapalli village, 1km downhill, is famous for its wooden dolls. The fort is 21km from Vijayawada; an autorickshaw costs Rs. 400 return.
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Undavalli Cave Temples
Four kilometres south-west of Vijayawada, the stunning Undavalli cave temples cut a fine silhouette against the palm trees and rice paddies. Shrines are dedicated to the Trimurti – Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva – and one cave on the third level houses a huge, beautiful statue of reclining Vishnu while seated deities and animals stand guard out front. The caves, in their Hindu form, date to the 7th century, but they’re thought to have been constructed for Buddhist monks 500 years earlier. Bus 301 goes here.
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Chandragiri Fort
Only a couple of buildings remain from this 15th-century fort, 14km west of Tirupathi. Both the Rani Mahal and the Raja Mahal, which houses a small museum, were constructed under Vijayanagar rule and resemble structures in Hampi’s Royal Centre. There’s a nightly sound-and-light show, narrated by Bollywood great Amitabh Bachchan. Buses for Chandragiri (Rs. 6) leave Tirupathi train station every half-hour. A prepaid taxi is Rs. 400 return.
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Qutb Shahi Tombs
These graceful domed tombs sit serenely in landscaped gardens about 1.5km northwest of Golconda Fort’s Balahisar Gate. You could easily spend half a day here taking photos and wandering in and out of the mausoleums and various other structures. The upper level of Mohammed Quli’s tomb, reached via a narrow staircase, has good views of the area. The Qutb Shahi Tombs (Rs. 20) booklet is sold at the ticket counter.
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Nagarjunakonda Museum
The thoughtfully laid-out Nagarjunakonda Museum has Stone Age tools on exhibit, but more exciting are its Buddha statues and carved stone slabs that once adorned stupas. Most are from the 3rd century AD and depict scenes from the Buddha’s life, interspersed with mithuna (paired male and female) figures languorously looking on. The re-assembled monuments are spread around the hilltop outside.
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Ramoji Film City
Movie fans can’t miss the four-hour tour of Ramoji Film City, an 800-hectare movie-making complex for Telugu, Tamil and Hindi films. This place has everything – dance routines, gaudy fountains, flimsy film sets – and the whole thing wraps up with a Wild West song and dance number. Buses 205 and 206 from Koti Women’s College, north-east of Koti station, take an hour to get here.
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Warangal Fort
Warangal’s fort was a massive construction with three distinct circular strongholds surrounded by a moat. Four paths with decorative gateways, set according to the cardinal points, led to the Swayambhava, a huge Shiva temple. The gateways are still obvious, but most of the fort is in ruins. It’s easily reached from Warangal by bus or autorickshaw (Rs. 100 return).
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Bavikonda
The Vizag area’s natural harbours have long been conducive to dropping anchor, which helped monks from Sri Lanka, China and Tibet come here to learn and practice meditation. Bavikonda was a popular hilltop monastery on the coast that hosted up to 150 monks at a time – with the help of massive rainwater tanks.
reviewed
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Victoria Jubilee Museum
The best part of this museum is the building itself, built in 1877 to honour Queen Victoria’s coronation jubilee. Later, in 1921, it hosted the Congress meeting where a new tricolour flag was introduced: Mahatma Gandhi added a wheel to the design and made it the Indian National Congress’s official flag.
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Ramappa Temple
About 65km north-east of Warangal, the stunning Ramappa Temple, built in 1234, is an attractive example of Kakatiya architecture, although it was clearly influenced by Chalukya and Hoysala styles. Its pillars are ornately carved and its eaves shelter fine statues of female forms.
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Chalukyan Hill Fort
Most buses and trains will stop en route at Bhongir, 60km from Hyderabad. It’s worth jumping down for a couple of hours to climb the fantastical-looking 12th-century Chalukyan hill fort. Looking like a gargantuan stone egg, the hill is mostly ringed by stairs.
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Vishnu Temple
At Simhachalam Hill, 10km north-west of town, is a fine 11th-century Vishnu Temple in Orissan style. You can give puja to the deity, who’s covered with sandalwood paste. Bus 6 A/H (Rs. 13) goes here.
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Golconda Fort
Although most of this 16th-century fortress dates from the time of the Qutb Shah kings, its origins, as a mud fort, have been traced to the earlier reigns of the Yadavas and Kakatiyas.
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Health Museum
Located in the Public Gardens area is the Health Museum, where you’ll see a bizarre collection of medical and public-health paraphernalia.
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