India Guide
Andhra Pradesh
Although ANDHRA PRADESH occupies a great swathe of eastern India, stretching for more than 1200km along the coast from Orissa to Tamil Nadu and reaching far inland from the fertile deltas of the Godavari and Krishna rivers to the semi-arid Deccan Plateau, it's not a place that receives many tourists. Most foreign travellers pass through en route to its more attractive neighbours, which is understandable as places of interest are few and far between. However, the sights that Andhra Pradesh does have are absorbing and sufficiently well connected to warrant at least a few stops on a longer tour of India.
Now thriving as a major hi-tech hub, the state capital, Hyderabad, is an atmospheric city dating from the late sixteenth century. Its endless bazaars, eclectic Salar Jung Museum and the mighty Golconda Fort nearby make it an enticing place to spend a day or two. Warangal, 150km northeast of Hyderabad, has both Muslim and Hindu remains from the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, while the region's Buddhist legacy – particularly its superb sculpture – is preserved in museums at sites such as Nagarjunakonda and Amaravati, the ancient Satavahana capital. In the east, the big city of Vijayawada has little to recommend it, though it makes a convenient access-point for Amaravati.
However, the temple town of Tirupati in the far southeast – best reached from Chennai in Tamil Nadu – is one of India's great Hindu phenomena, a fascinating and impossibly crowded pilgrimage site that's said to attract more pilgrims than Mecca or the Vatican. In the southwest of the state, the small town of Puttaparthy attracts a more international pilgrim crowd, drawn here by the prospect of darshan from spiritual leader Sai Baba.
Although modern industries have grown up around the capital, and shipbuilding, iron and steel are important on the coast, most people in Andhra Pradesh remain poor. Away from the Godavari and Krishna deltas, where the soil is rich enough to grow rice and sugar cane, the land is in places impossible to cultivate, which has contributed to the desperate plight of many farmers.
Highlights
1 Hyderabad A predominately Islamic city offering a compelling combination of monuments, museums and lively bazaars.
2 Golconda Fort Set in a lush landscape just west of Hyderabad, the capital of the Qutb Shahi dynasty boasts a dramatic fort.
3 Tirumala Hill, Tirupati The most visited pilgrimage centre in the world, Tirumala Hill is crowned by the Venkateshwara Vishnu temple.