Andhra Pradesh is the home of many religious pilgrim centers. Tirupati, the abode of Lord Venkateswara, has the richest and most visited Hindu temple in India. Srisailam, the abode of Sri Mallikarjuna, is one of twelve Jyothirlingalu in India and Yadagirigutta, the abode of an avatara of Vishnu, Sri Lakshmi Narasimha. Puttaparthi hosts the ashram of popular guru Sri Sathya Sai Baba. The Ramappa temple at Warangal is famous for some fine temple carvings. The state has numerous Buddhist centers at Amaravati, Bhattiprolu, Nagarjuna Konda, and Phanigiri.

The golden beaches at Visakhapatnam, the one-million-year old limestone caves at Borra, picturesque Araku Valley, hill resorts of Horsley Hills, Godavari racing through a narrow gorge at Papi Kondalu, waterfalls and rich bio-diversity at Talakona, the beaches of Vizag are some of the natural attractions of the state.

Charminar, Golconda Fort, Chandragiri Fort, and Falaknuma Palace are some of the monuments in the state.

Andhra Pradesh is the third largest state in India with an area of 275,000 sq. km. A state in the southern region of India, Andhra Pradesh is bordered on the south by TamilNadu state, on the west by Karnataka state, on the north and northwest by Maharashtra state, on the northeast by Madhya Pradesh and Orissa states, and on the east by the Bay of Bengal. The northern area of Andhra Pradesh is mountainous. The highest peak Mahendragiri rises 1500 m above the sea level. The climate is generally hot and humid. There are many holy temples which attract a large number of pilgrims and tourists. The main languages that are spoken in Andhra are Telugu, English, Urdu, Hindi.

Cultural Institutions
Andhra Pradesh has many museums, including the Archaeological Museum at Amaravati near Guntur City that features relics of nearby ancient sites, the Salar Jung Museum in Hyderabad, which features a varied collection of sculptures, paintings, and religious artifacts, and the Visakha Museum in Vizag (Visakhapatnam), which displays the history of the pre-Independence Madras Presidency in a rehabilitated Dutch bungalow.
 

Palaces to Interest

Charminar - A Rectangular Four Arched Monumental Gate , also known as 'The Arch of Triumph of the East', is situated in the midst of the old city and was built by Muhammad Quli Qutab Shah in 1591 to commemorate the end of a plague in Hyderabad

Golconda Fort - is a massive fort of granite and gave world some of the best known Diamonds, including Kohinoor Lepakshi has become a major tourist attraction because of the architecture and paintings found in the temples here.

Nagarjunakonda - Upstream of the Krishna river is Nagarjunakonda associated with the famous Buddhist scholar of 2nd century, Nagarjuna. It was an important Buddhist monastic institution and has stupas with sculptures depicting scenes from the life of Buddha. Indian archaeologists have salvaged the precious ruins from their ancient site, lifting them atop a hill and setting them up in a Vihara style museum. Nagarjunakonda is the site of ongoing excavations.

Amravati - has majestic carvings, murals and panels of Buddhist time. Much of the vast archaeological findings from the site are exhibited in the British Museum, London, and the National Museum, Delhi. There is a Great Stupa, which dates back o Emperor Ashoka reign, who went on to propagate Buddhism in the region.

Temples in the state

Tirupati: Tirupati the abode for the world famous hindu temple of Lord Venkateswara. It is the richest Hindu religious institution and second richest in the world after Vatican. It records an annual income of about 100 Billion Rupees (2.5 Billion US Dollars), mostly from offerings by the devotees. The traditional "head tonsuring" has entered the records as the record amount of human hair collected from a single place. This hair is auctioned, brinning several million rupees every year from several countries where manufactures use this hair for a variety of purposes.

Vijayawada: Vijayawada houses the second biggest and equally famous temple of Goddess Durga also known as Kanaka Durga.

Srisailam: Abode for Lord Siva worshipped with the name of Mallikarjuna and Goddess Parvathi, worshipped with the name of Bhramaramba. Srisailam has a unique distinction amongst the Hindu temples of the world; it is the only place to be one of 18 Shaktipithas and one of 12 Jyothirlingas. Huge hydro-electric multi-purpose dam has also been constructed at this place on river Krishna.

Bhadrachalam: Abode for Lord Rama. The legend goes back a few hundred years. There was a devotee by name Bhakta Ramadas, who was a tax collector in Taneesha(a muslim ruler of Golkonda)'s government. Apparently he spent all the tax collection money on building a temple for lord Rama, eventually was put in prison by the Taneesha. Bhakta Ramdas has offered his prayers to lord Rama in the form of Kirtanas, and one fine day, lord Rama and his brother Lakshmana come in disguise to re-pay the money to Taneesha. Taneesha finally realized his mistake and from that day, not only freed Bhakta Ramadas, but also agreed to supply the required alms for the temple at Bhadrachalam. Till date, in independent India, the state administration maintains the ritual.

Srikalahasti: Adobe for the holy shrine of Lord Siva, worshipped in the name of Kalahastiswara, one of the 12 Jyothirlingas.

Ahobilam: Ahobilam or Ahobala is a complex of 9 temples of Lord Narasimha.

Mangalagiri: A temple town between Vijayawada & Guntur. Adobe of Lord Narasimha. The unique distinction at this shrine is that, the deity is offered payers in the form of 'Panakam' or Jaggery Water.

Annavaram: The holy shrine is the sanctum sanctorum of Lord "Satyadeva" or "Satyanarayana".

Simhachalam: This holy shrine is the adobe of Lord Narasimha, worshipped in the name of "Narasimha".

Srikakulam: There are two places with the same name in the state. A district and town by the same name on the north east corner of the state as well as a small village on the bank of river Krishna in Krishna district. The village Srikakulam houses the "Andhra Mahavishnu" temple. Legend says that this temple was constructed by the great Krishnadevaraya of the Vijayanagara Kingdom.

Ramappa Temple: a beautiful Shiva temple in the temple town of Palampet, near Warangal.

Veerabhadra temple in the temple town of Lepakshi is a wonderful example of the Vijayanagar architecural style and art.


Wild Life Sanctuary

Coringa Wild Life Sanctuary - situated in Godavari Delta and spanning 235 sq. km. of area was established in 1978 and is home for water birds, crocodiles and other animals

Papikonda Sanctuary - situated along Papikonda range, cater to animals like tiger and birds

Hyderabad

Hyderabad is the capital city of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. With more than 6 million people (60 lakh), it is India's 6th largest metropolis [1] and the 40th largest metropolitan area in the world. It is known for its rich history, culture and architecture representing its unique characteristic of a meeting point for north and south India, and its multi lingual culture, both geographically and culturally. Hyderabad is a place where Hindus and Muslims have co-existed for centuries. It is also one of the most developed cities in the country and is the emerging IT and biotech hub of India. Hyderabad and Secunderabad are twin cities, separated by Husain Sagar (also known as Tank Bund), an artificial lake constructed during the time of Ibrahim Qutb Shah in 1562. The Charminar (Urdu: "Four Minars") monument, built in the center of Hyderabad by Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah in 1591 as a commemoration of the eradication of a plague.

Hyderabad city is located in the center of Andhra Pradesh, in the region of Telangana. It lies on the Deccan Plateau, 541 meters (1776 ft) above sea level, over an area of 260 km˛ (100 mile˛).

The original city of Hyderabad was founded on the banks of river Musi. Now known as the historic old city, home to the Charminar and Makkah Masjid, it lies on the southern bank of the river. The city has grown over the centuries on both banks and is now a metropolitan area that spreads out from the Musi river.

Hyderabad has been the meeting place of many different cultures and traditions. Historically, Hyderabad has been the city where the distinct cultural and linguistic traditions of North India and South India meet. The Muslim culture of Hyderabad has fused with south Indian traditions of the region.

Hyderabad is a unique cosmopolitan city and home to people practicing Islam, Hinduism, Jainism, Christianity, and Zoroastrianism. Hyderabadis have developed their own distinctive culture, which is a mixture of the centuries old Islamic Culture and the Hindu traditions of the Telugu people.

Hyderabad is also a major centre for Art and some leading painters have been Asocaited with Hyderabad - M F Hussain, Vaikutam, K V Sridhar (Pops),Laxma Goud, and Jagdish Mittal (world renowned Art Colector in India Modern Art). Amaravathi Treasure Art under the agies of Kishan Chander Agarwal and Venkatakrishna Kunduru would bring Art of Hyderabad across the world by what Hyderabad stands for Art

Vishakhapatnam

Vishākhapatnam, shortened and Anglicized: Vizag or Vizagapatnam) is a Port city in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is located on the eastern shore of India nestled among the Eastern Ghats Hill Ranges and facing the Bay of Bengal on the East. City is about 650 KM on North-East from Hyderabad.

Alternatively, it sometimes goes by its British colonial name- Waltair. During the colonial era, the city had at its hub the Waltair railway station, and that part of the city still goes by the name of  Waltair.

Ramayana and Mahabharata

The city is supposed to have been named after the God of valour, Visakha, the son of Shiva and Parvati, who is also the ruler of the planet Mars and the God of war.

Visakha is mentioned in the historic epics: Ramayana and Mahabharata. In the Ramayana, its mentioned as the place where Rama met his devotee, Shabari, during the quest for his wife Sita. Also, this is the place where Rama may have met Jambavan, who helped him in his battle with Ravana. It's believed that Bheema defeated the demon Bakasura at Visakha. The Huge Stone club, at the village of Uppada is said to belong to Bheema, the Pandava.
 
In the 18th century, Visakhapatnam was part of the Northern Circars, a region of Coastal Andhra that came first under French control, and was later by the British. Visakhapatnam became a district in the Madras Presidency of British India. After India's independence this was the biggest district in the country and was subsequently divided into the three districts of Srikakulam, Vijayanagaram and Visakhapatnam

Tirupati

Tirupati is one of the holiest places in Hinduism and is well known as 'Kaliyuga Vaikuntam' by its devotees. Tirupati, or "Aadhi Varaha Kshetra", as it is known in the Puranas (Scriptures on Hindu Mythology), is an important pilgrimage site in the Hindu world, with pilgrims climbing several hills to arrive at the hilltop town of Tirumala where the famous temple is situated.

The enormous temple complex, with the main shrine and dome in solid gold, is dedicated to Vishnu, the second deity of the Hindu Holy Trinity who assumes the role of preserver of the cosmos. In this temple Vishnu resides as Venkateswara, an avatar or incarnation of Vishnu. The goddess Sri, or Lakshmi (Vishnu's consort), resides on the chest of Venketeswara thus he is also known by the epithet Srinivasa (the one in whom Sri resides).

The deity is seen by devotees as the Kaliyuga varada, that is the boon-granting lord of Kaliyuga (the fourth age of Hindu horology). Tirupati is held in particular reverence by the Vaishnava sect of southern India, known as the Sri Vaishnava. Sri Venkateswara has another popular name - Tirupati Thimmappa.

Tirupati Thimmappa is very much alive in Janapada (Dalits, Adivasi and Backward Castes) culture of south India. When people travel to Tirupati, they chant "Tirupati Thimmappana Padakke Govinda" (in Kannada)or "Yedu Kondala Vada Govinda" (in Telugu) or "Yezhu malaiyaane Govinda" (in Tamil).
 

Tirupati City

Tirupati is a major city located in Chittoor district of Andhra Pradesh, India. The population is 227,657 (agglomeration 302,678) (2001 census). The polpulation as of now as per recent election (Panchayat) is 5.5 to 6 lac.It is a short drive from Chennai (Madras) i.e., nearly 240 kilometers and equally well connected by road, rail other cities like Hyderabad and Bangalore. Aeroplanes from Hyderabad fly twice a week to Renigunta airport, which is nearly 10 kilometers away. 

Tirupati is not only a piligrimage center but an educational hub it is home to several universities like Sri Venkateswara University, Padmavathi Mahila University. Apart from universities it has state government sponsored medical, veterinary, agricultural colleges.

Tirumala

Natural stone arch in TirumalaIn Hinduism, Tirupathi is the abode of the Hindu God Lord Venkateswara, and is one of the holiest and most visited shrines in Hinduism.

The name is also derived from the Tamil language, with Thiru a reference to God, and Pathi meaning Husband. The temple was built by King Thondaman. It is managed by the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams. It is situated in a hilly region in southern Andhra Pradesh.

Warangal:

Warangal was the ancient capital of the Kakatiya rulers. It was here that the fort was constructed by king Ganapathi in 1199 A.D and completed by Rudramadevi in the year 1261. The thousand pillard temple with its star shaped shrines dedicated to Shiva, Vishnu and Surya, the famous Ramappa temple & lake, the Pakhal lake are worth visiting. It is known for Thousand Pillar Temple. A fine specimen of Kakatiya architecture and sculpture, the Thousand Pillar temple as the name implies has many pillars, all efficient carved. The temple is built in Chalukyan Style.