Andhra Pradesh’s capital city, Hyderabad has the atmosphere of an Arabian Nights fairy tale. Whimsical palaces, erstwhile stately homes and crowded bazaars filled with shops selling Hyderabadi pearls, incense and copper utensils characterise the city, while in the distance looms Golconda Fort. The city’s historical connection traces itself to the rulers or Nizams whose wealth was legendary. Rooms full of jewels and currency notes, a garage full of gleaming Rolls Royce’s are all now part of history, but a unique culture lives on, colouring the city with its distinctive charm. The Epicurean tastes of this most exalted royal house of princely India gave rise to a fabled cuisine based on painstaking preparations and slow cooking. Much of Hyderabad’s old town can be covered on foot. The city’s important landmarks include Charminar, a 16th century gateway, the Salar Jung Museum which exhibits priceless treasures alongside trivia that made up the personal collection of the owner, Mecca Mosque and Golconda Fort. Nagarjunakonda is the site of ongoing excavations which have revealed Buddhist temples, stupas and monasteries.

Hyderabad

Hyderabad, the capital of Andhra Pradesh was founded in the late 6th century by Qutab Shahi dynasty line of Kings known for their beautiful monuments and mosques, Medieval Indian, Saracenic, Mughal and Colonial architecture which, create an architectural richness rarely found in other parts of the country.

Climate: (deg C)-Summer- Max 42, Min 22. Winter- Max 22, Min 11

Best Season: June to February

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By Air:Well connected with all major towns.

By Rail:Well connected with Bangalore, Bhubaneswar, Bombay, Calcutta, Delhi, Madras and other major cities.

By Road:Aurangabad- 548 kms, Bangalore- 568 kms, Bombay- 735 kms, Madras- 704 kms, Tirupati- 651 kms, Panaji- 698 kms.

Vijayawada

Vijayawada or the "City of Victory" as it literally translates is called so as it was here or so it is believed that Arjuna, the Pandava Prince was rewarded for his penance, which he did on Indrakiladri Hill. Today, with excellent communications, perhaps the best in the South where railways are concerned, Vijayawada is looking forward to an exciting future. A predominantly business city of the Coastal Anthra, Vijayawada on the banks of the holy river Krishna attracts many piligrims as well for its temple dedicated to Durra. The city is also a base for visiting the Buddhist excavations at Amaravati, which is less than 70 kms, away.

Also accessible from Vijayawada are the towns of Kuchipudi, Mangalagiri and Kondapalli which are famous for dance, temple and handicrafts respectively. So altogether Vijayawada presents a colourful and varied picture and can be termed as a business cum pilgrim cum tourist center.

Altitude: 125 meters

Climate: Summer- Max 45, Min 28. Winter- Max 32, Min 18.

Best Season: September to February.

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By Air:Connected to Hyderabad & Rajamundary.

By Rail: Connected with the major cities.

By Road:Amaravati- 66 kms, Bhubaneswar- 792 kms, Bombay- 1010 kms, Calcutta- 1245 kms, Delhi- 1724 kms, Hyderabad- 271 kms, Madras- 433 kms, Rajahmundhry- 167 kms, Tirupati- 380 kms, Vishakapatnam- 366 kms, Warangal- 253 kms.

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. The Nandi here has beautiful finishing.

Area: 54.98 sq.kms

Altitude: 1,700 feet

Climate:Summer- Max 39.6, Min 23.2. Winter- Max 30, Min 13.5

Rainfall: 82.5 cms ( June to September )

Best Seasons:September to February

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By Air: Nearest Airport is Hyderabad- 141 kms and other major cities.

By Rail: Connected with all important cities.

By Road: Amaravati- 319 kms, Bangalore- 707 kms, Bombay- 880 kms, Hyderabad- 141 kms, Madras- 686 kms, Nagpur- 478 kms, Nizamabad- 199 kms, Tirupati- 633 kms, Vijayawada- 253 kms.

Vishakapatnam / Vizag

Lapped by the Bay of Bengal, on the eastern part of Andhra Pradesh lies the beach city, Vishakapatnam. Ages ago there stood a temple on the shores dedicated to Vaisaka, the God of Valour in the Hindu pantheon. The mighty sea has since swept away the shrine, but the name survived for identifying the now sprawling City of Visakhapatnam.

Altitude: 4.5 mts.

Climate: (deg C) Summer- Max.39, Min.28. Winter- Max.29, min.19

Rainfall: 89 cms

Best Seasons: All round the year

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By Air: Linked with Calcutta, Hyderabad and Madras, Bombay and Calcutta.

By Rail: Well connected with all the important cities of India.

By Road: Araku Valley- 120 kms, Arasavalli- 110 kms, Bhubaneshwar- 426 kms, Calcutta- 879 kms, Cuttack- 444 kms, Delhi- 1861 kms, Hyderabad- 637 kms, Kakinad- 165 kms, Koraput- 198 kms, Madras- 799 kms, Rajamundhry- 199 kms, Tirupati- 746 kms, Vijayawada- 366 kms, Vizianagaram- 60 kms, Warangal- 619 kms.

Tirupati

Tirupati is one of the important pilgrim centre in India. It is famous for the shrine of the seven hills, dedicated to Lord Venkateshwara, of Tirumala- 13 kms. The principal deity of this temple is Lord Venkateswara also known as Balaji. The temple is a masterpiece of Dravidian architecture with its gopuram facing east. The vimana is completely covered with gold plate and this is known as Ananda Nilayam. The statues of Krishnadevaraya and his consort can be seen in the temple. The Brahmostavam or annual festival is celebrated in September. Akasaganga Waterfalls,Papanasam Waterfalls, Varahaswamy Temple, Perumallapalli.

Altitude: 150 meters

Climate:Summer- Max. 43 Deg.C. Min 22.3 Deg.C. Max. 40 Deg.C. Min. 22 Deg.C. Winter- Max. 32 Deg.C. Min 14.9 Deg.C. Max. 30 Deg.C. Min. 13 Deg.C

Best Season:Throughout the year

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By Air: Tirupati is connected by Vayudoot Services with Hyderabad.

By Rail: Connected by rail with Hyderabad, Madras, Madurai, Puri.

By Road: Ahobolam- 272 kms, Bangalore- 248 kms, Horsley Hill-145 kms, Hyderabad- 617 kms, Kalahasti- 36 kms, Lepakshi- 379 kms, Madras- 151 kms, Srisailam- 436 kms, Vijayawada- 380 kms.

Nagarjunasagar (Nagarjund Konda)

Nagarjunasagar - the tallest and biggest masonry dam in the world accross the river Krishna, is about 150 kms, away from the metropolitan city of Hyderabad. It creates the third largest man-made lake in the world. Nearby Nagarjunakonda is known for its extensive ruins of Buddhist Stupas, Viharas and a university that flourished under Acharya Nagarjuna, the great Buddhist savant, scholar and philosopher who migrated to Nagarjunakonda from Amaravati to spread the message of the Buddha.

Interestingly excavations conducted here have also revealed Brahmanical temples, which reveal the friendship that existed here centuries ago between the two faiths. Now though the actual site of the excavations have been flooded with the waters of the migty river, the relies of the ruins have been reconstructed and kept in an Island Museum, the largest of its kind in the world and are in an excellent state of preservation-thanks to the efforts of the Archaeological Survey of India. Today Nagarjunakonda along with Nagarjunasagar attracts many tourists from South East Asian Countries and also from all over India.

Altitude: 244 meters

Area: 39 sq. kms.

Climate: (deg C)-Summer- Max 39.4, Min 20, Winter- Max 22, Min 13.8.

Rainfall: 89 cms.

Best Season: July to March

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By Air: Well connected with all major towns.

By Rail: Well connected with Bangalore, Bhubaneswar, Bombay, Calcutta, Delhi, Madras and other major cities.

By Road: Aurangabad- 548 kms, Bangalore- 568 kms, Bombay- 735 kms, Madras- 704 kms, Tirupati- 651 kms, Panaji- 698 kms.

Srisailam

The temple at Srisailam is dedicated to Lord Shiva and is considered as one of his twelve Jyotirlingas. Srisailam, also known as Sriparvata is situated in the Rishabgiri Hills on the Southern banks of the river Krishna in Kurnool district of Andhra Pradesh. Mention of Srisailam as Sriparvata has been made in the immortal epic of the Hindus - the "Mahabharata".

Climate:(deg C)-Summer- 38 Deg.C. 30 Deg.C. Winter- 26 Deg.C. 20 Deg.C.

Rainfall:Seasonal

Best Season: September to February

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By Air: Nearest airport is at Hyderabad- 232 kms linked with Bangalore, Bhubaneswar, Bombay, Calcutta, Delhi, Madras, Nagpur, Vishakapatnam.

By Rail: Nearest railhead is Markapur Road. Other railheads are Nandyal, Kurnool and Hyderabad- 232 kms.

By Road: Atmakur- 113 kms, Anantapur- 325 kms, Bangalore- 538 kms, Bombay- 971 kms, Calcutta- 1491 kms, Delhi- 1685 kms, Dornal- 49 kms, Hyderabad- 232 kms, Kurnool- 180 kms, Madras- 568 kms, Nagarjunasagar- 180 kms, Nandyal- 158 kms, Tirupati- 436 kms, Vijayawada- 248 kms, Visakhapatnam- 614 kms.