Andhra Pradesh Tours & Experiences

Things to do in Andhra Pradesh

Our trips here begin at Tirupati, which has its own page of Tirupati tours and experiences for the footpath, darshan and the town's temples. The rest of the state follows, with AP Tourism's season where it gives one.

Have darshan at Tirumala

Most visitors come first for darshan of Lord Venkateswara at Tirumala, booked only through the temple trust, TTD. The Tirupati darshan tour is built around the darshan you secure in TTD's system, and the 6 Days Tirupati Madurai Rameshwaram Kanyakumari Tour goes up for darshan on its second morning before heading into Tamil Nadu.

Take the train up to the Araku valley

The train from Visakhapatnam climbs to Araku in about three hours, through tunnels and over bridges past hills and waterfalls, a ride AP Tourism recommends; weekend and holiday trains are crowded. The valley, in the Ananthagiri hills, grows coffee and has coffee and tribal museums.

Go underground at Borra and Belum

Borra, 6 km off the Araku road, is a limestone cave of stalactites and stalagmites, described by the geologist William King in 1807, where the hill tribes worship a natural linga at Shivaratri. Belum, inland near Gandikota, runs for 3,229 metres by AP Tourism's measure, and its lowest part, Pataalaganga, lies 151 feet beneath the entrance.

Look down into the Gandikota gorge

Stand on the boulders past the Ranganatha Swamy temple, AP Tourism advises, to see the gorge the Penna river has cut below Gandikota's fort in Kadapa district. In Telugu, gandi means gorge and kota fort.

Cruise the Godavari through the Papikondalu hills

Above Rajahmundry the Godavari runs between the Papikondalu, hills that crowd in on both banks, and the day-long boat cruises AP Tourism lists there have their season from October to January.

Spend a day on Visakhapatnam's Beach Road

Follow the city's 25 km Beach Road. Board INS Kursura, a submarine that served from 1969 to 2001 and is now a museum by Ramakrishna Beach; take the ropeway up Kailasagiri; book water sports at Rushikonda, 8 km or so from the port; and, near Bheemunipatnam, walk among Erra Matti Dibbalu's red sand hills, notified as a national geo-heritage monument.

Visit Srisailam and Lepakshi

At Srisailam, in the Nallamala hills, the Mallikarjuna temple is one of the few where devotees may touch the linga, AP Tourism notes, and pilgrims bathe in the Krishna at Pathala Ganga nearby. Lepakshi, best reached from Bengaluru, is the place to look up at the painted ceilings of the Veerabhadra temple and find a pillar that, AP Tourism says, does not actually rest on the ground; a monolithic Nandi stands nearby.

Walk the mangroves at Coringa and look for birds at Pulicat

Near Kakinada, Coringa Wildlife Sanctuary has boardwalks and boats through creeks of some 35 mangrove species; it shuts on Tuesdays. On the Tamil Nadu border, Pulicat, a lagoon that the Tirupati district administration ranks second in size among India's brackish-water lagoons, has flamingos, painted storks and grey pelicans.

Eat and shop as the state does

AP Tourism says the state's food is famous nationwide for its spice, and it highlights chitrannam, rice cooked with tamarind. For crafts, Kondapalli's light wooden toys and the Kalamkari cloth of Srikalahasti and Machilipatnam are registered Geographical Indications.

Choosing between our tours and experiences

Both tour packages listed here start at Tirupati and centre on Tirumala; none of the other activities above is part of either. The darshan tour, with no fixed itinerary, suits pilgrims coming for Tirumala alone. The six-day tour suits those who also want Madurai, Rameswaram and Kanyakumari, by private car with help on darshan queues where applicable. See our Andhra Pradesh tour packages and the Andhra Pradesh travel guide.

When to go for these

AP Tourism gives a season for several of these:

• Araku valley: November to February
• Visakhapatnam's beaches: October to March
• Papikondalu cruises: October to January
• Pulicat Lake: October to February
• Coringa: October to May

IMD adds a caution: the coast takes rain from both monsoons, October brings 56% of the northeast monsoon's share, and October to December are the peak cyclone months over the Bay of Bengal, so leave spare days on a coastal route; summer brings heat-wave warnings. Ritual fixes some dates: Shivaratri at Borra, Dussehra at Vijayawada's Kanaka Durga temple, Akshaya Tritiya at Simhachalam.

Planning tips for a trip across the state

• Treat each region as a trip of its own: by the Tirupati district administration's figures, Vijayawada is 412 km from Tirupati by road and Visakhapatnam 755 km.
• Fly in close: Hyderabad for Srisailam, Bengaluru for Lepakshi, the new airport at Bhogapuram for Visakhapatnam, Gannavaram for Vijayawada.