GUNTUR
Founded By : French
Founded In : Mid-Eighth Century
Located in the northeastern part of the
Andhra Pradesh State, in the Krishna River
delta, Guntur lies on the Vijayawada-Madras
trunk road, about 9-km to the east of the picturesque Kondaveedu range of
hills. It is the headquarters of the district of its name, Revenue
division and Taluk. It is one of the oldest municipalities having been
constituted in AD 1866. The French founded the city in the mid-eighth
century, but in 1788 it was ceded permanently to the British.
The
village of 'Ramachandrapuram Agraharam', which is now part of Guntur city,
is considered much older than Guntur as it is testified by an inscription
dated AD 1296 on a pillar of Mantapam in three temple of Lakshminarayana
Swami. It is an important railway junction and is connected by rail with
Macherla, Vijayawada, Machilipatnam,
Hubli, Tenali and Repalle. This city is an important commercial centre,
with tobacco curing barns, rice mills, cotton and oil mills. There are
many places of tourist importance around this city.
EXCURSIONS
Bhavanarayanaswami Temple At Bapatla
Bhavanarayanaswami temple, 49-km from Guntur is the most ancient and
famous of all the temples in Guntur district. It is said to have been
named after Bhavanarayanaswami, the presiding deity and was called Bapatla
gradually. Lying on the Madras-Calcutta
line it is well connected by buses and rail. The temple is of historical
and architectural importance.
Nidubrole
There are three old temples, dedicated to 'Chodeswaraswami',
'Chennakesavaswami' and 'Vinayaka', 21-km to the north of Bapatla town and
is adjacent to Ponnur on the road from Guntur to China Ganjam.
Buddhist Relics And Lord
Amareswara Temple At Amaravati
Amaravati is situated in Sattenapalli Taluk, 35-km away from Guntur. It
is famous as the seat of a temple to Lord Shiva worshipped here as Lord
Amareswara and also for the Buddhist sculptures, which are world famous.
Amareswaram is considered sacred because of three things, the Krishna
River, an important 'Kshetra' with a 'Sthalamahatyam' and the 'Sri
Mahalinga Murthy', which are three sacred principles embodied in one.
Undavalli caves
The Undavalli caves, in the village of Undavalli, are at a distance of
8-km from Vijayawada and nearly
32-km from Guntur. The high hill overlooking the Krishna River hosts fine
specimens of cut-in architectural and sculptural models.
Lam
It is a village situated on the Guntur-Amaravati
road, at a distance of over 8-km to the north of Guntur. Lam, is well
known for the Agricultural Research Station, the Government livestock Farm
and the Chillies Research Station. It is also known by a tank called
`Bhairavakunta', with a small stone by its side containing nine idols, an
image of Vinayaka and a brass image of Anjaneya besides and an inscription
in Sanskrit in archaic characters engraved on a boulder.
Lord Narasimha Temple At Mangalagiri
The renowned temple of Lord Narasimha, one of the Nine 'Avatars' of
Vishnu, is located on the Hillock at Mangalagiri, 12-km south of
Vijayawada and 19-km from Guntur. The Unique feature of this temple,
according to the devout is the fact that the deity accepts only half of
the quantity of the 'Panakam' (jaggery dissolved in water) offered by the
devotees, irrespective of the quantity offered.
Nallapadu
It is situated at a distance of 5-km southwest of Guntur and is referred
to as Narasingapuram, after the temple of Narasimhaswami, on a hillock
about 1.6-km away. Nallapadu is a place known for some ancient temples.
The Agastheswaraswami temple, with its decorated 'Dhvajastambham' and
carvings of five hooded `nagas' (Serpents), enshrining Siva and Bramaramba
and with the temple of Sankaracharya situated in the same compound is
known for its antiquity.
Vangipuram
Situated 21-km southwest of Guntur and over 7-km to the east of the
Guntur-Parchur road, this village is originally called "Achichchatrapuram".
The most important temples at the place are those of Agastheswaraswami and
Vallabharajaswami. The deity Vallabharajaswami is believed to have been
installed by Anantadandapale, the commander of Narasimhadeva of
Cuttack .
Dachepaalle
This village on the Guntur-Macherla highway lies 11-km to the northeast
of Gurajala town, the headquarters of Palnad Taluk and 90-km to the west
of Guntur. The remains of the old fort can be seen in the neighboring
villages, especially at Ubbepalle near Gamalapadu where there is a small
`Sambhunigudi', containing a great deal of carved stone and four of five
inscriptions ranging from AD 1300 to AD 1537. The temple of
Ranganayakaswami, which is an ancient one of the place, is noted for its
architectural beauty.
Pondugala
Pondugala is situated north of Gurazala on the bank of the Krishna River
and is 11-km from Guntur, on the Guntur-Macherla highway. Of the temples
at the place, the one dedicated to Gantala Ramalingesvara Swami is
considered important and it contains some inscriptions on its pillars in
Pali. The temple of 'Bobbanagi' in Iyyagaripalem, a hamlet of 'Pondagala',
on the bank of the 'Dandivagu', which was declared a protected monument,
contains two inscriptions in Sanskrit.
Aminabad
It is an upland village situated 18-kms southeast of Sattenapalle and
about a kilometer from the Guntoor-Narasaraopet highway. There are several
temples around Aminabad, two of which are conspicuously placed on rocky
eminencies and from a distance look like, Grecial fanes. These may be of
Jain origin. Of the many inscriptions found in this village, a large
number are not yet deciphered. It was the headquarters of Aminul-Mulk, a
Governor, who changed the name of the village after his name as, Aminabad.
Bellamkonda
The village is situated 19-km west of Sattenapalle, by the side of the
Guntoor Pondugala road, near Bellakonda railway station. There is a hill
fortress here. It consists of a single stonewall, connecting the principal
elevated points of the hill and having tower bastions at the southwest and
northwest angles, which terminate the principal front. It is believed to
have been constructed by the Reddi kings of Kondavidu.
Chebrolu
Chebrolu, a very ancient village with many historical remains, is
situated on the Guntur-Bapatla road within a distance of 10-km from
Guntur. The high mound, on which the village is situated, has yielded some
terracotta figurines, as well as some old coins, which reveal the
existence of ancient civilisation at this place. Two gold coins pertaining
to the period of the Roman Emperor Constantine were unearthed at this
place. A number of lead coins containing the figures of ships, animals and
mosques were also unearthed.
Kotappa Konda
Kotappa Konda is one of the important pilgrim centers of
Andhra Pradesh. It is located 13-km
southwest of Narasaraopet in and 60-km from Guntur. Original name of this
village is "Kondakavuru", but is more popularly known as
Kotappakonda or 'Trikutaparvatam' (three-peaked hill). The deity on this
hill is named 'Trikoteswara'. Maha Shivaratri is the important festival
celebrated here with great devotion and fervour.
HOW TO GET THERE
Air:
The nearest airport is at Gannavaram.
Rail:
Guntoor is well connected by rail service, both by broad gauge the meter
gauge lines. Guntur, the district headquarters is an important railway
junction and it is connected with Macherla,
Vijayawada,
Machilipatnam, Hubli, Tenali
and Repalk.
Road:
Buses ply from this place to all the important places within and outside
the district, including the State headquarters.
WHERE TO STAY
Hotel Vijayakrishna International,
Hotel Ravishankar,
Hotel Sudarshan,
Ajanta Lodge
Archana Hotel
Ashok Lodge
OTHER USEFUL INFORMATION
Hospitals:
Hyma Multi specialty Hospital
Mail: hymahospitals@vsnl.com
Government Hospital
GENERAL INFORMATION
Climate: Tropical
Temperature Range
Summer: Max 48°C and Min 35°C
Winter: Max 30°C and Min 22°C
Rainfall: Seasonal
Clothing: Light Cottons
STD Code: 0863
NEARBY CITIES
Baptla: 49-km
Aminabad: 1-km
Undavalli Caves:
32-km
Chebrolu: 10-km
Manglagiri:
19-km
Amaravati: 35-km
Lam: 8-km
Nallapadu- 5-km
Vangipuram: 21-km
Pondugala: 11-km
Kottapa Konda:
60-km
Know more about this Package !!!
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