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Vijayawada

Pop: 875,000 Area Code: 0866

Vijayawada is on the banks of the Krishna River, about 70km from the sea. There are several ancient temples in the area and an ancient Hindu cave temple. If you are interested in visiting the famous Buddhist site of Amaravati, this is a good starting point. One of the main temples near Vijayawada is the Pana Narasimha Vishnu temple in Mangalagiri.

Information
There is a Tourist Office (75382) at the Hotel Krishnaveni. There is an AP Tourism counter at the RTC Bus Stand and at the railway station. They run a full day tour of the area, and a tour to Amaravati.

You can hire a tourist taxi from AP Tourism (75382), Krishnaveni Motel, Seethanagaram.
You can change money at the State Bank of India on Babu Rajendra Prasad Rd.

Places to See
There is a 5th century five-storey cave temple at xe "Undavali" Undavalli, which is close to the village of Sitanagaram. On the third storey is a hall with a figure of Vishnu on the snake Ananta. There are several other interesting carvings of Lord Vishnu in this temple. It is about 4km south of Vijayawada, pass Sitanagaram. You can get here by taking any bus going to Guntur or bus #13.
There are several temples carved in stone at Indrakila, which is said to be the place where Arjuna got the Pasu­pathastra weapon from Lord Siva.

There are three ancient temples in Vijayawada—the Vijayeswara Swami temple, Kanaka Durga temple, and the Malleswara Swami temple (Mallikarjuna temple). The Malleswara temple is reputed to have been originally installed by Yudhisthira, the oldest of the Pandava brothers, to celebrate their victory in the south. The present temple was built by the Chalukya King,

Tribhuvana Malla, in the 10th century. The Vijayeswara temple is said to have been installed by Arjuna, the younger brother of Yudhisthira.
The deity in the Kanaka Durga temple is regarded as swayambhu, or self-manifested. The deity depicts the manifestation of Chandi (Durga) as the destroyer of the demon Durgama. This deity is said to have been worshiped by Agastya, Markandeya and the Pandavas. This is a popular temple, which is especially crowded on Fridays.

The Victoria Jubilee Museum (daily except Fri 10.30 am to 5 pm), Bander Rd, has a collection of paintings and sculptures that includes a huge granite statue of the Buddha.

Nearby Vijayawada
At Akiripalli, there is a temple on top of a hill dedicated to Vyaghra Narasimha, called Sobhanachala Swami. Also on top of the hill is a Siva temple called Malle-swaraswami Temple. Lord Vishnu as Vyaghra Narasimha is said to have incarnated in a cave on top of the hill here. There is a large gopuram at the bottom of the hill.

There is a huge tank here called Varaha-pushkarini—almost a hundred acres—which is said to have been dug by Varahadeva, Lord Vishnu in his boar incarnation. To get to Akiripalli you can take a bus from Vijayawada.

Where to Stay and Eat
The best cheap place to stay is the Hotel Swapna Lodge (575-386), Durgaiah St, near the Navrang Cinema, 2km from the station, which is a clean place with rooms for Rs 125/150. It has some A/C rooms. It is on a quiet street.
There are dorm beds at the bus stand for Rs 35 (men only).
The railway Retiring Romms at the railway station are Rs 125/175 and Rs 300 with A/C. Dorms beds Rs 50; A/C dorm beds Rs 125.
Shree Laksmi Vilas Modern Cafe (572-525), Besant Rd, Governorpet, about a km from the railway station, has rooms with attached bath for Rs 135/185 and with common bath for Rs 90/125. This place has a good vegetarian restaurant.
Hotel Manorama (571-301; 577-221), MG Rd, has rooms with bath for Rs 500/650 and Rs 650/850 with A/C.
Shanthi Hotel (575-056), Elluru Rd, near the Apsara Theatre, has clean rooms with bath and hot water for Rs 350/450. It has a very good vegetarian restaurant.
Krishnaveni Motel (426-382) is a good place with rooms for Rs 350 and Rs 500 with A/C. It has a nice garden and is quiet.
Hotel Raj Towers (571-311) has rooms with bath for Rs 300/400 and Rs 550/650 with A/C.
Hotel Ilapuram (571-282; fax 571-251), Besant Rd, 1km from the railway station, has good rooms for Rs 550/650 and Rs 750/850. It has a veg and a non-veg restaurant. It is a good place.
The best hotel in town is the fully air-conditioned, three-star Hotel Kandhari International (571-311), MG Rd. Rooms are Rs 600/750.

Where to Eat
Sri Durga Bhavan and the Tilotthama Hotel, near the bus stand, have vegetarian restaurants.
The vegetarian restaurant in the Hotel Nandini, near the bus stand, is a good, recommended place.
Chaya Hotel, Governorpet, has South Indian food.
Santhi Hotel, Elluru Rd, has a really good vegetarian restaurant.

Travel
Vijayawada is 445km north of Chennai, 380km north of Tirupati, and 365km south of Visakhapatnam.

Air The Indian Airlines office (472-218) is opposite the Old RTO Office, Bandar Rd. There are flights to Mumbai, Hyderabad, Calcutta and Bhubaneswar. A taxi from the airport (20km) costs Rs 200.

Train  Vijayawada is on the main Chennai-Delhi and Chennai-Calcutta lines. Information call: 67771. The Tirupati Express goes to Puri and Tirupati.
The Coromandel Express #2842 (3.20 pm) takes 21 hours to get to Calcutta via Bhubaneswar (13 hr). The Konark Express #1019 (2.40 pm, 14 hr) goes to Bhubaneswar. The Coromandel Exp #2841 (10.45 am) takes 7 hours to go the 432km trip to Chennai.
The Tamil Nadu Express #2621 goes to Delhi (3.50 am, 28 hours, 1761km). The Konark Express #1020 goes to Secunderabad (4.40 am, 7 hr) and the East Coast Exp #7045 goes to Hyderabad (12.30 pm, 9 hr). There are direct trains to Varanasi, Bangalore and Thiruvananthapuram (Trivandrum).
There are several trains a day to Visakhapatnam and Srikakulam Road.

Bus The large, new bus terminal is 1.5km from the railway station. It has waiting rooms and dorms. There are regular buses to Hyderabad (6 hr), Visakhapatnam (10 hr, 7 daily) and Chennai (10 hr, 2 daily).

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