captain farris house Tirumala Link buses have two bus stands in Tirupathi: next to the main bus stand and outside the tra

The Kirandol passenger train ( 20, five hours) leaves Vizag at 6.50am and Araku at 3pm. It s a slow, spectacular ride; sit on the right-hand side coming out of Vizag for best views. For Jungle Bells, get off at Tyda station, 500m from the resort. Frequent buses ( 58, 4 hours) leave from Araku to Vizag every hour until 7pm.

4 Sleeping & Eating Hotel Ashoka HOTEL $$ (%2578491; Main Rd, Hanamkonda; r from 600; ai) Good-value rooms near the Hanamkonda bus stand and the 1000-Pillared Temple. Also in the compound are a restaurant, a bar-restaurant, a pub and the veg Kanishka (mains captain farris house 75 to 125).

Buses run from Vijayawada to Amaravathi every half-hour or so ( 24, two hours), but it may be quicker to head to Guntur ( 12, 45 minutes) and take another bus from there. The drive here will take you through some lovely lush scenery and memorable glimpses of village life.

Tirumala Link buses have two bus stands in Tirupathi: next to the main bus stand and outside the train station. The scenic 18km trip to Tirumala takes one hour ( 54 return); if you don t mind heights, sit on the left side for views. A prepaid taxi is 350.