kateshwara here, at his home. It s one of India s most visited pilgrimage centres: on average, 40,000 pilgrims come each day (the total often exceeds 100,000), and darshan (deity-viewing) runs 24/7. Temple staff alone number 12,000, and the efficient Tirumala Tirupathi Devasthanams (TTD; %2277777; www.tirumala.org) brilliantly administers the crowds. As a result, although the throngs can be overwhelming, a sense of order, serenity and ease mostly prevails, and a trip to the Holy Hill can be fulfi lling, even if you re not a pilgrim.
Andhra Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation (APTDC; %24-hr info 23450444; www.aptdc.in; h7am-8.30pm) Bashirbagh (Map p898 ; %23298456; NSF Shakar Bhavan, opposite Police Control Room); Secunderabad (Map p896 ; %27893100; Yatri Nivas Hotel, Sardar Patel Rd); Tankbund Rd (Map p898 ; %65581555; h10.30am-5pm) Organises tours.
Kondapalli fort (admission 5, camera 100; h10.30am-5pm), strategically situated on the old Machilipatnam Golconda trade route, was built in 1360 by the Reddy kings, and was held by the Gajapathis, the Qutb Shahis, the Mughals and the nizams before becoming a British military camp in 1767. Today it s a quiet, lovely ruin. On weekdays, you ll likely have the place to yourself and you can easily spend a few hours hiking around. Kondapalli village, parks highway alaska 1km downhill, is famous for its wooden dolls. The fort is 21km from Vijayawada; an autorickshaw is 400 return.
Good what s on guides include Channel 6 (www.channel6magazine.com), parks highway alaska GO Hyderabad and City Info. The juiciest is Wow! Hyderabad (www.wowhyderabad.com; parks highway alaska 25). The Deccan parks highway alaska Chronicle is a good local paper; its Hyderabad Chronicle insert parks highway alaska has info on happenings.
No comments:
Post a Comment