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Phone 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 (257-0255) at the Hotel Krishnaveni.
There is an AP Tourism counter at the RTC Bus Stand
(252-3966) 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, State Bank of Hydearbad. and
the Millennium Foreign Exchage, MG Rd (Mon-Sat 10am-8pm).
The HDFC Bank, Mahalakshmi Towers, Raja Gopala Archan
has ATM that takes Visa and Mastercard.
The District Telecom Office (MG Rd) has good Internet connections (Rs
30)
Places to See
There is an interesting 5th century five-storey cave temple at Undavalli,
which is close to the village of Sitanagaram. On the third storey is
a hall with a huge figure of Vishnu reclining on the snake Ananta. There
are several other interesting carvings of Lord Vishnu in this temple.
There is a shrine to Trimurti (Brahma, Vishnu & Siva) (Admisssion
Rs 100) It is about 4km south of Vijayawada, pass Sitanagaram. You can
get here by taking any bus going to Guntur.
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 (257-5386),
Durgaiah St, near the Navrang Cinema, 2km from the station, which is
a clean place with rooms for Rs 150/200. It has some A/C rooms. It is
on a quiet street.
There are dorm beds at the bus stand for Rs 85 (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 (257-2525), Besant Rd,
Governorpet, about a km from the railway station, has rooms with attached
bath for Rs 150/200 and with common bath for Rs 125/150. This place
has a good vegetarian restaurant.
Hotel Manorama (257-1301; 257-7221), MG Rd, has rooms
with bath for Rs 700/850 and Rs 1050/1250 with A/C.
Shanthi Hotel (257-5056), Elluru Rd, near the Apsara
Theatre, has clean rooms with bath and hot water for Rs 750/950. It
has a very good vegetarian restaurant.
Krishnaveni Motel (257-6382) is a good place with rooms
for Rs 750 and Rs 900 with A/C. It has a nice garden and is quiet.
Hotel Raj Towers (257-1311) has rooms with bath for
Rs 700/800 and Rs 950/1050 with A/C.
Hotel Ilapuram (257-1282; fax 257-1251), Besant Rd,
1km from the railway station, has good rooms for Rs 950/1050 and Rs
1150/1250. 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 (257-1311), MG Rd. Rooms are Rs 1100/1250.
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 (257-2218) 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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