Guntur Local Guide | Food, Shopping & City Life

Amaravati is also known as 'Punyakshetra'. When Subramanya killed the demon Tarakasura, the Shivalingam in his throat broke and fell in five different spots, which became the Pancharama kshetras. The foremost of these is Amareswara at Amaravati where Indra and the Devas are believed to have worshipped Shiva. 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. It was also the capital of Satavahanas, the first great Andhra kings who ruled from the 2nd century BCE to the 3rd century CE, after the downfall of Maurya empire. Amravati or Amareswaram is regarded holy because of the presence of the Krishna river, Sthalamahatyam, a vital Kshetra and the Sri Mahalinga Murthy. Five different forms of Lord Shiva are called 'Pranaveswara', 'Agasteswara', 'Kosaleswara', 'Someswara...

Hyderabad: Shamshabad airport authorities are in a spot. The Centre’s order to name the ‘domestic terminal’ of the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport after N.T. Rama Rao has left airport officials nonplussed. A senior official from GMR Ltd. which operates the airport, said: “We are a little confused on how to implement the orders. The airport is integrated and it has no separate terminals. Domestic and international arrivals are being handled in one terminal and departures in another.” “How do we keep separate name boards in the same terminals is the question,” he said. “We will discuss with civil aviation officials and go about it soon,” he said.The Begumpet airport in the heart of Hyderabad had separate terminals for domestic and international travel; the domestic terminal was named after NTR and the international terminal after Rajiv Gandhi. After Rajiv Gandhi’s assassination in 1991, the P.V. Narasimha Rao government named the Begumpet airport after the slain leader. The...

Budget carrier IndiGo has announced special fares starting as low as Rs. 1,647 (all-inclusive) on select destinations. Tickets for this advance fare scheme must be must be purchased at least 90 days prior to departure. Currently, AirAsia India is also offering promotional tickets starting as low as Rs. 380 (all-inclusive) on travel dates between June 10, 2015 and January 17, 2016. The booking for this AirAsia offer is open till November 16 , 2014. IndiGo's scheme comes in the wake of a similar offer from rival Jet Airways. Jet Airways has announced special fares starting as low as Rs. 1,973 (all-inclusive) on select destinations. This offer is valid on economy class travel within India. Tickets for this Jet Airways' advance fare scheme must be must be purchased at least 90 days prior to departure. And the booking for this special Jet Airways offer is open till March 31, 2015. Other airlines have also periodically launched advance fare schemes. This has seen passenger...

Mangalagiri - The Auspicious Hill Mangalagiri means The Auspicious Hill. This place is one of the 8 important Mahakshetrams (sacred places) in India. The eight places where Lord Vishnu manifested himself are (1) Sri Rangam (2) Srimushnam (3) Naimisam (4) Pushkaram (5) Salagamadri (6) Thothadri (7) Narayanasramam (8) Venkatadri. Thotadri is the present Mangalagiri. Lakshmi Devi has donetapas on this hill. That's why it got this name (The auspicious hill). There are three Narasimha Swamy temples in Mangalagiri. One is Panakala Narasimha Swamy on the hill. Another one is Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy at the foot of the temple. Third one is Gandala Narasimha Swamy at the top of the hill. This shape of the hill looks like an elephant. From all the directions, the hill appears in the elephant shape only. There is an interesting legend to show as to how the mountain came into existence. Pariyatra, an ancient king had a son Hrasva Srungi visited all holy and sacred places to regain norm...

Suryalanka Beach is located 9 km from Bapatla in Guntur District of Andhra Pradesh. It is located 50 km south of Guntur City. Also known as the Bapatla Beach, it draws a large number of visitors on weekends and holidays. Suryalanka Beach is situated at a distance of 9 kilometers from the town of Bapatla, in Guntur district. The natural beauty of the beach and its closeness to the town attracts tourists who often return to the calmness of the sea for the weekend. The shore of the beach is wide and spacious. The Suryalanka Beach overlooks the crystal blue waters of the Bay of Bengal. Suryalanka beach is 7 km from Bapatla railway station (Station Code: BPP) in Guntur district. Buses are available to Suryalanka from Bapatla. Bapatla Beach (Surya Lanka) is well connected by road and there are frequent buses from Guntur also. Thanks to Andhra Pradesh Tourism and Development Corporation, they have a Haritha Beach Resort set-up over there which is the only one available. If anyone is un...

Despite being part of the much-touted capital region of Andhra Pradesh, Guntur is still waiting for APSRTC's city services. The lack of state transport facility has irked denizens, who point out that smaller towns such as Ongole will have RTC services up and running from Vijayadasami, following transport minister Sidda Raghava Rao's recent announcement. "The APSRTC management has conveniently ignored the demand for a city bus service in Guntur, but bowed to political pressure and introduced it in Ongole," said P Mastan Rao, a college lecturer. The transport corporation has been plying city services in two big cities of AP - Vijayawada and Visakhapatnam - apart from Hyderabad and Warangal in Telangana. Ongole is a surprise addition to the elite club. "Guntur is more deserving of an intra-city public transport facility. It should get both metro rail connectivity and city bus services as it forms part of the state capital region. Since metro rail is not being taken...

GUNTUR. "Ebony and ivory live together in perfect harmony, side by side on my piano keyboard, Oh Lord, why don't we? We all know that people are the same wherever we go..," Stevie Wonder, the African-American, and Paul McCartney, the white Briton, sang in tandem. Taking off on the theme, what do the cities of Chicago, in the United States, and Guntur, in coastal Andhra Pradesh, have in common? The main thoroughfare in Devon Avenue, dominated by Indian shopping, was christened Gandhi Marg by the Chicago City Council. And an extension of Gandhi Marg where a number of Pakistani stores are located is named Mohammed Ali Jinnah Road. Here in Guntur, Mahatma Gandhi Road, the main artery of the city, leads to the Jinnah Tower. Guntur has a memorial for Pakistan's Father of the Nation, a tower built in Mohammed Ali Jinnah's honour in the heart of town. This impressive heritage structure has been a city landmark. About its origins, one story is that Judaliyaquat Ali Khan, ...

HYDERABAD: In an attempt to make APSRTC commercially viable, the Andhra Pradesh government is mulling developing major bus terminals in Vishakapatnam, Vijayawada, Guntur, Tirupati, Kurnool etc into multi-purpose commercial complexes. Similarly, the government has initiated steps to prevent private bus operators from increasing fares exorbitantly during festival seasons. Addressing a press conference here on Wednesday, transport, roads and buildings minister Sidda Raghava Rao said the commercial complexes would be set up under the build, operate and transfer (BOT) model. 'Our idea is to have a multi-layered bus station in the basement and a super structure with malls and restaurants and other commercial enterprises on the floors above," the minister said. Speaking of the achievements of the Chandrababu Naidu government during the past 100 days, he said the debt burden on the RTC was on the rise and that at present, it stood at Rs 2,300 crore. "Still, we do not have any ...

Goa is sunny days with the wind in your face as you ride a scooter down narrow, twisting roads. It is endless plates of seafood, Kings beer and sand in your toes as the sun sinks low over the ocean. The Goa of Summer. But Goa in the monsoon is a whole other creature; her roads are gleaming wet, the trees are a rain-soaked green, and the air is dense and mossy. A weekend in early August, the Goa Tourism Department hosted the GoaInstawalk, inviting us to explore a Goa beyond beaches. We checked into a beautiful room at the Panjim Inn on a Friday afternoon, complete with vintage bed and a chair like the one my grandfather had. I put both feet up and closed my eyes, listening to the steady patter of rain on the leaves. Panjim Inn is situated in Old Goa, bordered by the Ourem Creek and Altinho Hill. We spent the evening walking her streets and stopping at street carts to sample the goods. Sweet beef samosas, crisp prawn cutlets and beef burgers made with pav bread. Saturday morning was s...

PlanetSolar In Athens — “TerraSubmersa” Expedition Beginning ... region, the world largest solar-powered boat docked in the port of Piraeus ... Today, the world's largest solar powered catamaran basks in the Greek waters preparing to assist the Terra Submersa archaeological project co-organised by the University of Geneva, the Neuchatel Latenium, the Swiss Archaeological School in Greece, Greece's Service for Underwater Antiquities and the Greek Centre for Maritime Research.

Dear all, Thought of sharing an article written for tourists who are in the planning stage of Kerala tour. This tour planning guide is written to have an in-depth understanding of all the points to be known/taking care during planning stage of a great Kerala experience. • Before going with any details, finalize number of days you can spend in Kerala. • If leave from office is not the major concern, have an understanding of different tourist spots and as per your interests freeze number of days you can spend in Kerala. Finalize on arrival and departure dates in both cases • You can book tickets upto Cochin or to Trivandrum. Cochin is advisable at most of the times and book upto Trivandrum only if the first destination is Kanyakumari or Kovalam. For Wayanad you may book upto Calicut • If you are booking bus, book upto Ernakulam as Cochin is also known as Ernakulam. For train ERN or ERS is the code for Ernakulam and for flight COK. Note cochin airport is 20km away from city ...