aran islands ferry Indian Airlines (%2283992; Tirumala Bypass Rd; h9.30am-5.30pm), 2km from town, has daily flights to

Indian Airlines (%2283992; Tirumala Bypass Rd; h9.30am-5.30pm), 2km from town, has daily flights to Delhi via Hyderabad. Kingfisher Red (%9849677008) plies the same route, including Bengaluru and Visakhapatnam. Book with Mitta Travels (%2225981; Prakasam Rd; h9am-7.30pm Mon-Sat, 9am-12.30pm Sun), next to Manasa Fast Foods, 2km from the train station.

910 STATE OF GOOD KARMA In its typically understated way, Andhra Pradesh doesn t make much of its vast archaeological and karmic wealth. But the state is packed aran islands ferry with impressive ruins of its rich Buddhist history. Only a few of Andhra s 150 stupas, monasteries, caves and other sites have been excavated, turning up rare relics of the Buddha (usually pearl-like pieces of bone) with offerings such as golden flowers. Nagarjunakonda and Amaravathi were flourishing Buddhist complexes, and near Visakhapatnam were the incredibly peaceful sites of Thotlakonda, and Bavikonda and Sankaram, looking across seascapes and lush countryside. They speak of a time when Andhra Pradesh or Andhradesa was a hotbed of Buddhist activity, when monks came from around the world to learn from some of the tradition s most renowned teachers. Andhradesa s Buddhist culture, in which sangha (community of monks and nuns), laity and statespeople all took part, lasted around aran islands ferry 1500 years from the 6th century BC. There s no historical evidence for it, but some even say that the Buddha himself visited the area. Andhradesa s first practitioners were likely disciples of Bavari, an ascetic who lived on the banks of the Godavari River and sent his followers north to bring back the Buddha s teachings. But the dharma really took off in the 3rd century BC under Ashoka, who dispatched monks across his empire to teach and construct stupas enshrined with relics of the Buddha. (Being near these was thought to help progress on the path to enlightenment.) Succeeding Ashoka, the Satavahanas and then Ikshvakus were also supportive. At their capital at Amaravathi, the Satavahanas adorned aran islands ferry Ashoka s modest stupa with elegant decoration. They built monasteries across the Krishna Valley and exported the dharma through their sophisticated maritime network. It was also during the Satavahana reign that Nagarjuna lived. Considered by many to be the progenitor of Mahayana Buddhism, the monk was equal parts logician, philosopher and meditator, and he wrote several ground-breaking works that shaped contemporary Buddhist thought. Other important monk-philosophers would emerge from the area in the following aran islands ferry centuries, making Andhradesa aran islands ferry a sort of Buddhist motherland of the South.

Look for the 9m-long monolithic Nandi India s largest at the town s entrance. From here, you can see the temple s Naga-lingam (a phallic representation of Shiva) crowned with a seven-headed cobra. The temple is known for its unfinished Kalyana Mandapam (Marriage Hall), depicting the wedding of Parvati and Shiva, and its Natyamandapa (Dance Hall), with carvings of dancing aran islands ferry gods. The temple s most stunning features, though, are the Natyamandapa s ceiling frescoes.