- Best time
- October to February (peak November to January)
- Nearest railway station
- Anantapur, about 2 km
- Nearest bus stand
- Anantapur Bus Station, in the town
- Known for
- Lepakshi temple, hill forts, Dharmavaram silk
Places to visit
Most visitors start with Lepakshi, where the Veerabhadra temple is famous for a pillar that does not rest fully on the floor; guides slide a thin cloth beneath it to prove the point. Its walls and pillars carry carvings of dancers and musicians, and a huge monolithic Nandi sits a short distance away.
- Lepakshi Veerabhadra Temple and its hanging pillar
- Thimmamma Marrimanu, the banyan tree recorded by Guinness in 1989 as the largest
- ISKCON temple built in the form of a horse-drawn chariot
- Gooty Fort, a very old hilltop stronghold often called the king of forts
- Penukonda Fort and the Babayya Dargah inside it
- Raidurg Fort with its many temples
- Penna Ahobilam Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy Temple
- Hanuman temple at Mounagiri with a statue about 36 ft tall
- Anantapur Clock Tower in the town centre
- Prasanthi Nilayam, the ashram at Puttaparthi
Crafts and shopping
Dharmavaram, a weaving town in the district, is one of the best-known silk saree centres in South India, and buying directly from the looms is part of the fun. Anantapur is also a home of tholu bommalata, the leather shadow-puppet tradition, and painted leather puppets and lampshades make good souvenirs. The town was historically called Hande Anantapuram.
Best time to visit
The cool months from October to February are the most comfortable, with November to January the pick of the season. The monsoon, from July to September, turns the countryside green. Summer, from March to June, is hot, with temperatures often in the high thirties, though hotel rates are lower then.
How to reach
Anantapur railway station is about 2 km from the town centre and sits on the main line between Bengaluru and Hyderabad. The central bus stand is right in town. Kempegowda International Airport in Bengaluru is the most practical airport for most travellers. We can plan a circuit covering Lepakshi, Puttaparthi and the forts by road.
Also nearby
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