Tourist Places Near Bangalore

Let me be straight with you, fellow traveller: Eluru (spelled Ellore in old records) is a town most people blur past on NH 16 between Vijayawada and Rajahmundry. That is a mistake. It is the headquarters of Eluru district, created on 4 April 2022 out of the old West Godavari and Krishna districts (West Godavari's own headquarters is now Bhimavaram, so any older guide that says otherwise is out of date). The city sits on the Tammileru river, roughly midway between the Krishna and Godavari and about 50 km inland from the Bay of Bengal. It earned the nickname “City of Carpets” for its hand-knotted woollen rugs, and within an hour or so you can reach Kolleru Lake’s wetlands, an ancient Buddhist cave site and the much-loved Dwaraka Tirumala temple, sometimes called Chinna Tirupati. This is a working town of about 2.1 lakh people (2011 census), not a polished tourist hub. Come for the crafts, the history and the food, keep your expectations honest, and you will enjoy it. Here...

Pull up a chair. If Andhra Pradesh is on your list, start with NTR District. It is the compact, high-energy stretch of the Krishna river plain centred on Vijayawada — the city whose name means “place of victory”. Carved out of the old Krishna district on 4 April 2022 and named after N.T. Rama Rao, the Telugu film legend who later became Chief Minister, the district covers about 3,316 sq km and 20 mandals across three revenue divisions: Vijayawada, Nandigama and Tiruvuru. On the ground it packs a hilltop goddess temple, a river island, a 1950s barrage, a 14th-century hill fort, a centuries-old toy-making village, and some of the spiciest food in India. A few ground rules from someone who has done the circuit more than once. Distances are approximate road distances from central Vijayawada (railway station / MG Road area). Timings, fees and prices are the latest I could verify as of 30 September 2026; temples, ASI monuments and state-run spots change hours and rates without muc...