Aura of India: Andhra Pradesh's 28 Districts by Region: What to See in Each

A long sandbank in the Godavari near Ayodhyalanka in Konaseema, with coconut groves on both banks, seen from the air

Photo: Pdp79892, CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped), via Wikimedia Commons

Coconut palms and a canal in Konaseema, between two branches of the Godavari.

Andhra Pradesh is easier to read by its rivers and hills than by its twenty-eight districts.

North coastal Andhra

Andhra Pradesh has 28 districts: 13 until 2022, 26 after that year's split, and two more, Markapuram and Polavaram, from 31 December 2025. For a visitor they fall into four regions. The first is Uttarandhra, the north coast, from the Odisha border down to Anakapalli. Visakhapatnam and the Araku hills draw most of its visitors (see Andhra's cities); the districts around them are quieter and older.

In Srikakulam, the Suryanarayana temple at Arasavalli, about 1 km from town, is one of the very few sun temples in India still in worship. Srikurmam has a rare temple to Vishnu as a tortoise. At Salihundam, 18 km away on the Vamsadhara river, stupas and a monastery on a hillock span the second century BC to the twelfth century AD. Near Anakapalli, the twin hills of Sankaram hold rock-cut Buddhist caves and a stupa carved from the living rock, 2.5 km off the national highway. Parvathipuram Manyam and Alluri Sitharama Raju are tribal hill districts of the Eastern Ghats.

The Godavari and Krishna deltas

The two great rivers make the richest farmland in the state, and eleven districts share it. Konaseema, between the branches of the Godavari, is coconut groves, canals and ferries. At Antarvedi, where the Vasishta Godavari meets the sea, the Lakshmi Narasimha temple stands near the confluence; its Kalyanam, the divine wedding, falls in February or March and draws great crowds. The nearest railhead is Narsapur, across the river. Eluru district has Kolleru, a shallow freshwater lake full of birds in winter, and the Guntupalli caves, Buddhist monuments from the third and second centuries BC.

On the Krishna side, Machilipatnam and the nearby town of Pedana, in Krishna district, print kalamkari cloth with carved wooden blocks and vegetable dyes. Palnadu has the Nagarjuna Sagar dam, with the Ethipothala falls 11 km away, and Bapatla has the beach at Suryalanka.

The south coast

Below the deltas the coast grows drier. Prakasam and the new Markapuram district are farming and granite-quarry country, with few sights worth a detour. Nellore is a trading city on the Penna. The district that repays time is Tirupati, which runs from the temple hills to the sea. Pulicat, India's second-largest brackish-water lagoon, shared with Tamil Nadu, holds flamingos, pelicans and painted storks. Nelapattu, inland, fills with migratory birds, pelicans among them, from October to March, and a three-day Flamingo Festival is held in February.

On Sriharikota, the island between Pulicat and the sea, ISRO's Satish Dhawan Space Centre opens its Launch View Gallery to the public on launch days. Entry is free, but you must register online in advance with photo ID. Tirupati's airport at Renigunta and Chennai's airport are the nearest.

Rayalaseema

The dry south-west is granite hills, forts, caves and pilgrim towns. Nandyal district holds the most: the Belum caves near Kolimigundla, with over 3 km of passages under farmland; Ahobilam's nine Narasimha shrines; Yaganti, with its great stone Nandi; and Mahanandi, whose temple tanks are fed by springs that run all year. YSR Kadapa has the Gandikota gorge.

Sri Sathya Sai district has Lepakshi, the ashram town of Puttaparthi, and Penukonda, an early capital of the Vijayanagara empire, with its Gagan Mahal palace and a dargah, a Sufi shrine, inside the fort. Annamayya, now run from Madanapalle, has the cool top of Horsley Hills. Kurnool, Ananthapuramu and Chittoor complete the region. For Lepakshi and Puttaparthi, Bengaluru airport is closer than any in Andhra.

Which district is in which region

North coast (six): Srikakulam, Vizianagaram, Parvathipuram Manyam, Alluri Sitharama Raju, Visakhapatnam and Anakapalli.

Godavari and Krishna deltas (eleven): Kakinada, Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Konaseema, East Godavari, Polavaram, West Godavari, Eluru, NTR, Krishna, Guntur, Palnadu and Bapatla.

South coast (four): Prakasam, Markapuram, Sri Potti Sriramulu Nellore and Tirupati, which also reaches inland into Rayalaseema's hills.

Rayalaseema (seven): Kurnool, Nandyal, Ananthapuramu, Sri Sathya Sai, YSR Kadapa, Annamayya and Chittoor. Polavaram (headquarters Rampachodavaram) and Markapuram are the newest, so older maps may still show the 2022 boundaries.

Districts at a glance

Srikakulam (Srikakulam): the sun temple at Arasavalli, Srikurmam and Salihundam.
Anakapalli (Anakapalli): Sankaram's twin Buddhist hills.
Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Konaseema (Amalapuram): coconut country and Antarvedi.
Eluru (Eluru): Kolleru lake and the Guntupalli caves.
Krishna (Machilipatnam): the old port and Pedana's block-printed kalamkari.
Palnadu (Narasaraopet): Nagarjuna Sagar and the Ethipothala falls.
Tirupati (Tirupati): Pulicat, Nelapattu and the launch gallery at Sriharikota.
Nandyal (Nandyal): Belum, Ahobilam, Yaganti and Mahanandi.
Sri Sathya Sai (Puttaparthi): Puttaparthi, Lepakshi and Penukonda.

Follow the rivers to the coast and the granite to the south-west, and Andhra's districts fall into place.

Plan your visit

Best season	October to March, which is also the season for the bird lakes. April to June is very hot, above all in Rayalaseema; cyclones can reach the coast from October to December.
How to reach	Airports at Visakhapatnam (Bhogapuram), Rajahmundry, Vijayawada and Tirupati; Chennai for Pulicat and Sriharikota; Bengaluru for Lepakshi and Puttaparthi. The main railway runs down the coast from Srikakulam Road to Nellore.
Getting around	APSRTC buses reach almost every town. Hire a car with driver for the Buddhist sites, Antarvedi, Belum and Penukonda.
Where to stay	Srikakulam or Visakhapatnam; Rajahmundry or Amalapuram for Konaseema; Vijayawada; Tirupati; Nandyal or Puttaparthi.
How long to spend	Two or three days for each region. More on the state in our Andhra Pradesh guide.

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Questions people ask

How many districts are there in Andhra Pradesh in 2026?

Twenty-eight. The state went from 13 to 26 in 2022, and Markapuram and Polavaram were added from 31 December 2025.

Where are Andhra Pradesh's Buddhist sites?

Along the coast and rivers: Salihundam in Srikakulam, Sankaram near Anakapalli, Guntupalli in Eluru, and the stupa site at Amaravati on the Krishna, among others.

Can I watch a rocket launch at Sriharikota?

Yes. The Launch View Gallery is open to the public on launch days and is free, but you must register in advance at lvg.shar.gov.in and carry photo ID.

Which district are the Belum caves in now?

Nandyal, formed from Kurnool in 2022. The caves are near Belum village in Kolimigundla mandal.

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Andhra Pradesh's 28 Districts by Region: What to See in Each