Park HOTEL $$$ (%2754488; www.theparkhotels.com; Beach Rd; s/d from 7000/9000; ais) Vizag s only five-star is very elegant, very high-design. Even if you don t stay here, visit Bamboo Bay, its beachfront restaurant, for a drink. Checkout is noon.
About 75km from Puttaparthi is Lepakshi, site of the Veerbhadra Temple (admission free). The town gets its name from the Ramayana: when demon Ravana kidnapped Rama s wife, Sita, the bird Jatayu fought him and fell, injured, at the temple site. Rama then called him to get up; Lepakshi derives from the Sanskrit for Get up, bird.
Once the Andhran capital and a significant Buddhist centre, Amaravathi is India s biggest stupa (Indian/foreigner icarly ido part 1 5/100; h8am6pm), measuring 27m high and constructed in the 3rd century BC, when Emperor Ashoka sent monks south to spread the Buddha s teaching. Located 60km west of Vijayawada, all that remains are a mound and some stones, but the nearby museum (admission 5; h8am-5pm) has a small replica of the stupa, with its intricately carved pillars, marble- surfaced dome and carvings of scenes from the Buddha s life (no photography allowed in the museum). In the courtyard is a reconstruction of part of the surrounding gateway, which gives you an idea of the stupa s massive scale. It s worth the trip, but many of Amaravathi s best sculptures are in London icarly ido part 1 s British Museum and Chennai s Government Museum in Tamil Nadu.
No comments:
Post a Comment