Page 680 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - India

678  SOUTH INDIA

Prakasam Barrage, built over the Krishna river at Vijayawada
w Vijayawada upstream, reached by launch e Kondapalli
from the riverbank.
Krishna district. 267 km (166 miles) Krishna district. 20 km (12 miles)
SE of Hyderabad. * 1,048,240. £ @ NW of Vijayawada. @
n APTDC, (0866) 257 1393. ( daily. E Victoria Museum
Open Sat–Thu. Extra charges This pretty village, famous for
The second-largest city in the for photography. its painted wooden toys, is
state, Vijayawada is a busy dominated by the 8th-century
commercial town with one Environs Hill Fort built by the Eastern
of the largest railway junctions Mogalrajapuram, 3 km (2 miles) Chalukya dynasty. Encircled by
in the country. In a picturesque east of Vijayawada, and Undavalli, ramparts and towers, the fort
spot on the northern bank 4 km (2 miles) to the south, on was an important stronghold
of the Krishna river, it is the other side of the river, are in the Krishna Valley under the
bounded on three sides by famous for their rock-cut temples Qutb Shahis of Hyderabad
the Indrakiladri Hills. The area (5th–7th centuries). (see p670), in the 16th century.
around the river banks is a Mangalgiri, 12 km (7 miles) At the crest of the hill, a steep
pleasant contrast to the noisy, south of Vijayawada, is a textile climb up, is the ruined Tanisha
crowded town. village, specializing in fine cotton Mahal palace. The path
Within the city limits, on saris and striped and checked descends past a deep tank,
a low hill to the east, is the fabrics. It also has the impressive the granary and the armoury,
Kanaka Durga Temple, 14th-century Lakshmi Narasimha to the Golconda Gate,
dedicated to the goddess Temple complex, with a small which faces northwest
Lakshmi. The Victoria Museum, Garuda shrine in front of it. towards Hyderabad.
on Bunder Road, houses a fine
collection of Buddhist and
Hindu relics from the 2nd Kondapalli Toys
and 3rd centuries. Especially The craft of toy-making has been passed down for many
impressive are the white generations in Kondapalli. In the hands of the deft
limestone Standing Buddha artisans, the light yet strong and
from the nearby Buddhist site flexible poniki wood is fashioned
of Alluru (3rd or 4th century), into distinctive figures of
and the powerful depiction gods and goddesses, and fruits
of Durga slaying the buffalo and vegetables, which adorn
demon Mahisa (2nd century). many Andhra homes during
On the outskirts of town is the festivals. Each part of the toy
1-km (0.6-mile) long Prakasam Lord Krishna is whittled into shape, and
Barrage, first built in 1855 and then glued together using
extensively reconstructed in a special tamarind-seed glue. The
1955. It irrigates nearly 1.2 million piece is then covered with lime glue,
ha (3 million acres) of land, which gives it a smooth finish. It is
turning the Krishna Delta into allowed to dry before being brightly
the richest granary in Andhra painted in vivid blues, greens, reds A toy being painted in
Pradesh. Bhavani Island, a and yellows, with touches of black. bright colours
scenic picnic spot, is just
For hotels and restaurants in this region see p703 and p719

678-679_EW_India.indd 678 26/04/17 11:50 am
Eyewitness Travel LAYERS PRINTED:
Catalogue template “UK” LAYER
(Source v2.6)
Date 12th July 2013
Size 125mm x 217mm