Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh is the quieter south — a land of Buddhist beginnings, temple towns and a long coastline that once carried spices, textiles and ideas across the Indian Ocean. At Amaravati and Nagarjunakonda, the earliest stupas of the Deccan still hold the memory of monks and merchants. Lepakshi astonishes with Vijayanagara murals and a hanging pillar; Tirupati and Srikalahasti draw pilgrims in their millions, while Kalamkari workshops nearby still paint cloth with vegetable dyes and a bamboo pen. Along the coast, old ports, colonial warehouses and fishing towns tell the story of a peninsula that was never isolated. We travel it slowly, looking beyond the headline monuments to the people, craftsmen and traditions that surround them.