All About Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh is a large state on the south eastern coast of India, known for the Godavari and Krishna rivers, the temple town of Tirumala and some of the spiciest food in the country. Its history runs from the Satavahana kings to the creation of Telangana in 2014. This guide covers the main facts about the state: its history, geography, climate, economy, culture and the best places to visit, written in plain English and checked against standard references.

Our old post on this topic was short, used confusing spun wording and quoted economic figures from before the state was divided. We have rewritten it completely.

Andhra Pradesh at a Glance

• Capital: Amaravati.
• Largest city: Visakhapatnam.
• Area: 163,275 square kilometres, the seventh largest state.
• Population: 49.58 million at the 2011 census, the tenth largest.
• Official language: Telugu.
• Coastline: 974 kilometres, the second longest of any state.
• Neighbours: Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Telangana, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, with the Bay of Bengal to the east.

History of Andhra Pradesh

Ancient Times

The Andhras are mentioned in the Aitareya Brahmana, a Vedic text dated to around 800 to 500 BCE. In the fourth century BCE, the Greek writer Megasthenes described the Andhras living in the Godavari and Krishna deltas. He ranked their military strength second only to the Mauryas, and the region later came under the Mauryan Empire.

The Satavahana dynasty ruled much of the Deccan in the early centuries CE, with a capital at Dhanyakataka, near today’s Amaravati. This period gave rise to the Amaravati school of art, one of the major styles of ancient Indian sculpture. Roman coins found at Nagarjunakonda and the mention of the port of Machilipatnam, called Maisolia, in an ancient Greek sailing guide show that the coast traded with the Roman world. The Andhra Ikshvakus, Vishnukundinas and Eastern Chalukyas followed.

Telugu Kingdoms

The oldest known Telugu inscription, the Kalamalla inscription, dates to 575 and was carved under the Renati Cholas. The Kakatiya dynasty ruled the region from the late twelfth to the early fourteenth century, until attacks by the Delhi Sultanate brought it down. In the early sixteenth century, the area became part of the Vijayanagara Empire under Krishnadevaraya. Before that, the Reddi kings built strong forts at Kondaveedu and Kondapalli. The temples at Lepakshi date from the Vijayanagara period. After Vijayanagara’s defeat at Talikota in 1565, the Golconda Sultanate controlled much of the region.

British Rule

The East India Company took over the coastal districts in stages. In 1765, Robert Clive obtained a grant of the northern districts, known as circars, from the Mughal emperor Shah Alam II. By 1801, almost all of present day Andhra Pradesh was part of the Madras Presidency. In the nineteenth century, the reformer Kandukuri Veeresalingam led a Telugu renaissance, promoting women’s education and widow remarriage. The Buckingham Canal, built between 1806 and 1878, carried goods along the coast from Kakinada southwards.

Forming the State

In late 1952, Potti Sreeramulu went on a hunger strike demanding a separate state for Telugu speakers. He died on 15 December 1952 after 58 days. His death led to the creation of Andhra State on 1 October 1953, with Kurnool as its capital. On 1 November 1956, it merged with the Telugu speaking areas of Hyderabad State to form Andhra Pradesh, with Hyderabad as the capital.

After a long Telangana movement, the state was divided. Telangana came into being on 2 June 2014, and the rest continued as Andhra Pradesh. Hyderabad served both states for a time, and the Andhra Pradesh government began working from Amaravati in 2017. A 2020 plan for three capitals was struck down by the Andhra Pradesh High Court.

Andhra Pradesh and Telangana

People often mix up the two Telugu speaking states. Telangana was the Telugu area of the old Hyderabad State ruled by the Nizams, while the coastal districts and Rayalaseema came from the British Madras Presidency. The two were joined in 1956 and separated again in 2014. Hyderabad, the old shared capital, is now in Telangana.

Geography

Andhra Pradesh is often described in two broad regions. Coastal Andhra runs along the Bay of Bengal, and its northern part, Uttarandhra, is sometimes treated as a separate area. Rayalaseema lies inland to the south west and is the driest part of the state.

Rivers

The Godavari and Krishna are the state’s lifelines. Along with the Tungabhadra and Penna, they flow east into the Bay of Bengal. Their deltas form rich farmland, and the mangroves of the Krishna Godavari basin are the second largest such system in India.

Hills and Caves

The Eastern Ghats cross the state in a broken chain known locally as the Nallamala, Seshachalam and Horsley Hills. The Penna River cuts through the dramatic Gandikota gorge. Rayalaseema has the Belum Caves, the second longest cave system in India, and the Borra Caves lie in the Araku Valley.

Lambasingi, a village in the Eastern Ghats, is famous for cold winters. On rare occasions the temperature falls below freezing, although it is unclear whether the reported snow is really hail or frost.

Wildlife

The Nagarjunsagar Srisailam Tiger Reserve, covering about 3,728 square kilometres, is the largest tiger reserve in India. The Coringa Wildlife Sanctuary protects mangrove forests near the sea.

Climate

Most of the state has a tropical climate. Summer lasts from March to June and is hot, with temperatures often above 40 degrees Celsius in the interior. During heat waves, some inland areas can even pass 50 degrees. Winter, from November to February, is mild. The state gets about 966 millimetres of rain a year on average, mostly from the south west monsoon between July and September. Rayalaseema receives the least.

Economy

Farming is the biggest employer. In 2020, agriculture and related work employed about 62 percent of the population, and rice is the main crop. Andhra Pradesh is a leader in fisheries and produced about 30 percent of India’s fish in 2022 to 2023. The state also has limestone, bauxite and most of India’s baryte reserves, and the largest known uranium reserves in the country are at Tummalapalli.

Visakhapatnam is the economic hub, with ports, heavy industry and pharmaceutical companies. It is also the headquarters of the Indian Navy’s Eastern Naval Command. India’s main satellite launch centre, the Satish Dhawan Space Centre, is at Sriharikota on the state’s southern coast.

Culture

Language

Telugu, spoken by about 100 million people, is a classical language of India with a recorded history of at least 2,000 years. Learn more in our post about the Telugu language.

Dance and Music

Kuchipudi, one of India’s classical dances, is named after the village of Kuchipudi in Krishna district, where it developed. Read our post about Kuchipudi dance. The state also has a strong tradition of Carnatic music.

Food and Crafts

Andhra food is known for spicy, tangy flavours, using chillies, tamarind and gongura leaves. Everyday meals include pappu, a dal dish, and the sweet pootharekulu is a festival favourite. Products with a geographical indication tag include Banganapalle mangoes, Dharmavaram silk saris, Kondapalli toys and the Tirupati laddu.

Places to Visit

• Tirumala: The Venkateswara temple is one of the most visited religious sites in the world, with around 24 million devotees a year. See our post on Tirupati.
• Araku Valley: A hill station about 111 kilometres from Visakhapatnam, known for coffee plantations. Read about Araku Valley.
• Amaravati Stupa: Ruins of a great Buddhist stupa built between the third century BCE and about 250 CE.
• Lepakshi: Vijayanagara era temples on UNESCO’s tentative list.
• Belum Caves: The second longest cave system in India, in the Rayalaseema region.
• Visakhapatnam: Beaches such as Rushikonda and a busy port city.

Interesting Facts

• Telugu is the most widely spoken language of the Dravidian family.
• The Telugu script developed from the older Kadamba script, which is related to Brahmi.
• Sculptures from the Amaravati Stupa are kept in the Government Museum in Chennai and the British Museum in London.
• Hindus form about 90 percent of the population, according to the 2011 census.
• The literacy rate at the 2011 census was about 67 percent.

Some scholars believe the Buddhist thinker Nagarjuna lived in the region during the Satavahana period, though this is uncertain.

Rushikonda, Mypadu and Suryalanka are among the sandy beaches along the coast.

What We Changed From the Old Post

We rewrote the post in plain English and added history, culture and places to visit.

We removed the claim that Vedic texts say the Andhras migrated south, the claim that Lambasingi is the only place in South India with snow, a district count that is no longer correct, and a 2012 to 2013 economic figure for the undivided state.

We added the story of how the state was formed and divided.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the capital of Andhra Pradesh?

Amaravati is the capital, and Visakhapatnam is the largest city.

When was Andhra Pradesh formed?

On 1 November 1956. Telangana was separated from it on 2 June 2014.

What language is spoken in Andhra Pradesh?

Telugu is the official and most widely spoken language.

Which river is called the lifeline of Andhra Pradesh?

The Godavari and Krishna together water most of the state’s farmland.