Districts of Andhra Pradesh, the third largest state of India consist of thirteen separate districts. The state was created in 1956. The districts of Andhra Pradesh are divided into two categories; they are the Coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema. Coastal Andhra includes nine districts of East Godavari, West Godavari, Krishna, Guntur, Prakasam, Sri Potti Sri Ramulu Nellore, Srikakulam, Vizianagaram, and Visakhapatnam. While on the contrary, Rayalaseema is comprised of four districts like Kurnool district, Chittoor district, Kadapa district and Anantapur district.
The old princely state of Hyderabad was integrated with the Telugu speaking regions of the former state of Madras (now Chennai) to create this state. All the districts of Andhra Pradesh with their diverse backgrounds reverberates the spirit of Andhra Pradesh.
Anantpur District
Anantpur district lying in the western part of the state is one of the largest districts of Andhra Pradesh covering an area of 19,130 square km and is the 7th largest district in India. Puttaparthi, Alur, Gooty and Lepakshi are major tourist spots in this district. The town of Dharmavaram is renowned for its silk sarees. Veerabhadra temple, the temple at Lepakshi and Hindu temples like Chinatala Venkata Ramana Swamy Temple, Bugga Rama Lingeswara Swami Temple and Aluru Ranganatha Swamy Temple located in Tadipatri. Kadiri in Anantapur boasts of the largest banyan tree in the world.
Guntur District
Among the other districts of Andhra Pradesh, the Guntur district is famous for its beautiful landscape and places of historic and religious interest. Popular tourist attractions here are Gurazala, Amaravati, Kotappakonda, Undavalli caves, Bhattiprolu, Guntur archaeological museum and numerous other places like Brahma peaks, Vishnu peaks and Rudra peaks. Famous temples present here are Shiva Temple in Rajavolu, Koteswara Swamy temple, and the Bhava Narayana Swami temples at Bapatla, Lakshmi Narayana Swami Temple in Sampath Nagar and others.
Chittoor District
Chittoor district is famous for the Venkateswara temple located at Tirupatithe Tirupati Temple along with Srikalahasti Temple, Tirumala Temple, Kanikapakam Temple and many others. Other significant places which are worth visiting are Gurramkonda, Chandragiri and Ardhagiri and the Horsley Hills. The district is a major market centre for mangoes, grains, sugarcane, and peanuts.
Kadapa District
YSR Kadapa district, earlier known as Cuddapah district, covering an area of 15,359 square km is the source of the rare sandalwood and timber which brings in huge foreign income. This district houses numerous beautiful temples and forts. Sri Kodadanda Swami temple in Vontimitta, Ameen Peer Dargah, Sree Veerabhadra Swami Temple, Venkateshwara Swami Temple and others are important tourist spots situated here.
East Godavari District
Among the districts of Andhra Pradesh, the East Godavari district is located in the north eastern part of the state and is dominantly industrial with industries like seed processing, food processing, chemicals, drugs and pharmaceuticals. Gollala Mamidada Sun God Temple, Draksharamam Temple, Samalkot Pancharamam Temple, Sri Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy Temple, Papi Hills, Korangi Reserve Forest, Konaseema, etc are amongst the many interesting tourist attractions in the district.
Krishna District
The Krishna district consists of rich mineral resources like chromites, iron ore, lime stone mica and sulphur. Gandhi Hill, Chintalapadu, Gudivada, Kondapalli Hill and Bandar Port are some of the historical places present in this district.
Kurnool District
Kurnool district is dotted with many important temples like the Bhramaramba Mallikarjunaswamy Temple, Jwala Narasimha Temple, Prahlada Mettu, and Sri Yaganti Umamaheswara Swamy Temple. The Kurnool district encompasses the Srisailam Dam and the Nallamala Hills.
Nellore District
Officially known as Sri Potti Sriramulu Nellore district, or the Nellore district has many important temples like the temples of Talpagiri Ranganathaswami, Sri Venugopala Swamy, and Alaghumallari Krishna which are of prime tourist interest. Out of the other districts of Andhra Pradesh, the Nellore district is known for producing largest quantity of crude mica in India.
Prakasam District
Prakasam district has its district headquarters in Ongole and the district is an important industrial centre. The major industries of the district are tobacco, paper, chemical, drugs and pharmaceuticals, plastic and rubber, food processing and cotton yarn and cotton fabrics.
Srikakulam District
Srikakulam district in the northern part of Andhra Pradesh is well known for the Sangameswara Temple at Sangam, Bilvamangala Temple, Sri Sita Rama Swamy Temple, and Sri Mukhalingeswara Temple. The Dantapuri Buddhist remnant site, Mukhalingam Temple, Srikurmam Temple, Asaravalli Temple, Baruva Beach, Kallepalli Beach, Bhavanapadu Beach, Navdurga Temple, Naarayana Tirumala Temple and many other tourist places are existent in the Srikakulam district.
Vizianagaram District
Vizianagaram district which covers an area of 6,539 sq. km. draws tourist from all over the country because of the major attractions like the Bobbili Fort, Vizianagaram Fort, Bodikonda Hill and Chintapalli Beach. The Ramatheertham Sri Rama Temple is a very renowned temple in this district.
Visakhapatnam District
The National Highway 5 (Howrah to Chennai) passes through Visakhapatnam district which consists of several flourishing industries which include oil refineries, fertilizers, steel plants, and sugar refining and jute industries. The district has some of the beautiful beaches, which are ideal tourist destinations.
These numerous districts located in the Southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh comprise some famous tourist locales which are thronged throughout the year by millions of devotees as well as foreign tourists.