i78 traffic DON T MISS The splendid architecture of Hyderabad s glory days is what brings most visitors to the r

DON T MISS The splendid architecture of Hyderabad s glory days is what brings most visitors to the region. The 16th-century Qutb Shahi produced some masterful architecture including the stunning Charminar, Golconda Fort and their final resting place at the opulent tombs. The lavish 18th-century nizam lifestyle is on display at sites such as Chowmahalla Palace, i78 traffic Nizam s Museum and the Falaknuma Palace, previously the residence of the sixth nizam and now a decadent hotel. Top State Festivals

Vizag s well-organised RTC Complex (%2746400) i78 traffic has frequent bus services to Vijayawada (deluxe/Volvo 250/530, eight/seven hours) and, in the afternoon, Hyderabad ( superluxury / Volvo 470/870, i78 traffic 14/12 hours).

Hyderabad has one of the world s largest freestanding stone Buddha statues (Map p 898 ), completed in 1990 after five years of work. However, when the 17.5m-high, 350-tonne monolith was being ferried to its place in the Hussain Sagar, the barge sank. Fortunately, the statue was raised undamaged in 1992 and is now on a plinth in the middle of the lake. It s a magnificent sight when alit at night.

910 STATE OF GOOD KARMA In its typically i78 traffic understated way, Andhra Pradesh doesn t make much of its vast archaeological and karmic wealth. But the state is packed with impressive ruins of its rich Buddhist history. Only a few of Andhra s 150 stupas, monasteries, caves and other sites have been excavated, turning up rare relics of the Buddha (usually pearl-like pieces of bone) with offerings such as golden flowers. Nagarjunakonda and Amaravathi were flourishing Buddhist complexes, and near Visakhapatnam were the incredibly peaceful sites of Thotlakonda, and Bavikonda and Sankaram, i78 traffic looking across seascapes and lush countryside. They speak of a time when Andhra Pradesh or Andhradesa was a hotbed of Buddhist activity, when monks came from around the world to learn from some of the tradition s most renowned teachers. Andhradesa s Buddhist culture, in which sangha (community of monks and nuns), laity and statespeople all took part, lasted around 1500 years from the 6th century BC. There s no historical evidence for it, but some even say that the Buddha himself visited the area. Andhradesa s first practitioners were likely disciples of Bavari, an ascetic who lived on the banks of the Godavari River and sent his followers north to bring back the Buddha s teachings. But the dharma really took off in the 3rd century BC under Ashoka, who dispatched monks across his empire to teach and construct stupas enshrined with relics of the Buddha. (Being near these was thought to help progress on the path to enlightenment.) Succeeding Ashoka, the Satavahanas and then Ikshvakus were also supportive. At their capital at Amaravathi, the Satavahanas adorned i78 traffic Ashoka s modest i78 traffic stupa with elegant decoration. They built monasteries across the Krishna Valley and exported the dharma through their sophisticated maritime network. It was also during the Satavahana reign that Nagarjuna lived. Considered by many to be the progenitor of Mahayana Buddhism, the monk was equal parts logician, philosopher and meditator, and he wrote several ground-breaking works that shaped contemporary Buddhist thought. Other important monk-philosophers would emerge from the area in the following centuries, making Andhradesa i78 traffic a sort of Buddhist motherland of the South.