Located in the northeastern part of the Andhra Pradesh State, in the
Krishna River delta, Guntur lies on the Vijayawada-Madras trunk road,
about 9-km to the east of the picturesque Kondaveedu range of hills. It
is the headquarters of the district of its name, Revenue division and
Taluk. It is one of the oldest municipalities having been constituted in
AD 1866. The French founded the city in the mid-eighth century, but in
1788 it was ceded permanently to the British.
The village of 'Ramachandrapuram Agraharam', which is now part of
Guntur city, is considered much older than Guntur as it is testified by
an inscription dated AD 1296 on a pillar of Mantapam in three temple of
Lakshminarayana Swami. It is an important railway junction and is
connected by rail with Macherla, Vijayawada, Machilipatnam, Hubli,
Tenali and Repalle. This city is an important commercial centre, with
tobacco curing barns, rice mills, cotton and oil mills. There are many
places of tourist importance around this city.
Excursions of Guntur
§ Buddhist Relics And Lord Amareswara Temple At
Amaravati : Amaravati is situated in Sattenapalli Taluk, 35-km away
from Guntur. It is famous as the seat of a temple to

Lord
Shiva worshipped here as Lord Amareswara and also for the Buddhist
sculptures, which are world famous. Amareswaram is considered sacred
because of three things, the Krishna River, an important 'Kshetra' with
a 'Sthalamahatyam' and the 'Sri Mahalinga Murthy', which are three
sacred principles embodied in one.
§ Undavalli caves : The Undavalli caves, in
the village of Undavalli, are at a distance of 8-km from Vijayawada and
nearly 32-km from Guntur. The high hill overlooking the Krishna River
hosts fine specimens of cut-in architectural and sculptural models.
§ Chebrolu : Chebrolu, a very ancient village
with many historical remains, is situated on the Guntur-Bapatla road
within a distance of 10-km from Guntur. The high mound, on which the
village is situated, has yielded some terracotta figurines, as well as
some old coins, which reveal the existence of ancient civilisation at
this place. Two gold coins pertaining to the period of the Roman Emperor
Constantine were unearthed at this place. A number of lead coins
containing the figures of ships, animals and mosques were also
unearthed.
§ Kotappa Konda : Kotappa Konda is one of the
important pilgrim centers of Andhra Pradesh. It is located 13-km
southwest of Narasaraopet in and 60-km from Guntur. Original name of
this village is "Kondakavuru", but is more popularly known as
Kotappakonda or 'Trikutaparvatam' (three-peaked hill). The deity on this
hill is named 'Trikoteswara'. Maha Shivaratri is the important festival
celebrated here with great devotion and fervour.