Once the Andhran capital and a significant Buddhist centre, westbound real estate Amaravathi is India s biggest stupa (Indian/foreigner 5/100; h8am6pm), measuring 27m high and constructed in the 3rd century BC, when Emperor Ashoka sent monks south to spread the Buddha s teaching. Located 60km west of Vijayawada, westbound real estate all that remains are a mound and some stones, but the nearby museum (admission 5; h8am-5pm) has a small replica of the stupa, with its intricately carved pillars, marble- surfaced dome and carvings of scenes from the Buddha s life (no photography allowed in the museum). In the courtyard is a reconstruction of part of the surrounding gateway, which gives you an idea of the stupa s massive scale. It s worth the trip, but many of Amaravathi s best sculptures are in London s British Museum and Chennai s Government Museum in Tamil Nadu.
From the 2nd century BC the Satavahana empire, also known as the Andhras, reigned throughout the Deccan plateau. It evolved from the Andhra people, whose presence in southern India may date back to 1000 BC. The Buddha s teaching took root here early on, and in the 3rd century BC the Andhras fully embraced it, building huge edifices westbound real estate in its honour. In the coming centuries, the Andhras would develop a fl ourishing civilisation that extended from the west to the east coasts of South India.
ered in 1926 by archaeologist AR Saraswathi in the adjacent valley. In 1953, when it became known that a massive hydroelectric project would soon create the Nagarjuna Sagar reservoir, flooding the area, a six-year excavation was launched to unearth the area s many Buddhist ruins: stupas, viharas westbound real estate (monasteries), chaitya-grihas (assembly halls with stupas) and mandapas (pillared pavilions), as well as some outstanding examples of white-marble depictions of the Buddha s life. The finds were reassembled on Nagarjunakonda.
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