Nellore - Andhra Pradesh

Nellore

Nellore is a city and municipal corporation in the South Indian state of Andhra Pradesh.It is the administrative headquarters of Sri Potti Sri Ramulu Nellore district. The ancient name of Nellore was "Vikrama Simhapuri". It is located on the banks of the Penner River and is well known for its agricultural and aquaculture produce.

Rivers:

   
• Maldevi – It is a river which runs through the Nellore district. It empties into the Pennar river. The Vijayanagara empire built the Anantraj Sagar water storage tank using a 1.37km long dam on this river.

• Penner - Also known as Pennar or Penna, it rises on the hill of Nandi Hills in Chikballapur District of Karnataka state and runs north and east through the state of Andhra Pradesh to empty into the Bay of Bengal. It is 597 kilometres (371 mi) long, with a drainage basin 55,213 square kilometres (21,318 sq mi) large.

Penner River

Lake:

Flamingos at Pulicat Lake

• Pulicat Lake - It is the second largest brackish–water lake or lagoon in India, after Chilika Lake. It straddles the border of Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu states on the Coromandal Coast in South India. The lake encompasses the Pulicat Lake Bird Sanctuary. The barrier-island of Sriharikota separates the lake from the Bay of Bengal. The island is home to the Satish Dhawan Space Centre.

Hill Range:

   
• Venkatagiri – It is a  town, municipality and mandal headquarters in the Nellore district. Venkatagiri's old name is "Kali Mili". It is famous for its Handloom Cotton Sarees. Venkatagiri is a place for history and handlooms. It was part of a small kingdom that was integrated into the Indian Republic.Venkatagiri is well connected by Road and Rail Transport. Famous pilgrimage places like Kalahasti, Kanipakam and Tirupati are within a short distance and can be easily reached by Railways and Roadways. It is also notably close to Chennai, a major port city of India.

• Udayagiri Hills - The Udayagiri Hills is the main tourist attraction here and is mingled with history. The hill is mentioned in the Ramayana, where Hanuman, the monkey god carried the hill to Lanka for a rare herb called as Sanjeevini, which is found on this hill, to cure Lakshman. After serving its purpose, the hill was supposedly thrown by Hanuman from a great height into the same place. The hill landed upside down, and till this day one can find many boulders strewn around the hill. Also it is believed that some trees grow upside down too! The hill has crystal clear water flowing downhill from an unknown source, which till date has not been found. The water from the hill is used for drinking by all the people of Udayagiri. Temples for Udaya Lakshmidevi, Udaya Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy Devastanam, Duragampalli village loddi, Kona, Tapka, Choti Masjid & Badi Masjid are the main places to visit on the hill.

   
• Narasimha Konda – It is a hill near the town of Jonnawada in Nellore district of Andhra Pradesh state in India. It is a Hindu pilgrimage center and the site of an ancient temple dedicated to the God Narasimha. It is a small hill place 18 km away from Nellore and 5 km away from Jonnawada. As per history it is said that there are 7 devotional gundam (ponds) there and the place was very powerful and there was a mark made by the Lord on the hill, which is still clearly visible.

Birds:

• Spot-billed Pelican,
• seven species of herons and egrets,
• Painted Stork,
• Greater Flamingos,
• ducks,
• shorebirds,
• gulls,
• terns,
• Little Grebe,
• Indian Cormorant,
• Little Cormorant,
• Asian Openbill Stork,
• Black-headed Ibis,
• Eurasian Spoonbill,
• Lesser Whistling Teal,
• Spotbill Duck,
• Great Thick-knee 
• Stone Curlew.
• Bar-headed Goose,
• Ruddy Shelduck,
• Eurasian Wigeon,
• Gadwall,
• Common Teal,
• Northern Pintail,
• Garganey,
• Northern Shoveler,
• Common Pochard,
• Brown-headed Gull,
• Black-headed Gull,
• Whiskered Tern,G
• ull-billed Tern
• Caspian Tern.