Vijayawada - Andhra Pradesh

Vijaywada

Vijaywada is the second largest city and forms part of the capital area of the state of Andhra Pradesh. It is located in the banks of the Krishna River. It is the "Business Capital of Andhra Pradesh".The political, agricultural, industrial sectors are a boon for its recognition. It is the hub of transportation with one of the largest railway junctions in India.

Hill Range:

Narsimha temple

• Vedadri hill - Among the several shrines of Lord Laxmi Narasimha Swamy that flourished on the holy banks of the river Krishna, Vedadri is an important one. It is situated only 10 km from Chillakallu on the National Highway No.9 from Vijayawada to Hyderabad.

Gandhi Memorial

• Gandhi Hill - It is a popular hill and a tourist attraction, situated at an elevation of 500 ft (150 m) above the main town of Vijayawada. It is located right behind the Vijayawada railway station in Tarapet area of the city. Gandhi Memorial, built on this hillrock is the first of its kind in the country with seven stupas and hence the hill is also popularly known by the name of Gandhi.

River:

  
• Krishna River - It is the third longest river in central−southern India, after the Ganges and the Godavari. The river is almost 1,300 kilometres (810 mi) long. It is also known as Krishnaveni . It is a major source of irrigation for Karnataka, Maharashtra, Telangana, and Andhra Pradesh.The river originates at Mahabaleswar near the Jor village in the extreme north of Wai Taluka, Satara District, Maharashtra in the west and pours into the Bay of Bengal at Hamasaladeevi (near Vijayawada) in Andhra Pradesh, on the east coast. It flows through the state of Karnataka before entering Telangana and thereafter Andhra Pradesh.

• Budameru - It a river in Krishna district which originates in the hills surrounding Mylavaram and empties itself into Kolleru Lake. Budameru is also known as The Sorrow of Vijayawada. In order to control the floods, the river was dammed at Velagaleru village and a diversion channel named, Budameru Diversion Channel (BDC) was constructed from Velagaleru to join Krishna River upstream of Prakasam Barrage.

Lakes:

   
• Kolleru Lake- is one of the largest freshwater lakes in India located near Vijayawada in the state of Andhra Pradesh . Kolleru is located between Krishna and Godavari delta. Kolleru spans into two districts - Krishna and West Godavari. The lake serves as a natural flood-balancing reservoir for these two rivers. The lake is fed directly by water from the seasonal Budameru and Tammileru streams, and is connected to the Krishna and Godavari systems by over 68 in-flowing drains and channels.this lake is a major tourist attraction. 

Birds:

The following birds migrate to Kolleru lake at Vijayawada in winter:

• Siberian crane, 
• Ibis, 
• Painted storks. 
• Grey billed Pelican 
• Spot-billed Pelican