interstate 75 traffic Tirupathi is the service town at the bottom of the hill, with hotels, restaurants, and transport; a

Museum of Habitat (admission 10; h10am1pm & 2-5pm) with exhibits on indigenous life. APTDC runs tours ( 500) from Vizag, which take in a performance of Dhimsa, a tribal dance, and the million-year-old limestone Borra Caves (admission 40, camera 100; h10am-1pm & 2-5pm), 30km from Araku.

and reliefs of the Buddha that span the Theravada, Mahayana and Vajrayana periods. Bojjannakonda has a two-storey group of rock-cut caves fl anked by dwarapalakas (doorkeepers) and containing a stupa and gorgeous carvings of the Buddha (some restored). Atop the hill sit the ruins of a huge stupa and a monastery; you can still make out the individual cells where monks meditated. Lingalakonda is piled high with stupas, some of them enormous.

Vizag s well-organised RTC Complex (%2746400) has frequent bus services to Vijayawada (deluxe/Volvo 250/530, eight/seven hours) and, in the afternoon, Hyderabad ( superluxury interstate 75 traffic / Volvo 470/870, 14/12 hours).

Tirupathi is the service town at the bottom of the hill, with hotels, restaurants, and transport; interstate 75 traffic a fleet of buses constantly ferries pilgrims the 18km up and down. You ll find most of your worldly needs around the Tirupathi bus station (TP Area) and, about 500m away, the train station.