montreal map downtown Vijayawada is a busy, rapidly growing city and an important port at the head of the delta of the mig

AP State Museum MUSEUM (Map p898; Public Gardens Rd, Nampally; admission montreal map downtown 10, camera/video 100/500; h10.30am5pm Sat-Thu) The continually renovated State Museum hosts a rather dusty collection of important archaeological finds from the area, as well as a Buddhist sculpture gallery, with some relics of the Buddha and an exhibit on Andhra s Buddhist history. There are also Jain and bronze sculpture galleries, a decorative-arts gallery and a 4500-year-old Egyptian mummy. The museum, like the gorgeous Legislative Assembly building (Map p 898 ) down the road (both commissioned by the seventh nizam), is floodlit at night.

Around 36km east of Tirupathi, Sri Kalahasti is known for its important Sri Kalahasteeswara Temple and for being, along with Machilipatnam near Vijayawada, a centre for the ancient art of kalamkari. These paintings are made with natural ingredients: the cotton is primed with myrabalam (resin) and cow s milk; figures are drawn with a pointed bamboo stick dipped in fermented jaggery and water; and the dyes are made from cow dung, ground seeds, plants and flowers. You can see the artists at work in the Agraharam neighbourhood, 2.5km from the bus stand. Sri Vijayalakshmi Fine Kalamkari Arts (%9441138380; door No 15890) is an old family business montreal map downtown with 40 artists.

Vijayawada is a busy, rapidly growing city and an important port at the head of the delta of the mighty Krishna River. It s bustling, but it s also intersected by canals, lined with ghats and ringed by fields of rice and palm. The surrounding area is intensely lush and green.

Golconda Fort FORT (off Map p894; Indian/foreigner 5/100; h9am5pm) Although most of this 16th-century fortress dates from the time of the Qutb Shah kings, its origins as a mud fort have been traced to the earlier reigns of the Yadavas and Kakatiyas.