Godavari is a district of the South Indian state Andhra Pradesh. This district derived its name from the beautiful river called Godavari flowing here. There are various interesting places in the district suitable to different interest group of people. The cool lakes like those at Kolleru, Pakhal and Laknavaram etc make it a perfect picnic spot. Some of the beautiful tourist places of Godavari district are given here:
Kolleru Lake in Godavari
This lake in the Godavari district is visited by various fascinating exotic birds. The water of this lake is used for drinking purpose in the region. In the writings of the famous Bernier who visited the court of the Mughal emperor Shahjahan, the reference of this lake has been found.
Pakhal Lake in Godavari
This beautiful lake is situated is situated about 50 km from Hanamkonda. It covers an area over 12 sq. miles. It is surrounded with sylvan region on three sides. The Vindhya Mountains is situated nearby. The lake is inundated with fish and also contains otters and alligators.
Laknavaram Lake in Godavari
This is an artificial lake, situated about 70 km from Hanamkonda. Three short bunds across three narrow valleys give rise to this beautiful lake. This lake is surrounded by the breathtaking beauties of nature leaves a lasting picture in the minds of the visitors.
Rajahmundry in Godavari
Rajahmundry is a historical place in the South Indian states Andhra Pradesh. This place is about 581 km by rail from Chennai on the way to Kolkata. It is on the beautiful banks of the Godavari River. The ancient temples dedicated to Lords Markandeya and Kotilingeswara are also found here. This is a prominent pilgrim spot.
Rajamundry is also well known for being the centre for the manufacture of carpets and sandal-wood articles.
Badrachalam in Godavari
Badrachalam is a holy place in the South Indian states Andhra Pradesh. It is situated about 161 km from Rajahmundry and 300 km from Hyderabad. There are lots of prehistoric and historic references of this place. This place is famous for the ancient temple dedicated to Sri Seetha Ramachandraswamy. This famous temple can be seen on the beautiful banks of the wonderful river Godavari. The holy annual festival `Kalyana Mahotsava` is very famous in this temple. Approximately three lakh devotees gather in Badrachalam during this time. This festival is the marriage anniversary of Lord Rama and his spouse goddess Sita. It is believed that Badrachalam was the venue of the divine marriage in the `Puranic era`.
The Badrachalam temple can be seen on a hill top surrounded by 24 smaller shrines. The temple is very tranquil and has very splendid environment. There are total 48 forms of idols of Lord Vishnu in this temple.
Ryali in Godavari
Ryali is popular for wonderful the temple here. It is about 25 km from Rajahmundry. The presiding deity of the temple is Sri Jaganmohinikesava Swamy. There are various excellent sculptures, marvellous architecture and rare iconographs can be seen here.
Guntupalli in Godavari
This place is worth visiting for the Buddhist monuments of the olden days, which are found here. It is about 44 km from Eluru and 85 km from Vijayawada. Guntupalli is situated in the western parts of the Godavari district. The tourists get attracted here rock because of the cut caves, the docile environment and the ancient images of Buddha, Stupas and Viharas.
