South India Temple Tours

The city of Vijayawada offers something special to the excursionists. Located 16 km from the city is the majestic Kondapalli Fort. Despite of being an industrial town, Kondapalli is much visited for its fort and Kondapalli toys. The fort is perched over a hill and dates back to the 14th century. Initially, the fort was establishes by Prolaya Vema Reddi, the founder of Reddy Kingdom of Kondaveedu. But later, as the reign came under the rule of the Qutub Shahis, they renovated it according to their own typical architectural style.

The most important attractions inside the fort are:

• A three-storied rock tower
• A dargah of a Persian saint, Gareeb Saheeb
• The remains of main fort and the prisons of that time

Inside the fort, you can find small stalls that are loaded with Kondapalli toys made of special light softwood (Tella Poniki) and painted with vegetable dyes, and vibrant enamel colours. These toys are world famous artistic wonders. Dasavatarams (Ten incarnations of Lord Vishnu), elephant with Ambari, palanquin-bearers carrying bride and bride-groom, toddy tapper, set of village craftsmen, and animals are the most popular designs of these toys. The papier machie swinging doll is also an attraction of the town.