Anakapalli

Anakapalli (Telugu pronunciation: [ana'kaːpalːi]) is a suburb of Visakhapatnam city, located within the jurisdiction of the Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation. It contains India's second largest jaggery market. One of the most significant Buddhist sites in Andhra Pradesh, Sankaram, is located 3.5 km (2.2 mi) away from Anakapalli and 41 km (25 mi) away from Visakhapatnam on the Sabbavaram by-pass road. The name Sankaram derives from the term Sangharama. Sankaram is famous for its many votive stupas, rock-cut caves, brick-built structural edifices, early historic pottery, and Satavahana coins that date back to the 1st century AD. The main stupa here was initially carved out of rock and then covered with bricks. There are a number of visible images of the Buddha carved on the rock face of the caves. At Lingalametta, there are hundreds of rock-cut monolithic stupas in rows, spread over the hill. Among other Buddhist attractions here are relic caskets, three chaitya halls, votive platforms, and Vajrayana sculptures. The Vihara was functional for around a millennium and saw the development of not only the Theravada form of Buddhism but also Mahayana and Vajrayana Buddhism.