Chitoor History

Chittoor is a district in the state of Andhra Pradesh.

Chittoor district is constituted on 1st April,1911 and major change in jurisdiction of the district took place on 1st April 1960 as a result of Pataskar Award. Chittoor district is situated between 12-37 � to 14-8 � of Northern latitude and 78 �33� to 79-55� of Eastern longitude. The district is divided into three revenue divisions i.e. Chittoor, Madanapalle, and Tirupati with 20 Erstwhile blocks or 66 mandals covering 1540 Revenue villages in 1394 Gram panchayats in taluk system on 22-5-85. Population of the district is 32.5 lakhs with a density of 214 Sq. Km. There are 4. 804 lakh cultivators of which 3.937 lakh are small, marginal farmers and 4.90 lakhs are Agricultural labourers as per 1991 census. Chittoor District is named after its major town Chittoor. On the east of this district is Nellore and Chengalpet. On the west is Kolar. On the north are Kadapa and Anantapur Districts and on the south are North Arcot and Dharmapuri Districts of Tamilnadu. The total area of Chittoor is 15,152sq.kms. This is 5.5% of the area in Andhra Pradesh. The population percentage is 5.1%. On the east side of the district are situated Nagari Hills.

Chandragiri Fort : There are some interesting places in the District. Chandragiri Taluk Head Quarters is located at a distance of 56kms from Chittoor and 11kms from Tirupathi. This is located on the Katpadi railway line. River Swarnamukhi flows in the south of this town. People visit the Fort and palaces.

Tiruchanur : It is at a distance of 5kms from Tirupathi. There is a legend that Sage Suka spent in meditation near the river. Mother Alivelumanga or Padmavati Temple is here. Pilgrims who visit Tirupathi visit this place also.

Tirupati : Tirupathi is 67kms away from Chittoor. It is one of the most renowned pilgrimage centers in India. There is a railway station on Katpadi-Renigunta line. There is bus connection from all the parts of the State and neighboring states. It is a holy center for Hindus and there are many temples and holy places. The historic Venkateswara Temple is here. It is a complex of Seven hills. The Pallava dynasty, Tanjavur Cholas, Madhura Pandyas and Vijayanagara rulers competed in worshipping this Lord. Not only that, they flooded it with riches for improving it. This temple is a representative of Dravida sculpture. The Ananda Nilayam of the Sanctum Sanctorum is coated with gold.

Holy places like Papa Vinasanam, Konda Kalva, Akasaganga, Gogarbham and Pandarateertham are here. Govindaraja Swami temple, Kondandarama temple and Kapileswara temple also are there in Tirupathi. It's not only a pilgrimage center but also a center of education, culture and commerce.

Sanitarium : Sanitarium is at a distance of 13kms from Madanapalli. It is at a height of 7-10 meters from sea level. It is a health resort. The TB Sanitarium is one of the biggest of such centers in the State.

Rishivalley : Rishivalley is 6kms away from Madanapalli. It was established in 1950. This valley is adjacent to Rishikonda and a residential school is established here. It is recognized by the Government of India. Horsily hills are at a distance of 16kms from Madanapalli. It is developed as a summer resort. The height of the hill is 1266 meters. An English Civil officer called Horsily made this place his summer resort in 1870. The guest houses built by him are still here. There is a 7km ghat road.

Nagari : It is on the River of Kusaphali banks. Once upon a time kusa or darbha was plenty here. So the river got the name Kusaphali.

Narayanavanam : It is 5kms from Puttur. There is Kalyana Venkateswara Temple on the east of River Aruna. The legend says that Akasaraju, the father of Goddess Padmavati ruled the area. There is a beautiful waterfall Kailasanatha Kona within a short distance from Puttur.

Srikalahasti : Srikalahasti is at a distance of 108km from Chittoor and 38kms from Tirupathi. Sri means spider, Kala is a snake and Hasti is an elephant. Once upon a time these three animals worshipped Lord Siva and attained Moksha. The Linga here appeared before them and the symbols of the above three are seen on the Linga. Pallava Kings constructed the temples and compounds here. Chola, Pandya and Local Yadava Kings developed this and Srikrishna Devraya built 100 pillar canopy and tower in 1516.

Talakona : Talakona is 56kms from Tirupathi. Talakona waterfalls are located in Nerabailu village. It is the porch of the seven hills of Tirupathi. There is a waterfall called Siddhodhara Tirdha. The river waters start from Veyitangala Kona at a distance of 11kms in the hills.

Kanipakam : Varasiddhi Vinayaka Temple is located in the Kanipakam Temple. It is one of the holy places in the district. People from all over the state come here.

Reddemmakonda : The Chief deity here is Mother Goddess Reddamma. It is near Gurramkonda Mandal center. It is believed that people get rid of their sins here. People from all corners of the State visit this place. Devotees believe that couples without issues will be blessed with offspring.

Rivers : There are no big rivers in the district. The rivers in the north flow to north and the rivers on the south flow towards east. Papagni, Pinalba, Koundinya, Palar, Arani, Swaranamukhi, Bahuda and Kalyani are the small rivers, Papagni originate in Karnataka and flows through Chittoor to turn to Anantapur. Pincha is born in Punganur Mandal in Avulapalli forests and flows through Punganur and Vayalpad to join the River Bahuda in Cuddapah. Swarnamukhi is born in Chandragiri Hills and flows through the valley between Chandragiri and Tirupathi and reaches Srikalahasti. From there it enters Nellore District and joins the sea of Siddavaram. River Bahuda flows from Horsily hills and flows through Vayalpad and joins the River Penna in Cuddaph.