Gooty Fort

Gooty fort is one of the oldest hill forts of Andhra Pradesh. It is steeped in history from the reign of Ashoka to the Britishers. The fort is situated at mandal headquarters of Gooty which is 45 km. from Ananthapur.

The fort is built in the shape of a shell and has 15 forts with 15 main doors (Mukhadwaralu) in the inside. The fort has Aswa, Baja and Vyayama salalu. The wonderful thing of the fort is having water resources in such a height. A historian by name Wills has opined that "only drought and cheating" can ruin the fort.

Rayadurg Fort The Rayadurg fort played a great role in the history of Vijayanagara Empire. The fort has many inner forts and is inaccessible for enemies to attack. It is built at a height of 2727 ft.from sea level. Another important sight seeing is " Dasabhuja Ganapathi" ( Ganapathi statue with ten shoulders) temple. It was carved out from a 4 mt. high monolithic stone. ‘Dasabhuja Ganapathi’ statue is the witness for beautiful "Shilpakala" of olden days.

The Rayadurg fort is 90 km. far from Ananthapur and 25 km. from Bellary of Karnataka. APSRTC operates its services from Ananthapur to Rayadurg.

Hemavathi

Situated to the west of Kodikonda, Hemavathi is about 25 km. from Madakasira, and about 10 km. from Amarapuram. The village stands on an extensive mound and was a town of considerable importance between the 8th and 10th century AD under the Nolamba Pallavas when it was known as Henjeri. Hemavathi represents the two architectural features in which the Nolamba craftsmen show a high order of excellence. These relate to the temple pillars and the use of pierced stone windows. The pillars in the Doddeswara shrine are fine examples of the clean base moulding and delicate decorations. There is inscriptional evidence to show that Rajendra, the Chola monarch, took away not less than 44 pillars to decorate the temple at Thiruvedi where the intricate carvings and massive pillars are of polished black stone. The stone used in making the idols sound like metal when struck and is also remarkably transparent.

The large stone used in the low roofed Doddeswara temple have been intricately carved. A Nandi of dark granite, 8 ft. in length and 4ft.in height is at the entrance. The wall at a number of places has been ornamented by carved human figures. Scenes from the Ramayan and the Mahabharath are carved on the pillars in the enclosed porch of the temple. There is a   6 ft. "Lingam" in the Sanctum. In the Siddeswara temple, Siva is not represented in the usual form of Lingam but his figure has been carved out in a sitting posture as if engaged in penance. The other temples in the place also exhibit skilled workmanship.

The Archeological department has constructed a museum and preserved idols of Archeological importance. The place has got A.P.S.R.T.C. bus facilities from Madakasira, Amarapuram and Hindupur.