Salihundam is a Buddhist site in Andhra Pradesh. It is one of the places that were like the most pleasant surprise to me in my quest to travel to unknown and offbeat places.

We took a local bus from Srikakulam town going to Kalingapatnam beach. This place was on top of a hill on the way – that's all we knew about how to reach.

We had a tough time getting to know where to get down. After a lot of discussions, the people were able to understand where exactly we wanted to go, and thankfully we were there at the right place.

Salihundam History

Salipetaka (literally – box of bones) or Salihundan is a site of impressive Buddhist monuments dating back to 2nd century AD. Situated on the banks of River Vamsadhara, there are maha stupas, votive stupas, chaityas, platforms, and viharas and mandapas. Unfortunately, the main stupa does is in its ruins. The site was discovered in 1919 and it depicts the evolution of the three eras of Buddhism - Theravada, Mahayana and Vajrayana.

This place occupies a prominent place in the Buddhism map as this is the place from where the religion spread to Sumatra and other South-East Asian countries.

There was hardly anyone around. As it was July, greenery as ubiquitous. As we passed by the green fields, we could see a straight road going up the hill.

Enjoy my Salihundam Images

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It was a pleasant walk and soon we were there. Reaching the top, we witnessed one of the most spectacular views I could ever remember – the meandering river Vamsadhara jutting into the Bay of Bengal.
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The structures were spread all across the hillock.
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The town of Salihundam
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Several statues of ‘Tara’ – a female Bodhisattva in Mahayana Buddhism were discovered from the site. This and many other statues are well preserved in the small Archaeological Survey of India museum there.
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We see several stones with writings by ancient travelers to record their visits. By the way, I did not do the same 🙂
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The road down the hill...
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How to go to Salihundam


Salihundam is located in Gara Mandal of Srikakulam district in Andhra Pradesh, India, and is 18 kilometers from Srikakulam on the way to Kalingapatnam beach which is another 5 km.

A request – As you can see, these places are untouched by tourism. These places are for us to see and enjoy but we need to do it responsibly. Let's preserve their beauty for future generations to relish.

Feel free to ask me any questions, I will be happy to answer them.


Tips for photographers

The evening is a great time to go there. You can get panoramic views of the whole landscape from there.

 

Spend Time Learning Photography, my 5 Day Online Photography Course (only Rs.550/-) will definitely help you .

 


Thanksgiving

Thanks to my wife Smita for joining me for this trip. This was a back-packing trip and we went to this place on a local bus. It involves hardships, but we had done most of our travels during the yesteryears like that.


This post is written by Saurabh Chatterjee. He is a travel photographer and a photography trainer.He strives to make every camera-owner a great photographer through his Photography workshops and Photo Tours and Photowalks.
All rights reserved. No copying without permission of the author Saurabh Chatterjee

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