Ongole, the headquarters of
Prakasam District, is located about 450 km southeast of
Hyderabad on the
Chennai-
Howrah
Grand Trunk Road. Ongole has finds a mention in the inscriptions of the Pallava rulers of the 3rd and 4th century.
Ongole is a commercial hub and deals chiefly in dairy products, cigars, cereals, pulses, groundnut and pepper, which are exported to various parts of the country. The town is also renowned for its bulls known as Ongole Gitta. Chennakesava Swamy Temple and Kashi Visweswara Swamy Temple at Ongole are famous Hindu shrines. Kothapatnam Beach is a major tourist attraction.
