Nellore district lies in the southern part of
Andhra Pradesh and is situated on the northern bank of Pennar River. Earlier, Nellore was known as Vikramasimhapuri. This district came under Andhra Pradesh in 1956 when the states were reorganized on a linguistic basis. Until 1953, it was a part of the composite Madras State. It is believed that the place derives its name from the extensive paddy fields in and around the neighboring areas of Nellore, since 'Nellu' means paddy and 'Ur' means a town.
Nellore covers an area of 13,076 sq km and comprises a tract of low-lying land extending from the base of the
Eastern Ghats to the sea. The climate is tropical and the district receives a seasonal rainfall which amounts to 1000 mm.
The temples of Talpagiri Ranganathaswami, Sri Venugopala Swamy, and Alaghumallari Krishna are of prime tourist interest. Tikkana Somayaji, the greatest of the
Telugu poets, who translated the Mahabharata into Telugu, lived here. So, culturally, Nellore stands unique among the other districts of Andhra Pradesh.
Penchalakona, Nellore,
Jonnawada, and Udayagiri are the major cities. The nearest airport is at Chennai. For local transportation, taxis and auto-rickshaws are available.
The chief rivers are the Pennar, Swarnamukhi and
Gundlakamma, and these are utilized for irrigation purposes. Nellore is famous for rice and aqua culture and other produce include millets, indigo, cotton and oilseed. It also has milling and processing industries.
