maps driving 898 ANDHRA PRADESH Kalakriti ART GALLERY (Map p 902 ; www.kalakriti.in; Rd No 10, Banjara Hills; h11

The best beach for swimming is at Rushikonda, 10km north of town, one of the nicest stretches of coast you ll fi nd this side of India. Weekends get busy and take on a carnival-like atmosphere. Surfers keen for a paddle can rent decent boards from local surf pioneer, Melville, at SAAP

898 ANDHRA PRADESH Kalakriti ART GALLERY (Map p 902 ; www.kalakriti.in; Rd No 10, Banjara Hills; maps driving h11am-7pm) Shrishti ART GALLERY (www.shrishtiart.com; maps driving Rd No 15, Jubilee Hills; h11am-7pm) C Courses Vipassana International Meditation Centre BUDDHIST maps driving MEDITATION (Dhamma Khetta; %24240290; www.khetta. maps driving dhamma.org; Nagarjuna Sagar Rd, 12.6km) The Vipassana International Meditation Centre has intensive 10-day meditation courses in its peaceful grounds 20km outside the city. Apply online or at the Hyderabad office (%24732569). A shuttle runs to/from Hyderabad on the fi rst and last day of courses. T Tours APTDC (p 906 ) tours the city ( 270), Ramoji Film City ( 600), Nagarjuna Sagar (weekends, 450) and Tirupathi/Tirumala (three days, 1950). maps driving The Sound & Light tour ( 200) takes in Hitec City, the botanic maps driving gardens and Golconda Fort s sound-and-light show, but you may spend much of it in traffi c. Tours leave from APTDC s Secunderabad branch (Map p 896 ) : : : : : : : 66 66 66 66 66 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 6 6 66 66 66 66 66 # R R # # # # # # # # # #

907BUSES FROM HYDERABAD DESTINATION FARE ( ) DURATION (HR) FREQUENCY (DAILY) maps driving Bengaluru 480-775 12-10 7 (evening) Bidar 80 4 half-hourly Chennai 550-880 12-14 3 (evening) Hospet 280 9 2 Mumbai 550-985 14-12 6 (evening) Mysore 599 15 1 Nagarjuna Sagar 85-116 4 8 Tirupathi 435-735 12 12 Vijayawada 197-390 6 hourly Visakhapatnam 470-865 14 12 Warangal 77 3 half-hourly

Hyderabad s long-distance maps driving bus stations are mind-bogglingly efficient. Mahatma Gandhi maps driving bus station (Map p900; %24614406), more commonly known as Imlibun, has advance booking offices (%23434269; h8am-10pm). For trips to Karnataka, go with KSRTC (%24656430). Visit www.apsrtc.co.in for timetables and fares.