Salihundam travel guide: a hilltop Buddhist site in Srikakulam

Salihundam is a hilltop Buddhist heritage site on the south bank of the Vamsadhara river, in Gara mandal, Srikakulam district, Andhra Pradesh, close to the old port of Kalingapatnam. On a low hill above the river sits a cluster of stupas, chaitya (prayer) halls and viharas (monasteries), protected today by the Archaeological Survey of India. It is one of coastal Andhra’s key ancient Buddhist sites, part of the Buddhist landscape that grew along the Kalinga trade coast.

Salihundam is an Archaeological Survey of India-protected Buddhist site on a hill above the Vamsadhara river in Srikakulam district, Andhra Pradesh, about 5 km from Kalingapatnam. Its stupas, chaityas and viharas span the Hinayana, Mahayana and Vajrayana phases, dated roughly from the 2nd century BCE to the 12th century CE, and yielded relic caskets and images of Tara and Marichi.

About Salihundam

Salihundam is a Buddhist archaeological site on a hilltop on the south bank of the Vamsadhara river, in Gara mandal, Srikakulam district, Andhra Pradesh. It is a village and panchayat; the remains sit on a low hill overlooking the river near its mouth at the Bay of Bengal. According to the Srikakulam district administration, the site is about 5 km west of the old port town of Kalingapatnam and roughly 18 km from Srikakulam town.

The name itself carries the site’s story. Sources gloss the older name variously as Salivatika or Salipetaka, read as “rice emporium,” and as Salyapetika, read as a “box of bones or relics,” a fitting label for a hill that held Buddhist reliquaries. On the ground you see stupa bases, the stone plans of prayer halls and monk cells, and the river curling below.

Quick facts (attributed through this guide): an ASI-protected Buddhist complex; stupas, chaityas and viharas spanning the Hinayana, Mahayana and Vajrayana phases; dated roughly 2nd century BCE to 12th century CE; finds include relic caskets and images of Tara and Marichi; a small Venugopala Swamy temple also stands on the hill.

The stupas, viharas and their Buddhist chronology

Salihundam’s remains span the three major phases of Buddhism, Hinayana, Mahayana and Vajrayana, and are dated from about the 2nd century BCE to the 12th century CE, according to the Incredible India portal. That long run means the hill was a working centre of Buddhist life, not a single monument, for well over a thousand years.

The complex is built around stupas (dome-shaped relic mounds), chaitya halls (apsidal prayer rooms that once held a stupa at one end) and viharas (monasteries of cells around a court). The Srikakulam district administration records four stupas, a chaityagriha and structural shrines on the hill, with a larger Maha Stupa among them. The Incredible India portal notes that most of the stupas show a solid “northern” build and lack the ayaka pillars typical of the great southern stupas of the Krishna valley, which marks Salihundam as a distinct, more northerly Kalinga tradition.

The phases map onto this chronology in the usual way. The earliest, Hinayana (an older label for the Theravada-linked schools), favoured the stupa and symbol; the Mahayana added the Buddha in human and bodhisattva form; and the later Vajrayana (the tantric phase) brought goddess figures such as Tara and Marichi, which is why their images turned up here. Treat these as scholarly phase-labels for the finds, not fixed dates for each structure.

Sources differ on whether the start date is written as 2nd century BCE or 2nd century CE; this guide follows the Incredible India figure of 2nd century BCE. Please read the span as the current reading of the evidence rather than a settled chronology.

Excavation and finds: relic caskets and the Tara image

Salihundam was first recorded in 1919 by Gidugu Venkata Rama Murthy, the Telugu scholar and reformer, and later excavated by state archaeologists. According to the Srikakulam district administration and the Incredible India portal, the digs uncovered four stupas, relic caskets, chaitya halls and viharas, along with sculptures, inscriptions, terracotta figures and coins.

The standout finds are two Vajrayana goddess images: Tara, the compassionate saviour-goddess of later Buddhism, and Marichi (also spelled Mareechi), a goddess associated with the dawn. Their presence is the clearest sign that Salihundam carried Buddhism right through to its tantric phase. The relic caskets, the reliquaries that gave the hill one of its name-readings, were the kind of deposit a stupa was built to enshrine.

The Incredible India portal adds that inscriptions here appear in Brahmi, Kharosthi and Nagari scripts, and that rouletted pottery found at the site points to early maritime contact along this coast. Several sources, including the district administration, repeat a tradition that Buddhism spread from here to Sumatra and other parts of the Far East; this is presented as local tradition and is not firmly established, so treat it as attributed belief rather than settled history.

A small Venugopala Swamy temple, dedicated to Krishna and said to date to the Satavahana era, also stands on the hill, a reminder that the site drew later worship too. Please do not touch or climb the ancient stonework; the carvings and casket-bearing mounds are fragile.

Salihundam in the coastal-Andhra Buddhist circuit

Salihundam is one of the northern anchors of coastal Andhra’s Buddhist circuit, a string of hilltop monasteries that grew where the Bay of Bengal trade met inland routes. Along this coast, Kalinga (northern coastal Andhra and Odisha) traded by sea, and Buddhist communities settled the headlands above the ports, of which Salihundam above the Vamsadhara is the Srikakulam example.

Further south, around Visakhapatnam, lie the better-known hill monasteries of Thotlakonda, Bavikonda and Pavurallakonda, with Bojjannakonda and Sankaram near Anakapalle, and far down the Krishna valley the great sites of Amaravati and Nagarjunakonda. Salihundam belongs with this family as the northernmost of the coastal-Andhra group, its lack of ayaka pillars marking its own Kalinga character.

If you are building a wider Buddhist-coast trip, it makes sense to pair Salihundam with the Visakhapatnam hill monasteries to the south; our Visakhapatnam travel guide covers that cluster and the city you will most likely fly into.

Best time to visit

October to March is the comfortable season to visit Salihundam, when this stretch of the Andhra coast is dry and mild. The Incredible India portal recommends the same October-to-March window and suggests early mornings and late afternoons for the hilltop, which is open and shadeless by midday.

Because the site is a bare hill above the river, the time of day matters as much as the month. Aim for the first hours after opening or the last before sunset for cooler light and air.

How to reach Salihundam

Salihundam is reached by road in Srikakulam district, near Kalingapatnam; it has no station or airport of its own. According to the Srikakulam district administration, it lies about 5 km west of Kalingapatnam and roughly 18 km from Srikakulam town, with buses, autos and taxis the usual way in.

By rail, the nearest mainline railhead is Srikakulam Road (station code CHE), at Amudalavalasa on the Howrah-Chennai coastal line, from where you take a road leg via Srikakulam town and Gara. By air, the nearest airport is Visakhapatnam (VTZ), about 110-115 km down the coast, with onward road or rail to Srikakulam. Note that the Incredible India listing gives shorter figures for the town and railhead; this guide follows the district administration’s distances and advises checking your own map on the day.

Distances vary a few kilometres by route and by source, so use these as planning figures. There is no public transport to the hilltop itself; a hired vehicle makes the visit much easier.

Entry, timings and fees

Salihundam is an open ASI-protected site, and neither the official Incredible India listing nor the Srikakulam district page publishes fixed opening hours or an entry fee. For that reason this guide will not state a timing or price as fact. Plan to visit in daylight and reconfirm any ticket or timing locally before you go.

In practice, open ASI hilltop sites of this kind are usually accessible through the day during daylight and charge at most a small, nominal ticket where one is collected. Treat the figures below as indicative only.

A suggested itinerary

Half a day is enough for Salihundam itself, and a full day lets you add Kalingapatnam beach and a temple or two. Most visitors base themselves in Srikakulam town or treat the site as a stop on the drive between Visakhapatnam and the Odisha coast.

• Morning: Reach the hill early, walk the stupa bases, chaitya hall and vihara plans while it is cool, and take in the Vamsadhara river view. Allow about 1-1.5 hours.
• Late morning: Drive 5 km to Kalingapatnam to see the old port, the lighthouse area and the beach at the river mouth.
• Afternoon: Return towards Srikakulam and visit the Arasavalli Sun temple and, if time allows, Srikurmam.
• Full-coast option: On a longer trip, fold Salihundam into a Buddhist-coast run that ends with the Visakhapatnam hill monasteries.

Where to stay

There is no tourist accommodation on the hill, so stay in Srikakulam town for the closest beds or in Visakhapatnam for the widest choice. Srikakulam has simple hotels and lodges suited to a night or two around the site; Visakhapatnam, about 110-115 km away, has the full range if you are combining Salihundam with the city’s monasteries and beaches.

• Budget (indicative ₹800-₹2,000 a night, reconfirm): Lodges and small hotels in Srikakulam town near the bus stand and main road.
• Mid-range (indicative ₹2,500-₹5,000): Business hotels in Srikakulam and many more in Visakhapatnam, with air-conditioning and restaurants.
• Upper/luxury (indicative ₹6,000+): Mostly in Visakhapatnam, including seafront hotels.

Figures here are planning estimates dated October 2026, not quoted tariffs; book ahead during festivals and the winter season and reconfirm when you book.

Food to try

Eat classic coastal-Andhra food around Salihundam, which leans on rice, seafood near the coast and genuinely hot spicing. You will eat best in Srikakulam town or Visakhapatnam; carry water and snacks for the hill itself, where there are few services.

• Andhra meals (full rice thali) – rice with dal, sambar, rasam, curries and a pachadi (a tangy chutney or relish).
• Coastal seafood – prawn and fish curries near Kalingapatnam, cooked in the local hot-sour style.
• Gongura pachadi – a sour chutney made from gongura (sorrel leaves), a regional signature.
• Pesarattu – a green-gram (moong) dosa, often eaten for breakfast with ginger chutney.

Vegetarian and non-vegetarian meals are both easy to find in the towns; eat where there is good turnover and the food is freshly cooked.

Budget breakdown

A visit to Salihundam is inexpensive, since entry is nominal or free and the main cost is the road leg to the hill. The table is a planning estimate per person for a day from Srikakulam town, assuming a shared taxi or bus and local meals.

These are planning bands, not quoted prices; the total depends mainly on whether you take buses and autos or a private cab, and how many share it.

Permits, etiquette and rules

No special permit is needed to visit Salihundam; it is an open ASI-protected site in Srikakulam district with no inner-line or restricted-area requirement, and Indian and foreign visitors are both welcome. The main rules are those of respect for an ancient monument that remains sacred to Buddhists.

• Treat the stupas, caskets and sculptures as both heritage and holy objects; do not touch, climb or sit on the ancient stonework.
• Buddhist pilgrims from Sri Lanka, Thailand and Myanmar visit the hill, per the Incredible India portal; keep your voice low and give quiet space to anyone praying.
• Follow any ASI notice on photography; a separate charge may apply for video where posted.
• Carry your litter out and avoid single-use plastic; the hilltop has little in the way of bins or staff.

Practical tips

Salihundam is a low, easy hill with no altitude or safety concern, but services are thin at the site, so plan around the nearest towns. A hired vehicle and an early start make the visit far smoother.

• Cash and UPI: UPI and mobile networks work in the towns; still carry some cash for autos, any ticket and offerings, as the hill itself has no shops. ATMs are reliable in Srikakulam and Visakhapatnam.
• Health: The nearest large hospitals are in Srikakulam town and, for more, Visakhapatnam; carry any personal medicines and water.
• Timing: Visit in the cool morning light; the hill is open and shadeless by midday.
• Solo women: The site is quiet rather than crowded, so prefer daytime visits, ideally with a hired driver, and keep someone informed of your plans.
• Packing: Sun hat, water, sturdy shoes for the climb and light cotton for most of the year; a light layer for cool-season mornings.

Nearby places

Salihundam pairs naturally with Kalingapatnam beach and the temple towns around Srikakulam, and with the Buddhist and beach sights of Visakhapatnam on a longer run. The table lists easy add-ons with rough distances.

For a dedicated Buddhist-coast itinerary, the hill monasteries near Visakhapatnam are the natural second half of a trip that starts at Salihundam; our Visakhapatnam travel guide sets them out.

Frequently asked questions

Where is Salihundam located?

Salihundam is in Gara mandal, Srikakulam district, Andhra Pradesh, on a hill on the south bank of the Vamsadhara river. According to the Srikakulam district administration, it lies about 5 km west of Kalingapatnam and roughly 18 km from Srikakulam town, near where the river reaches the Bay of Bengal.

What will I see at Salihundam?

You will see an ASI-protected Buddhist complex on a low hill: the bases of four stupas including a Maha Stupa, chaitya (prayer) halls and viharas (monasteries), all overlooking the Vamsadhara river. Excavations here also produced relic caskets and sculptures of the Buddhist goddesses Tara and Marichi, per official and district sources.

How old is the Salihundam Buddhist site?

Salihundam is dated from about the 2nd century BCE to the 12th century CE, according to the Incredible India portal. Across that long span the hill carried all three major phases of Buddhism, Hinayana, Mahayana and Vajrayana, making it a centre of Buddhist life for well over a thousand years before it fell out of use.

How do I reach Salihundam?

Reach Salihundam by road in Srikakulam district, about 5 km from Kalingapatnam and 18 km from Srikakulam town, using a bus, auto or taxi. The nearest mainline railhead is Srikakulam Road (CHE) on the Howrah-Chennai line, and the nearest airport is Visakhapatnam (VTZ), about 110-115 km away, with onward road or rail.

What are the Salihundam entry timings and fees?

Neither the Incredible India listing nor the Srikakulam district page publishes fixed timings or an entry fee for Salihundam (as of October 2026), so plan to visit in daylight and reconfirm locally. Open ASI hilltop sites are usually free or charge only a small nominal ticket; carry some cash in case one is collected.

Is Salihundam worth visiting, and who discovered it?

Salihundam is worth a visit if you care about ancient Buddhism and India’s coastal history; the setting above the Vamsadhara is quiet and striking. The site was first recorded in 1919 by the Telugu scholar Gidugu Venkata Rama Murthy, and later excavations revealed its stupas, viharas and goddess sculptures.

Last updated and sources

Go to Salihundam if you care about early Buddhism and the history of the Kalinga coast; October to March, in the cool morning, is the time to climb the hill. Pair it with Kalingapatnam beach and the Srikakulam temples, or fold it into a longer Buddhist-coast trip ending near Visakhapatnam.

Last updated: 23 October 2026. Fees, timings and permits change – reconfirm with official sources before you travel.

Sources: Incredible India, “Salihundam” listing (location, phases, dating, finds, scripts, how to reach and season), incredibleindia.gov.in; Srikakulam district administration, Salihundam page (location, distances, discovery, four stupas, chaityagriha, relic caskets, Tara and Marichi), srikakulam.ap.gov.in; Wikipedia, “Salihundam” (discovery, coordinates, name-readings, phases – reviewed as a survey of the scholarship and used to find primary sources), en.wikipedia.org. Official pages do not publish entry timings or fees, which are left for on-site confirmation; the Sumatra-spread claim is repeated as local tradition and is not firmly established. Accessed October 2026.