Amudalavalasa

Amadalavalasa is a town in Srikakulam district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is a municipality and also the mandal headquarters of Amadalavalasa mandal. The town is spread over an area of 19.65km2, which is under the jurisdiction of Visakhapatnam Urban Development Authority.GeographyAmadalavalasa is located at. It has an average elevation of 29 metres (98 feet).HistoryAmadalavalasa means 'the town of castor oil'. During the times of Ashoka, this place was called Herandapalli. Heranda in Sanskrit means castor oil. Ironically, there are no castor oil plants being grown or castor oil being produced in this place.Iron Age habitationEvidence of early historic man and his activities have been recently discovered on the hills of Sangamayya Konda, in Amudalavalasa mandal.Buddhism and JainismSangamayya KondaSangamayya Konda is 3 km from Amudalavalasa. It was a Buddhist site and is known for the Jain vestiges and Buddhist monasteries excavated recently. A freelance archaeologist conducted recent explorations on the hills of Sangamayya Konda and found several pre-historic Dolmen, Menhir, Cave, Caverns and Cisterns.