Thotlakonda Buddhist Complex to open new interpretation centre in Visakhapatnam

New Interpretation Centre at Thotlakonda in Visakhapatnam to showcase ancient Buddhist remains

The ancient Buddhist complex at Thotlakonda, dating back to the second and third centuries BCE, is poised to receive a new public interface with an interpretation and amenities centre adjacent to the core site. The centre, expected to open to visitors from March 1, seeks to present excavated remains and archival material in a manner that allows the hilltop Buddhist complex to speak with greater clarity to contemporary audiences.

The excavated remains on display at the newly built Interpretation Centre at the 3rd century BC Buddhist site of Thotlakonda in Visakhapatnam. The centre, developed to showcase artefacts and explain the site’s historical significance as an ancient monastic complex overlooking the Bay of Bengal, is set to be opened to the public soon. | Photo Credit: KR Deepak

Located about 15 kilometres from Visakhapatnam city near Kapulauppada on a wind-brushed hill overlooking the Bay of Bengal, Thotlakonda has long remained a quiet yet significant marker of the region’s maritime and Buddhist past. The site, under the State Department of Archaeology and Museums, has long drawn tourists, scholars and school students.

R Phalguna Rao, assistant director, Archeology and Museums Department, Visakhapatnam, explaining about the new Interpretation Centre at the 3rd century BC Buddhist site of Thotlakonda that will soon be opened for public in Visakhapatnam. | Photo Credit: KR Deepak

The new centre houses nine principal exhibits mounted on pedestals, along with other structural fragments that were earlier kept in storage or left exposed at the site. The new centre attempts to consolidate those fragments into a coherent public narrative. The initiative was steered by Visakhapatnam District Collector M N Harendhira Prasad, who revived and completed the project after earlier construction activity had stalled. In 2025, ₹9 lakh had been sanctioned by K S Viswanathan, the then commissioner of the Visakhapatnam Metropolitan Region Development Authority, for construction of the building. Work had slowed thereafter until the district administration renewed focus and brought the structure to readiness.

One of the excavated remains on display at the newly built Interpretation Centre at the 3rd century BC Buddhist site of Thotlakonda in Visakhapatnam. The centre, developed to showcase artefacts and explain the site’s historical significance as an ancient monastic complex overlooking the Bay of Bengal, is set to be opened to the public soon. | Photo Credit: KR Deepak