Pavurallakonda

Pavurallakonda, also called Pavurallabodu and popularly Narasimhaswamy Konda, is a hill about 25 km north of Visakhapatnam, close to Bheemunipatnam. Its summit carries the remains of a Buddhist monastic complex occupied at some point between the 3rd century BCE and the 2nd century CE, counted among the largest monasteries of north coastal Andhra. Hinayana Buddhism may have been followed here.

The state's Department of Archaeology and Museums has excavated the site, uncovering circular chaityas, votive stupas, halls and the foundations of viharas, along with two short Brahmi label inscriptions, coins, beads and polished ware. Close to sixteen cisterns were cut into the rock to hold rainwater, and excavation and restoration work is still going on. The name is usually read as 'hill of the pigeons' in Telugu, though some studies link it to white stones on the hillock. The Gosthani River runs nearby, and the Buddhist sites of Bavikonda and Thotlakonda are close.