Britannica AI Icon
Adding us as a Preferred Source tells Google you trust our content, so our articles show up more often in your Google Search, Discover feed, and AI Overviews.
verifiedCite
While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions.
Select Citation Style
Feedback
Corrections? Updates? Omissions? Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login).
Thank you for your feedback

Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article.

External Websites

Kadapa

India
Also known as: Cuddapah

News •

MPTC/ZPTC elections: clashes erupt between YSRCP, TDP activists in Kadapa • Nov. 5, 2026, 11:10 AM ET (The Hindu)
TDP sweeps four Municipal Corporations across Rayalaseema • Nov. 4, 2026, 3:00 AM ET (The Hindu)

Kadapa, city, southern Andhra Pradesh state, southern India. It is located 5 miles (8 km) south of the Penneru River and is surrounded on three sides by the Nallamalai and Palkonda hills.

The city’s name is derived from the Telugu word kadapa or gadapa (“gate”) and is so named because it is the gateway from the north to the sacred hill pagoda of the Hindu deity Venkateshvara at Tirupati to the southeast. The city became known by the Anglicized name Cuddapah after the British took control of it in the early 19th century. It reverted to the Telugu form in 2005.

Peanuts (groundnuts), sunflowers, cotton, and melons dominate Kadapa’s agricultural economy. Several government colleges affiliated with Sri Venkateswara University at Tirupati are located there. The surrounding region, part of the southern section of the Eastern Ghats range, is the source of fine-grained limestones used for floor tiles and tabletops. Pop. (2001) city, 126,505; urban agglom., 262,506; (2011) urban agglom., 344,893.

Tower Bridge over the Thames River in London, England. Opened in 1894. Remains an Important Traffic Route with 40,000 Crossings Every Day.
Britannica Quiz
Guess the City by Its River Quiz
This article was most recently revised and updated by Kenneth Pletcher.
Discover the fascinating events that shaped the world, straight from our editors.
By clicking “Sign Up”, you consent to the Britannica Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.