Seshachalam Hills

The Seshachalam Hills rise in southern Andhra, with roads and sacred sites among forested ridges and rocky slopes. Communities use woodland, pasture and cultivated land in neighbouring valleys, relying on knowledge of water and mountain paths. The shrine of Venkateswara at Tirumala attracted pilgrims and royal patronage.

In the later Middle Ages, Vijayanagara rulers endowed temples. Pilgrimage linked religious institutions with farmers, artisans and merchants who supplied food, transport and services. After Vijayanagara's decline, local chiefs and successor powers continued to contest revenues and routes. Mountain paths carried goods as well as travellers and worshippers.