Kangundi set to be exalted as ‘Heritage village’

Tirupati: All these days, Kangundi has been a little-known village near Kuppam, located at the meeting point of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, and Tamil Nadu states. With limited livelihood options and little public attention, it has remained outside the State’s tourism map for decades. That nondescript status is now set to change forever, with the state government preparing to declare Kangundi as AP’s first ‘Heritage village’, formalising a year-long experiment that has combined adventure tourism, heritage conservation, and community participation.

The declaration is expected to be made formally by Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu during his visit to the village on January 30. Officials say the Heritage village tag will be granted under the ‘Swachh, Suramya & Sanskrutik Kangundi’ framework as part of the Swarna Kuppam initiative. The initiative is focused on transforming the Kangundi region in Kuppam into a clean, beautiful, and culturally rich destination. The move seeks to protect the village’s cultural assets, while promoting regulated tourism that directly benefits local residents. Kangundi’s transformation began in early 2025, when a plan was drawn up to introduce bouldering and rock-climbing as a tourism activity, using the village’s natural granite inselberg and surrounding rock formations. The idea was to create new livelihood opportunities without disturbing the social and cultural fabric of the village. The initiative was taken up by the Mahavatar Babaji TadEkam Foundation headed by Major General Sanjay P Vishwas Rao, in coordination with the Kuppam Area Development Authority (KADA), Andhra Pradesh Tourism and the Indian Mountaineering Foundation (IMF). The joint efforts came into public view with the Kangundi Bouldering Festival and the first Kangundi Climbing Cup, held from January 6 to 10, 2026.

The event drew climbers from different parts of the country and a small number of international visitors. All guests were accommodated in village home-stays, a model chosen to ensure that tourism income stayed within the community. In total, 32 home-stays were developed and tested ahead of the festival. According to Sudha of TadEkam Foundation, as per an impact report prepared after the event, the village generated about Rs 27 lakh in revenue during the festival period through home-stays, food sales, guiding services, transport, and local markets. Contracts worth around Rs 35 lakh were executed by villagers.

Public and private funding played a key role in the project. Government agencies allocated Rs 45 lakh for the festival and later released an additional Rs 15 lakh for village beautification. TadEkam invested about Rs 1.2 crore, including Rs 40 lakh to construct an indoor bouldering gym, funds for training local youth as climbing coaches, support for home-stays, and logistics for the festival.

Alongside adventure tourism, emphasis was placed on heritage and cleanliness. More than 100 houses in the centre of the village were painted with heritage-themed artwork, and a village-wide cleanliness drive was taken up to reduce plastic use and improve sanitation. During his upcoming visit, the Chief Minister is also expected to inaugurate the bouldering gym, a 100-foot national flag mast, a village cafe and a tourism website for the Kuppam region. The government is considering including the Kangundi Bouldering Festival and Climbing Cup in the official tourism and sports calendars. Proposals are in place to also set up a State Sports Climbing Hub with an Olympic-standard climbing wall.