Headquarters: Puttaparthi. The southern Rayalaseema district is a plateau and border area carved from old Ananthapuramu. Locate this district first in relation to the coast, the Godavari or Krishna corridors, the Eastern Ghats or the Rayalaseema plateau. These physical belts often reveal why a crop, port, reservoir or pilgrimage place appears in a district question. Read the number on the accompanying current-boundary map before memorising a headquarters. A town name on a pre-2022 map can remain correct geographically but lead to the wrong present-district option.
Exam anchor: Puttaparthi and its Chitravathi setting, Lepakshi heritage and Penukonda history offer distinct place associations. This is a place-to-theme association, not a claim that every landmark in the surrounding region belongs inside the district. Keep a separate column for a river or landscape, a site or activity, and the administrative headquarters. In a map question, begin at the state outline, narrow to the regional belt, and only then select the district polygon. The order is more dependable than recognising a familiar town name in isolation.
Boundary and date caution: Do not confuse the district's namesake with its headquarters. An older Anantapur district tourist list may use the previous boundary. District-level population, area, output and mandal totals are especially sensitive to reorganisation. An exact figure should carry its reference year and boundary vintage; this book does not silently attach an old census total to a new polygon. If the stem quotes an older notification, answer for that date. If it asks for the current district, use the 2026 map and official district portal.
Worked example: Sri Sathya Sai district has Puttaparthi as headquarters and includes Lepakshi in present administration. UNESCO's older tentative-list page for Lepakshi still uses Anantapuramu terminology. Both sources can be correct for their dates. Match the monument's fixed location to the current polygon, then state its tentative-list status without calling it an inscribed World Heritage Site.
Active recall: Name the headquarters of Sri Sathya Sai; place it on the map; give one physical-geography anchor and explain the dated boundary trap above.
Southern AP district map
Penna and Rayalaseema orientation; numbers match the district cards.
Read this visual
The southern map separates Tirupati, Chittoor, Annamayya, Kadapa and Rayalaseema units. Historical site maps may carry older district names.
Current district geometry: APSDMA. Current district names and headquarters: credited official directories and portals.