Kadapa (formerly known as
Cuddapah) is a city in the
Rayalseema region of the south-central part of
Andhra Pradesh, India. It is the district headquarters of
Kadapa district. As of 2011
Census of India, the city had a population of 344,078. It is located south of the
Penna River. The city is surrounded on three sides by the
Nallamala and
Palakonda hills lying on the tectonic landscape being sandwiched between the Eastern and Western ghats. Black and Red ferrous soils occupy the region. The city is nicknamed "Gadapa" ('threshold') since it is the gateway from the west to the sacred hills of
Tirumala.