Orvakal Rock Garden

Kurnool, India

Orvakal Rock Garden, or Oravakallu Rock Garden, is a 1000 acre park with igneous rock formations between pools of water. It is located on NH-18 highway, outside the village of Orvakal, about 20km from Kurnool, Andhra Pradesh, southern India. There is a restaurant, boating, a cave museum and picnic areas on the site. The park, with hiking paths that snake up a hill, was developed by the Andhra Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation . The content of the rocks is quartz and silica, a raw material for the glass industry. Several companies have petitioned for the ability to mine the area, which raises ecological concerns. The park has been a site for film production, which has resulted in another ecological concern due to plaster of paris remnants left at the park after the movies were completed.