Markapur, in the west of the district, is a town built around slate quarries — the dark Cuddapah slate that you see roofing and paving across much of southern India is cut here. The town itself is workaday, but the surrounding country of low hills and dry forest is unexpectedly attractive.
For most travellers Markapur is a place to pass through on the way to Srisailam or the Nallamala forests further west. If you stop, the Bhairavakona caves a short drive away are the only sight that draws outside visitors — a small cluster of rock-cut Shiva temples in a remote setting.