Situated on the north bank of Pennar River, Nellore is believed to have derived its name after the paddy fields in and around Nellore, where 'Nellu' means paddy and 'Ur' means a town. It is also known as Vikramasimhapuri, the city is of extreme historical and cultural importance. It is supposed to be the place where the greatest of the Telugu poets, Tikkana Somayaji, the translator of Mahabharata into Telugu, lived. The religious highlights of the place are the temples of Talpagiri Ranganathaswami also known as Ranganayakulu, Mulaathanesvaraswami, Venugopalswami and Dharmaraja. Famous for its rice and aqua culture, the Udayagiri fort, the Narasimha Konda, Penchala kona, Venkatagiri fort, Mypadu beach, famous rocket launching centre at Sriharikota, the Krishnapatnam port and Nelapattu are some of the most visited places here.

This area is rich in particular kind of flint called quartzite. The ancient town was part of the Ashokan Empire in the third century B.C. and ruled by Pallavas from fourth to sixth centuries. Nellore has immense potential for tourism with temples, forts and monuments, the Nelapattu Bird Sanctuary and Pulicat Lake as its chief attractions. While Vedurupattu is the breeding place for painted storks, Udyagiri fort is famous for medicinal herbs. The beach tourist complex at Ramathirtham, has a floating resort with modern amenities and facilities along with an amusement park for children, a water park, a health club, full-fledged gym, yoga classes and authentic Ayurvedic treatment. Its tourism industry is constantly on the rise and thus, it has attracted the attention of the government for promotion as a tourist destination.