Vishakapatnam

Vizag is not just about a Large steel plant, a world class port and a ship building yard. Vast seas, beautiful beaches, and mountains are also part of the scenery.

When I went to Vizag first, I thought it would be a small town. I never realized that it would be so large, buzzling with activity. I found that Vizag is more beautiful and well planned than Chennai or Bangalore. The main reason is the presence of the Navy that built the entire city and helped its development. Vizag steel is best and so are their ships.

Being a person who hails from Andhra Pradesh, I have got loads of relatives here, and hence I have been to Vizag several times. Summer can get really hot, and can touch about 47 to 50 degrees, and the humidity makes it intolerable. I believe that this is the only reason why people do not opt for Vizag as a beach destination. But, the food here is a delight. Be it Kodi Vepudu, Chapa Vepudu, Royallu Fry, Nooni Vonkaya or what ever..none can do it better.
The song ‘Hum Bane Tun Bane, Ek Duje Ke Liye’, was shot here and Vizag became popular.
Vishakapatnam is called Vizag in short, and was called Waltair by the British. It is on the East Coast of India, and this part of the coast is called the Circar Coast. Just to brush up geography, the other parts of India’s coast line are called Coromandal coast, Malabar coast and Konkan coast.

Vishakapatnam’s got its name from God of valour, Visakha. It was once a small fishing village of the Kalinga empire, under Ashoka in 260 BC. It passed on successively from the Andhra kings to Vengi to the Pallavas, Cholas and Gangas. In the 15th century, Visakhapatnam became a part of the Vijayanagar empire. The Dutch, were the first European occupants of Vizag. It was sleepy fishing town until the early 1920’s, it was developed by the British and opened to sea-going vessels in 1933. Since then it has been a medium- sized port, catering to the requirements of the Deccan Plateau and the eastern parts of the country. As Waltair under British rule, Vizag was also seen to be of strategic importance by the military who set up base here. The city was also an important target of Japanese attack during the World War II. The Pakistanis too attacked the city during the Indo Pak war in 1972, but fortunately no damage was done to the city. The military still has bases here.

Visakahapatnam is today, the headquarters of the Eastern Naval Command of the Indian Navy.
The natural setting of Vizag is beautiful. It has these lovely golden beaches and three rocky mountain ranges, part of the Eastern ghats. The mountains collide with the sea, just like the Western ghats at Karwar. The three rocky ranges - The Kailasha Hill, The Porupalam Hill and the Yarada Hill form an excellent backdrop and enhance the charm of this beautiful Port city.
Apart from the ship building yard and the port, Vizag is home to the nation’s most powerful lighthouse, the longest metal beach road in the country and the world’s highest broad gauge railway track.

Vizag has loads of must see places…so when you go you must make it a point to stay there for at least a week. They are the Port, the Ship Building Yard, Kailashagiri Mountain, Dohphins nose and the Rishikonda Beach. Don’t miss the Kailashagiri mountain, coz from the top of it, you can see the most beautiful arial view of the beach and the bay of Bengal. On top of the Dolphins nose, which is nothing but a rocky projection, the light house is situated.

From the amazing array of beaches at Vizag, the Ramakrishna Beach and the Lawson's Bay are the loveliest. Your visit to Vizag will be incomplete without the stroll at the sunrise at these beaches. Make the most of your holiday at Vizag, simply sip the coconut water and be cool.
The Caltex Oil Refinery, VUDA Park, MCV Museum and the zoo are the other places worth visiting on your holiday at Vizag.

Around Vizag, there are several places that you can reach for single day trips. Araku Valley ( 112 kms ), Borra Caves ( 90 Kms ), Araku tribal museum, Anantagir Ghats, Sangda Falls, Matsyagundam ( 135 kms ), Paderu ( 74 kms ) and Simhachalam Temple are other single day excursions that you go to around Vizag.

This part of Andhra had a lot of Buddhist influence and has several sites dating back to 2nd to 7th Century AD. Thotlakonda and Bavinakonda complexes have stupas, chaityas and viharas. Other places in Visakhapatnam which marks Buddhist shrines were Pavuralakonda near Bheemunipatnam, Gopalapatnam and Lingarajupalem.

I have to make a special mention of Araku Valley and Borra Caves. Araku is the picturesque valley at 1300 meters above sea. The Eastern Ghats rail route from Visakhapatnam to Anantagiri is one of the highest broad guage tracks in Indian Railways, and Shimliguda Station is the highest broad gauge station. . Train travel is an exhilarating experience as lush landscapes of the forest and Coffee Plantations afford a memorable spectacle.

En route are the Borra Caves famous for their stalactite and stalagmites, believed to be a million years old and spread over the Eastern ghats and occupying an area of 2 square kilometers. The Gosthani river, which formed the cave, heads towards Orissa, after emerging from the caves.

The landscape around the cave is wild and mountaineous. The valley is inhabited by about 19 tribes. Their Dimsa and Mayur dances are still performed during their festival 'Itika Pongal' - the famous hunting festival in April.

But the best way to visit the cave is probably a guided day trip which typically includes Tyada Railway Tunnel, Damuku View Point, Borra Caves, Ananthagiri Coffee Plantation, Padmapuram Gardens and the Araku Valley.

Getting there :

As Vizag is a important City, it is connected by Roa, Air, Rail and also by Sea from many important places. If you wish to get to Andaman and Nicobar Islands, u can take a ship out of Vizag.

Best time – Oct to Feb

Trip Duration – 1 week

Getting around – Public transport, autos and taxis can be used.

Accomodation :

Taj Residency, Park Hotel, Grand Bay and Palm Beach Hotel are on Beach Road
Dolphin Hotels, DabagardensGreen Park, 12-11-17, Waltair Road
Hotel Daspalla – Suryabagh, For a sumptuous unlimited meals, get here
Ocean View Inn, 7.1.43, Kirlampudi
Hotel Meghalaya, Asilmetta Junction