I am from South of Andhra Pradesh. Though I travelled many places in other states of India in the past years, I haven't visited the beautiful city present in my home state. Finally I made it possible on this 4th Feb 2018( publishing this trip exactly after one year 4th Feb 2019 which is purely coincidental) with my friend Harish. It was one of my most memorable trips so far. I visited this port city Vishakapatnam(Nick name Vizag) known for its breath taking beaches, natural beauty with clean and green roads and rich British Colonial History.
First we reached Bheemili beach by evening 4 PM which is present 30 Km away from City centre by bike ( better option to enjoy the view). It was a very peaceful and untouched beach by many so far. Later we started towards RK Beach(Famous beach present in core part of the city) along beach road. It was during that road journey I felt awe struck and excited too many times by the natural beauty that the city offers for us. A road, on its right green hills, on its left blue beaches all along the 30 Km road.
The road passes by Thotlakonda beach(must see rock cave beach), Rishikonda beach(can spent with family, but a bit highly crowded), Sagar nagar beach, Tenneti park beach and Finally Ramakrishna Beach.(Hence the name "Goa of the East")
In RK Beach we can find so many visiting places including INS Kursura Museum, Aircraft museum, Vishaka Museum, Matsya Darshini etc.
And also varieties of street food is available for food lovers.
Being the Headquarters of Eastern Naval Command of Indian Navy the "City of Destiny" also possess the only natural port in the east coast of India, one of the largest steel plant etc. The attractions in the city includes Kailsagiri hill(Rope way is available here) and Indira gandhi Zoological park.
Another pristine beauty lies to the west of the Vizag i.e, Simhachalam hill which is the Adobe of Lord Narasimha, which attracts devotional people all over India throughout the year.
After offering prayer to the Lord Narasimha we headed towards Araku which is 100km away from Simhachalam. We preferred road journey to train journey.
On the way to Araku valley one can find borra caves 37km before Araku valley. The caves, one of the largest in the country, at an elevation of about 705 m (2,313 ft), distinctly exhibit a variety of speleothems ranging in size and irregularly shaped stalactites and stalagmites.
A must see caves and can spend quality time with family.
After completing our lunch in AP Tourism hotel we headed towards Araku valley.
After traversing Ananthagiri hills about one hour through the sinuous road we reached Araku valley.
First we entered the Tribal museum which exhibits the life style of native tribals over the years like food grains they eat, poaching instruments they use, attire they wear, rituals they perform at different stages of their life which gives a comprehensive understanding of their journey in Araku valley.
Later we reached a open place to take some snaps of the valley.
Around 4'o clock in the evening we headed back to Vizag. It is on the way we tasted the world famous coffee brand "Araku Coffee" and spent some time in the coffee plantations and also tasted the bamboo chicken. Our itenary ends in Vizag bus stand from where I took a bus to reach my regular bed saying alvida to Harish who made this journey more comfortable and memorable.
A journey that remains so long in your memories and can pull you back again and again.
I wish I should make to Vizag as many times as I could in the near future.
