By Uzair Fahmi:
I get nostalgic remembering the stay in the beautiful city of Vishakhapatnam. Prior to visiting this naturally adorned city, I limited my stay to only Hyderabad in the whole of Andhra Pradesh. How very much wrong was I! Although my stay lasted only 2 days but I made sure that I take back many memories to cherish from this city.
Day-1 — I reached Vishakhapatnam bus stand in the wee hours of morning and was visibly irritated since I am not much of a morning person. The auto drivers can sometimes be harassing for they won’t leave you till you have accepted their proposal for a ride (Nah it’s not romantic at all!). You can find many economic yet comfortable hotels near the railway station and price can range from anywhere between Rs 300- Rs 1000 for a two bed room, never mind the air conditioning. I travelled in the month of June and it meant good showers further blossoming the exotic flora that you could find only in Vishakhapatnam. The public transport system isn’t that great & extensive; I would recommend booking your own private cab if you are going on a family trip; for gypsies like me, bus/auto in adequate proportion is the answer. Having had a good breakfast, I proceeded to reach the bus station from where I got a direct bus to Kailasgiri Hills. As the name suggests it is atop a hill and at the entrance there is a marvellous sculpture of Shiva & Parvathi. One can reach atop via either a vehicle or a ropeway. I was surprised to find a toy train there and so like an excited child I hopped onto it with a cup of coffee. The train was rather slow but I held onto every moment not wanting to let go of any second of this heaven on earth. Other amusement includes a horse ride, photography etc. I was careful not let forget buying a souvenir from the small shops there.
Day-2- I had a brief visit to the Ramakrishna Beach on day 1 and so made it a point to explore more of it this time. My next destination was Yarada Beach located on the other side of the mountains. I had to patiently sit for hours in the bus, hopping once, to reach this marvel of nature. The only thing that I saw was clean fresh water forming small tidal waves and splashing our faces mocking us to indulge ourselves in the moment. Believe me, it was a surreal experience and I rate this beach as my favourite. Unlike the other beaches which are littered with bottles and plastics, Yarada Beach is very neat and clean. I tried climbing rocks there and seeing other people enjoying from up above the rocks. I stayed till mid-afternoon and headed towards RK beach. There is an actual submarine museum located at RK beach and was used in the Indo-Pak war in 1971. It is the biggest submarine museum in South Asia and fifth biggest worldwide. On the opposite of the beach are food stalls with all the enticing sea food served on platter. It was a Kodak moment!
Day-3- It was time to leave and yet my heart was pushing me to stay and explore more. The city has lots of other tourist spots and since there was a shortage of time I couldn’t manage all of them.
Here is a list of other MUST VISITS:
- Araku Valley- One can make a to and fro visit via a local train that specifically takes visitors to araku.
- Borra caves
- Simhachalam
- Ross Hill
One can find more information on the following url