Weve chosen Visakhapatnam a land of monuments, scenic landscapes, fine

accessible sand beaches and thickly wooded hills as our destination for honeymoon.
It is the only place on the east coast where the hills (Eastern Ghats) and the sea
meet. We started at night for Vizag in Chennai Mail and reached after noon next day.
We planned to stay at Rushikonda, APTDC Hotel, just 8 km from Vazag city.
Rushikonda beach is a picture perfect setting with golden sands, surf, and sea and
hill cottages overlooking the grand vista.
For lovers of swimming and water
sports like skiing and wind surfing,
Rushikonda is an ideal destination.
At the end of a grueling session, one
can always chillout at the bar cum
restaurant attached to the cottage.
Next day we started for local site
seeing tour at morning from APTDC
office. We first visited to one of the
most exquisitely sculpted shrines of
Andhra Pradesh, Simhachalam
temple which is situated 16 km from
Vizag among thickly wooded hills.
The beautifully-carved 16-pillared
Natya mantapa and the 96-pillared
Kalyana mantapa bear testimony to
the architectural brilliance of the temple. The image of the presiding deity, Sri
Lakshminarasimha Swamy, is covered by a thick layer of sandalwood paste.

From Simhachalam we went to the Buddhist Complex on the hill-top of

Mangamaripeta, locally known as Thotlakonda lies about 16Kms from Visakhapatnam
on Vizag Bheemili beach road. It is picturesquely located on the hilltop at about
128mts. high above the MSL. The existence of Buddhist site at Thotlakonda came to
light during an aerial survey undertaken by the Indian Navy. After its discovery, the
Government of A.P has declared the site
measuring an area of 120 acres on the
summit as protected monument during
1978. The excavations that lasted from
1988 to 1992 have exposed structural
remains. These remains are classified as
Religious, Secular and Civil. These
structures include the Stupa,
Chaityagrihas, pillared congregation
halls, bhandagaras, refectory
(bhojanasala), drainage and stone
pathways etc. The complex comprises of
several structural components such as a
Mahastupa, 16 votivestupas, a stone
pillared congregation hall, 11 rock-cut cisterns, well paved stone path ways, an
apsidal chaitya-griha, 3 circular chaitgya-grihas , two votive platforms, 10 viharas
consisted of 72 cells, a kitchen complex with three halls and a refectory (dinning
hall) etc. Associated with the above structures were unearthed several inscribed
chatra pieces with early Brahmi letters, nine Satavahana and five roman silver coins,
terracotta tiles, stucco decorative pieces, sculptured panels, miniature stupa models
in stone, Buddha padas depicted with asthamangal symbols, early historic pottery
etc. All these information we collected from our guide Mr. S.Reddy.

Then we reached Kailasagiri Park

located on a picturesque hill-truly an
outstanding tourist spot in
Visakhapatnam city. Located at an
altitude of 130m this hill park faces
the Bay of Bengal. The ranges are
appropriately named Kailasagiri owing
to the presence of the statue of the
celestial couple (Siva-Parvathi statue).
The high point also gives a panoramic
view of the city & its beaches. There is
a well-laid road for motorists and steps
for pedestrians. The entire area is
illuminated and presents a fantastic
sight when viewed in the night from
any part of the city. Presence of
Titanic view point, manicured lawns and flower beds, food court, a jungle trail,
souvenir shop, telescopic viewpoint make it more beautiful. The other major
attractions are the ropeway to the hill,
toy train and many more.

The beauty of the beach is often

compared with the other part of India
and sometimes the gulf is called the
second Goa.
 After brief refreshment we
started for the naval museum
and the famous submarine
museum. The Indian Navy has
installed a decommissioned
Submarine I.N.S. Kurusura on
the sands of R K Beach,
Visakhapatnam as a Museum
for the display to the public and
tourists as well. This is the first
of its kind in the Asia. The aim
of setting up of this museum is
to create awareness among the
public to know how the
submarines work during
wartime and how the crew
takes action etc.

We then moved to the last destiny of our tour, the Vaizag harbor for a breadth taking
boat ride. We are overjoyed by view of
Dolphin Nose which is the most
prominent and unforgettable iconic
landmark of Visakhapatnam. It is a
single and massive hillock of more than
350mts height, resembles the Dolphins
nose hence the name. It protects the
Visakhapatnam Harbour as well as the
Head Quarters of Eastern Naval
Command. Visakhapatnam Port Trusts,
Light House is situated on top of the hill
and guides the approaching ships to
Visakhapatnam. The port channel cuts in
between three hills which emphasis the
lovely topography of Visakhapatnam. Ross Hill, the highest mount named after Mr.
Ross, local authority, who built a house on it in 1864, Darga konda, has a mosque
and a shrine of a Muslim sage Ishaque Madina, who was revered for his prophecies.
Sri Venkateswarakonda has a temple, which was built by Capt. Blackmoor in 1886.
Above picture shows the vintage Lyland make Bus which took us to the port. This
was the end of our hang out for the day and we started for our hotel cherishing the
overwhelming memory of the scenic beauty we observed all thru the day.
Next day morning we came to Vizag station
and occupied the reserved compartment of
famous Kirandul Express suppressing the
excitement inside. After an hour or two we
came to a place which we couldnt forget
even in our life time. The journey to Arraku
valley on the Eastern Ghats with thick forest
and water falls on both side and a number
of tunnels gave us a breath taking and
memorable experience.

The valley is about 112 km from Vizag

city and about 3200 ft. high from sea
level with bracing climate.

Weve reached Arraku station after five and a

half hour journey. Taken the bus arranged by

APTDC to reach the Botanical Garden

at Padmapuram. Then we got the
glimpses of socioeconomic structure of
the local tribal in the Tribal Museum.

Then we went to the guest house for the

refreshment which was followed by the famous
Dhimsa dance performed by the local tribal
artists.
 Next day, we started early for Borra Caves. It is on
the way to Arraku Valley, 90 km from Vizag, Borra
Caves house spectacular, million-year-old stalactite
and stalagmite formations, standing as a
testimonial to its pristine glory and age woven into
intricate design through the centuries. While the
formations resembling mythological characters are
an added attraction, illumination of the caves by AP Tourism turns the naturally
sculpted glory into a grand visual
feast. The nature made Borra
Caves are a million and odd years
old and said to be discovered by
William King in 1807. The river
Gostani, beautiful hills and valleys
surround these caves. The local
tale says, the tribal discovered the
caves, when a cow fell into the
caves through the hole of the
cave.

These caves are said to have their origin from

the river Gosthani. It was said, due to the flow
of the river Gosthani through the layers of lime
earth, the caves were formed, over the course
of millions of years, The 300 ft. thick roofed
Borra caves spread over one square km.,
presenting a mind-boggling and breath-taking
display of naturally sculpted splendor. It took a
whole day to rediscover the prehistoric
sculpture.
The next entire day we spent to
uncover the spectacular scenic
beauty of Arraku Valley, even had
an experience to touch the coffee
tree in a garden!

Next day we headed for Anantgiri. It is located

at the highest altitude place in Andhra Pradesh.
The entire village is surrounded by coffee plantations. Several
waterfalls adorn the hillocks around the Village. A. P. Tourism
has developed a
beautiful wayside
restaurant and guest
house to cater the
needs of the tourist.
We couldnt resist
our-selves to enjoy
the place for another
day.
While returning to
Vizag, we again
enjoyed the valley,
but in different
mood-now in roadways. I couldnt resist myself to recreate those magic moments

After returning to Vizag, we had a day in our hand.

So once again we decided to go to the beach and give a
finishing touch to our wonderful journey to the land of
many surprises.