Weekend trip- Vizag

Hi there everyone,

I am back with an another exciting trip. This time its Visakhapatnam (Vizag) in Andhra Pradesh. As many of you would know Visakhapatnam is a port city on the southeast coast of India. It is the second largest city in Andhra Pradesh after Hyderabad. Visakhapatnam is the base for many heavy Industries and also the headquarters for Indian Navy. Visakhapatnam has transformed from mere a port city to a city full of fun and economic activities with attractive beaches on one side and hillocks on the other side and SEZs (Special Economic Zones)  . Visakhapatnam is a major junction for all the trains travelling from east and north east going towards south and central India. It is also well connected by flights and regular buses ply from Bangalore and Hyderabad to Visakhapatnam. Some of the major tourist attractions are Kailashgiri, Submarine museum, Rushikonda beach, Simhachalam. Apart from the above are Borra caves and Arruku Valley which is few kms away from Vizag. 

We stayed at a hotel named Mahalaxmi residency in Dwarakha Nagar , one of the busiest areas in Vizag. The hotel is 10 mins away from the railway station and 2 mins away from the central bus stand. First day we planned to go to places inside the city and the second day to Arruku valley and Borra caves. We started off by going to a temple situated in a hill named Simhachalam temple. It is a hill shrine of Lord Narasimha 16kms away from the city. There are direct buses to simhachalam from the central bus stand to the hill top or one can take a cab. It has a carved 16 pillared Natya Mandapa and the 96 pillared Kalyana Mandapa are the highlights of the temple. Many of you much have heard about the legend of the Lord Narasimha. Anyway for those who are not familiar with it here is a sneak peak into the legend. 

The entrance to the Simhachalam temple

Hiranyakasipu was a Rakshasa king. He was one of Vishnu's Dwarapalakas or gate keepers in Vaikuntha, Jaya and Vijaya. They had to take birth in the mortal world thrice because of a curse given by Sanaka, Sanandana, Sanathana and Sanathkumara, who were not allowed to take darshan of Mahavishnu by them. The other palaka was born as his brother Hiranyaaksha. Hiranyakasipu wanted to become immortal and hence performed austerities (tapasya) to propitiate Lord Brahma. However, Lord Brahma said that was not possible so Hiranyakasipu asked Lord Brahma to grant him a boon so that he could not be killed by any animal or a man neither in the morning nor in the night, by any weapons, neither in sky nor on the earth.

Hiranyakasipu wanted the entire world to worship him. But, Prahalada, his son, was a devotee of Lord Narayana and always expressed his bhakti towards Him. In spite of warning him several times, Hiranyakasipu could not alter Prahlada's devotion.This made Hiranyakasipu angry and he made numerous attempts to get Prahlada killed. One of them was to throw him off the top of a mountain. However, Vishnu rescued him by moving the mountain and made a small path for Prahaladha. It is said that in the place where the Lord stood to protect Prahaladha is the place where the temple is built.

The most important thing about this temple is that here we can't see the God's feet. It is said that the feet is buried inside the earth. Lord Narayana came to rescue Parahalada on Garuda and when they threw Parahalada Lord Narayana jumped from Garuda to save him and in this process his feet went deep into the earth.

We had a good darshan and came back to the city to visit the Submarine museum. Unfortunately the museum opens at 2 PM only so we went to R.K Beach which is on the same stretch. 

The beach is very clean. From there you can get a glimpse of Visakhapatnam port. It is one of the busiest ports on the east coast after Kolkata port and Chennai port.

Submarine museum is a different experience altogether. This submarine was used in real during the world war II. It is named INS Kursura, the first of kind in India to run in Diesel electric. After decommissioning in 2001 it has been preserved as a musuem for public access. There are guides who explain the features and characteristics of the sub. The main features are it is run on Diesel electric, can accommodate 10 torpedos(6 in front, 4 in back), 26 cabins including kitchen and control room. The main control room is not shown in the demonstration. There are many controls and specific cabins which will be explained by the guide. It is a short duration of 15-20 mins and no photography / videography is allowed inside the sub. 

By the time we finished it was 4 PM and we went next to Kailasagiri hill . Kailasagiri is a hilltop park adjacent to the sea which offers views of the Bay of Bengal, Visakhapatnam and the Eastern Ghats. 

Kailasgiri

View of the ocean from the hill top

An aerial tramway accesses the park from the bottom of the hill. Beach Road, from the East Point colony to the coastal battery, is dotted with parks and statues and is an evening gathering point. It is a major location for great landscapes and relaxation. 

Rishikonda beach on the one side of the hill. 

After this it was time to have dinner. The busiest locations where restaurants and fast foods are available are Dwarakha Nagar, RTC complex and Jagadamba Junction. One can find many hotels at any of these places. 

Next day we went to Aruku Valley and Borra caves. It was arranged through APTDC. It is a rail cum road package. The package is good and is filled with adventure and excitement. We boarded the train from Visakhapatnam railway station at about 7 AM. One compartment was fully reserved for this package. There is also two guides who will explain about the package. For those who dont know Telegu/Hindi/English need not worry because the guide will tell in all three languages. So we aboarded the train and reached Arraku valley around 11 AM. There were lot of tunnels on the route. 

Going through tunnel

The scenery was breathtaking and there was drizzle which made the climate awesome. We reached around 11 AM and straight away we were taken to APTDC hotel in Aruku for a briefing about the valley. 

The first stop was the tribal museum and nearby was a coffee shop where the coffee beans are taken from the local area. After a light refreshment we proceeded to our next visiting place which is a botanical garden. A good place to time pass that is what I would say about the place. 

Next we had lunch at the APTDC hotel. There was a tribal dance organised by the locals to entertain us. 

The last stop was Borra caves which as on the return journey to Vizag. 

Borra caves railway station

The Caves, one of the largest in the country, at an elevation of about 705 m, distinctly exhibit a variety of impressive speleothems ranging from very small to big and irregularly shaped stalactites and stalagmites. 

The route

Inside the caves

After the caves there was a slight refreshment at the APTDC hotel nearby. Atlast we left for Vizag around 7 PM and came to the city around 8.30PM. The adventurous day had come to end. 
Our short weekend trip had come to an end and we all packed our bags and left for our destinations. Hope the next trip will be exciting; till then its good bye from here.