Cyclone, Dinosaurs and Monkeys!!. Review on Visakhapatnam

I cannot say that I was not forewarned! My friends told me there was a cyclone that’s going to touch Vizag in 24 hours .. but off I went. Packed my family in my new Ford Ikon 1.6 and zoomed in one of the best highways that I have seen in India.

The cyclone did hit Vizag the next day! More of that later.

The distance of Hyderabad to Vizag is 650 kms – I started around six in the morning ( do not start before that – too many long distance buses and lorries enter Hyderabad city limits during that time ) and reached Vizag around four in the evening. There are a lot of fueling stations on the road apart from toll gates but very few dhabas! I feel some of dhabas need to have franchises down south! You can even shift the ones that are in Bangalore. However a welcome move by HP and Reliance is that some of they fueling stations have good family refreshments plazas. I have some lunch in one of these places.( Rs 250 for 3 – non veg fare )

Please carry a lot of change – there are numerous tollgates and I spent around Rs 550 one way as toll charges.

I stayed in Hotel Dashapalla – situated in the heart of the city. (Suite tariff Rs 1500 / day). If you are looking for some gastronomic adventure try their non veg buffet for Rs 150 / head. Try out the seafood preparations – Telugu style and keep a bucket full of water within reach. You might have to pour water to cool down your ears from bursting out due to the heat! The rooms are clean and the service worth commending.

Having had a refreshing cup of tea (Rs 15 per cup) went to see the Ramakrishna beach – because that is why I drove all the way! The beach is a ten minutes drive from the hotel. Unfortunately the beach is dark! The roadside lights are not sufficient to light up the place. If you have visited Puri, I think you would understand what I mean. And there is real parking problem. You need to park your vehicle next to the Kali temple – that’s the only proper parking place.

Day two – Mr. Cyclone is creating havoc! I can see only water droplets cascading down to the ground from my third floor hotel room. However rains cannot stop an intrepid traveler like me! I decided to hire a cab (Rs 1000 full day) and take me around Vizag. The main sight seeing places are Simhachalam temple (Narasimha temple), couple of gardens, Totlakonda - Buddhist ruins (interesting to note that Vizag was big sea port during Buddhist period and lot of trade took place), Kailash Hills (must do – take the ropeway down from the hills – you will get a nice view of the ocean) and Rishikonda Beach (7 kms. from hotel). I did not visit Dolphin Nose – a land protruding into the sea like the nose of the dolphin – since it was quite late by the time I completed the above places. You might want to visit the shipping dock – beware of the stink from the adjacent fish market.

The beach is clean and pretty desolate. Since it was raining, the waves and the sky all wore a dull grey look. The white foam crowned the waves as they crashed in the shores. The shoreline is scattered with rocks some visible and some underneath the surface. Please do not venture into sea if you are not sure of the surroundings.

Driving down the road lying next to ocean was a pleasure. The road is a gem.

There is a Punnami guest house on the hills adjoining the beach. Great view @ government rates.

As luck would have it, it nearly stopped raining whenever I ventured out of the car. There is a real submarine that is kept near the beach and is marine museum – a must see for all. The evening was spent purchasing small knick-knacks at the near by state emporiums – go for the polished woodwork. I bought small birds for Rs 12 a piece – costly – but nice things do have a price!

Day three – Its early morning and still raining heavily. The tourist help desk says there is no car available to take me to Borra Caves and Araku Valey. I still keep trying and at last get a larger vehicle (Qualis – Rs 1200) to take me to Araku. (There is a train cum bus trip from Vizag to Araku organized by APTDC – in case of landslides the trip is cancelled) Due to the heavy rains it was cancelled for the last two days and again on this particular day. As I was moving out of the city, the driver informed me that there is an announcement from the Police Commissioner, Vizag that people should not venture to low lying areas since they are submerged. It usually takes around three hours to reach Araku. Borra caves comes before you reach the valley. You will be awe of the massive caves and the nature’s sculpted figurines. Take your video camera – still pictures would not bring out the magic of the caves. In case you have visited the caves near Jagadalpur – where in you need to crawl in various places since the approach is not present – Borra caves is a much better place “infrastructure “ wise. Beware of monkeys! A monkey snatched chocolate from my son’s hand even though my fellow put up a strong resistance but grasping the chocolate tightly in his small fist! One more recommendation – take a guide. There are no fixed rates – pay him whatever you want to – but do take one – otherwise it would be difficult to see light in the dark stalactites and stalagmites hovering around you.

The way down to the caves is properly maintained and though slippery in places, most of the area is illuminated even if partially enabling you to move around. You will find Shiva, Ganesha sharing space with dinosaurs, elephants, and crocodile in the cave walls. The guide even showed me a passage that take you to some kilometers down to the Araku valley. My boys (aged 4 and 2) were all ears whenever the guide was pointing at formations that resembled tigers and dinosaurs. It was magic – staring at the droplets of water coming down from the top of the caves and making its way down the spine of dinos, or the trunk of Ganesha. Pointer – take additional flashes if you want to trace the movement of water.

I reached Araku Valley around noon. It was Puja season and it appeared that I have landed in mini Kolkata – wherever I looked around I could hear my language in full flow. Need I say that I enjoyed that a lot. Again not many decent food joints. Try food at the APTDC Punnami hotel. Travel to the museum to see glimpses of tribal life. Visit the botanical garden – take the toy train that runs on tyres – it is a better way to move around the huge garden without tiring your legs. You can also find liquor being sold in the open just outside the garden. This garden served as the source of vegetables to the soldiers during WW1.

The town valley is a riot of green in all variants. Once you are in the valley – stop and look around. You will find yourself surrounded by green undulating fields as far as the eyes can reach. Clouds recreate light and shadow effects in the vast green expanse.

As I could see, the majority of the town’s population belong some way or in the other to the railways. The railway colonies bear signs of ageing and non-maintenance.

It would take you a couple of hours to roam , visit the museum and move on!

I felt that one needs to stay there for at least a day to soak in the pristine atmosphere.

I forgot to tell you – that the rains have stopped.I reached Vizag late in the evening. I could not resist the temptation of Andhra cuisines and tasted Natu kadi (Country chicken curry) before crashing to bed. Started off early the next day from Vizag and reached Hyderabad around ten. One pointer – my Ford gave a mileage of 13 kms with AC through out the 650 kms.