Vizag is sometimes referred to as the “Goa of the east coast.” Just like its west coast counterpart, it has beautiful virgin beaches, reddish laterite hillocks, smooth roads and stunning landscape. Health-tourism is a fast developing industry. Visakhapatnam is variously referred to as Jewel on the Coramandel Coast, Steel city, and the City of Destiny. The local population is basically Telugu. There is considerable concentration of Marwaris, Oriya, Bengalis, Punjabis, Tamil and Malayalees. In addition, there is a large population of migrant workers from other parts of India who have been drawn to the area by the abundance of work at locally based companies, such as Eastern Naval Command, Vizag Steel Plant and Hindustan Shipyard.

Get in

By Air : Vizag is connected by air to Kolkata, Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad,Bangalore, Chennai
By Train : Vizag is on Kolkata-Chennai main line and is connected to both the cities by train. This being a major station, all trains including the super fast expresses have a stop in the station.Vizag station is in the east coast railways and will be very soon having 10 platforms.The first in east coast railways to have these many platforms.
By Road : Vizag is connected to Chennai and Calcutta via Bhubaneswar and Vijayawada by National Highway 5 (dual-carriageway, 120 km/h).
The Andhra Pradesh State Road Travel Corporation (APSRTC) runs buses from almost every city and town to Vizag, along with some private operators, who run buses from a few of the major cities. Please check with APSRTC for timings. There is also a new Garuda fleet of bus service (Volvo) to Vizag from Chennai, Bangalore, Vijayawada, Kolkata and Hyderabad which is very comfortable and happy going. This is the best way to do it if you want to travel by bus. APSRTC has several other bus services which have varied luxury levels and transit speeds. You might want to check the APSRTC at least 3 days in advance to be sure you have a reservation.

Get around

Buses, autos and cabs available for transport.
City buses are available from Dwaraka Bus Complex to almost all places in and around the city. Railway station is just 10 minutes drive from complex. Trains are available for travel to nearby tourist places like Araku. There are many Car Rental Companies available which Provide world Class Services.

Do

Take an evening stroll at RK Beach, it shall be a thrilling experience, it offers good pedestrian tracks, beautiful parks, museums, beaches and some wonderful open air restaurants.
Must want is the sunrise or a moonrise on a full moon day at Tennati Park on the Vizag-Bhimili Beach Road it’s truely a feast to the nature lovers. The sea looks orange in colour and is a wonderful sight.
A must visit is Kailasagiri 6 km away from the city centre. There is a park on the hill top, from here one can see a beautiful view of the city, the sea and Eastern Ghats merging into the sea. One can take a ropeway directly facing sea and city. On the hill top there is a beautiful toy train that give a glimpse of the beauty of nature that one can think of. There are several view points that give a pleasant look of the nature. This place unlike other hill stations is not yet commercial. One can have a very leisure time without being disturbed by tourist guides. Once you come down from Kailashgiri one should visit Tenneti Beach Park. Its picture perfect scenic beauty along with luxuriant carpet grass intertwined with concrete pathways makes it the most revered place for romantic couples. There are several points from which the beautiful rocky beach down beneath can be seen. That location is favorite for cinema shootings. Many Telugu, Tamil and Hindi movies are shooted. The climax scene of Hindi Movie ” Ek Dhuje ke liye”, in which Rati Agnihotri after getting raped drowns into the sea. Actually most of the people may not be aware that the movie is Shooted in Vizag but not in Goa as they say in the movie. This movie was a remake of Telugu movie “Maro Charitra”. One more view point is there in the park which is about 50 ft in elevation that gives a beautiful view of the sea, beach road and the beach park.

Buy

Vizag offers a reasonably large selection of stores selling clothing, jewellery, books, etc., While definitely not considered a shopper’s paradise, Vizag offers some unique handicrafts and can be located by the Andhra Pradesh State owned handicraft store, Lepakshi. It has an impressive collection of sandalwood sculptures, etc.

Gangotri – Char Dham

Gangotri (Hindi: गंगोत्री) is a town and a Nagar Panchayat in Uttarkashi district in the state of Uttarakhand, India. It is a Hindu pilgrim town on the banks of the river Bhagirathi. It is on the Greater Himalayan Range, at a height of 3,042 m. The picturesque pilgrimage in the hinterlands of the Himalayas is the most sacred spot where Ganga , the stream of life, touched earth for the first time.According to mythology, Goddess Ganga – the daughter of heaven, manifested herself in the form of a river to absolve the sins of King Bhagirath’s predecessors, following his severe penance of several centuries. Lord Shiva received her into his matted locks to minimise the immense impact of her fall. She came to be called Bhagirathi at her legendary source.

Mythological Relation

According to Hindu mythology, Goddess Ganga – the daughter of heaven, took the form of a river to absolve the sins of King Bhagirath’s predecessors, following his severe penance of several centuries. Lord Shiva received Ganga into his matted locks to minimize the impact of her fall.
According to this legend, King Sagar, after slaying the demons on earth decided to stage in Ashwamegh Yagya as a proclamation of his supremacy. The horse which was to be taken on an uninterrupted journey around the earth was to be accompanied by the King’s 60,000 sons born to Queen Sumati and one son Asmanjas born of the second queen Kesani. Indra, supreme ruler of the gods feared that he might be deprived of his celestial throne if the ‘Yagya’ (worship with fire) succeeded and then took away the horse and tied it to the ashram of Sage Kapil, who was then in deep meditation. The sons of the King Sagar searched for the horse and finally found it tied near the meditating sage. Sixty thousand angry sons of King Sagar stormed the ashram of sage Kapil. When he opened his eyes, 60,000 sons had perished by the curse of sage Kapil. Bhagirath, grand son of King Sagar, is believed to have meditated to bring down the Ganga to cleanse the ashes of his ancestors and liberate their souls, granting them salvation or Moksha. The Bhagirathi ‘Shila’ is located near the temple of Ganga where the holy Ganga first descended on earth from heaven.

Get in

Airport : Jolly Grant, Dehradun 226 km.
Railhead : Haridwar, 230 km.
Road : Well connected to Rishikesh, Haridwar, Dehradun and Delhi.
Important Road Distances : Dharasu ( 129 km), Yamunotri (224 km) Mussoorie ( 247 km), Tehri ( 172 km)

Do

• Nandavan Tapon (24 km )- An arduous trek along the left bank of the Gangotri Glacier leads to scenic Nandanvan – the base camp for the Bhagirathi peaks, that offers a panoramic view of the surrounding Shivling peak. A trek across the snout of the Gangotri Glacier across the right bank leads to Tapovan known for its beautiful meadows that encircle the base of the Shivling peak. There is also a route from Tapovan across the Gangotri glacier to Nandanvan. From Nandanvan, one can trek further along the Kalindi Khal to Badrinath, which is a extremely difficult trek and has to be done with sufficient preparation.

• Uttarkashi ( 99 km) – An important pilgrimage centre, situated at an elevation of 1,150 mts. above sea level on the bank of river Bhagirathi. Some of the important temples worth visiting are – Vishwanath temple, Ekadash Rudra temple, Gyaneshwar temple and Kuteti Devi Temple. Nearby is the Nehru Institute of Mountaineering. Every year, during the ‘Magh Mela’ ( January 14 ), people visit Uttarkashi to take a holy dip in Bhagirathi along with the image of their village deity

• Kedar Tal ( 18 km) – An enchanting lake, 4425 mts. above sea level against the splendid backdrop of mighty Thalaiyasagar peak. Accessible through a rough mountain trail, it is the base camp for trekking to surrounding peaks. The trek to Kedartal needs a local guide.

• Gaumukh ( 18 km)- The snout of the Gangotri Glacier and the source of the Bhagirathi river. Pilgrims trek upto the sacred spot on foot or on ponies to take a holy dip in the ice-cold water.

Buy

Ancient coins and wollens

Eat

Only local eating places (dhabas) are available. Non-vegetarian food and alcoholic drinks are prohibited in Gangotri.

Drink

No Alcohol permitted here. Instead, drink plenty of natural mineral water full of medicinal values.

Sleep

Many cheap hotels and Ashrams. Money no problem, will even fit if you are broke.