My Travel Pursuits: Holiday in the City of Beaches, Vizag

Vishakhapatnam Railway Station

Sometime in the wee hours when I found myself standing on the platform at Vishakhapatnam Railway Station with my backpack. The coastal city of Vishakhapatnam was still cocooned in its deep slumber. I waited till the city slowly woke up from its deep and cozy slumber to embrace a new day.

The general cleanliness and maintenance of the city impressed me the most during my three days stay.

I got a nice room with a sea view at YMCA hostel near the beach road. It had an attached small balcony, too. 😊

view from my hotel balcony

YMCA Hostel

Visitors flock to Vizag for its museums, for its beaches,for its Buddhist sites, and for its hills. I slipped on my exploring shoes to explore the many interesting attractions during my three eventful days. My encounter with the following places:

Victory at Sea Memorial

The location of my hotel is perfect. It is at the beach road that made it easy to explore the beach road attractions. The War Memorial is conveniently located on the beach road. It was constructed in 1996 to commemorate the victory of Indian Navy’s Eastern Naval Command in the 1971 war with Pakistan. I noticed some exhibits on the grounds such as a fighter plane, a tank, few bombs, and missiles.

Victory at Sea Memorial

TU 142 Aircraft Museum

The city of Vizag takes pride in its many interesting museums. The TU-142M Aircraft Museum is one such museums located on the beach road. The TU-142M Aircraft of Indian Navy was decommissioned after 30 years of service and converted into a museum. On entering the premises through the huge gate next to the ticket counter, the huge aircraft on my left caught my attention. But I was first directed towards the exhibition hall. Various equipment (sonobuoy, propeller, engine, survival kit, anti-submarine missile, date recorder, etc.) and parts of aircraft are on display with details in the exhibition hall. On exiting from the other end of the exhibition hall, I was excited as it was time to enter the aircraft that was earlier used for the Indian Navy. No photography is allowed inside the aircraft. I tried my hand in enjoying doing flight simulator through VR headsets at a nominal fee. There is a café within the premises and also a souvenir stall.

TU-142 Aircraft Museum

displays at exhibition hall of the museum

TU-142 Aircraft Museum

INS Kursura Submarine Museum

The INS Kursura submarine museum is just opposite to TU-142M Aircraft museum on the beach road. After purchasing the entry ticket, I had to wait for some time before being ushered inside the submarine in batches. I had goosebumps when I found myself inside a real submarine!!!

INS Kursura Submarine Museum

The INS Kursura submarine museum looks huge from outside. Once inside you realise how small are the cabins and how narrow are the passages. It is the first submarine turned into a museum in Asia and second in the world. A guide took us around the place explaining the history and activities of the submarine in great detail. The guide was pretty helpful. The milestones of the evolution of this submarine are depicted with the help of artefacts, photographs, and written scripts. As a civilian it was definitely an interesting experience to understand about life inside a submarine and hardships faced by the submariners in the sea. No photography is allowed inside the museum.

INS Kursura Submarine Museum

Ramakrishna Mission Ashram

The pink coloured structure is few minutes away from RK beach. It was evening when I arrived here. A straight concrete path from the entrance gate led directly to the door of a prayer hall. The serene prayer hall has a statue of Ramakrishna. I sat with the other visitors on the carpeted floor for the evening prayer to start.

Ramakrishna Mission Ashram

Statue of Swami Vivekananda

Ramakrishna and Vivekananda Literature Book Stall & Library

Do drop in if you are a book lover. This is located right on the beach road. It has a reading room and a good collection of books. Not to be missed is the doll-exhibition that beautifully displays the life and times of Ramakrishna Paramahamsa and Swami Vivekananda.

the library and the bookstall

the doll exhibition

Vizag is well-known as the city of beaches. The long coastline of Vizag are dotted by many beaches. Most of these are idyllic, scenic, clean, unspoilt, and uncrowded. You can have your uninterrupted sun, sand, sea moment here. Do not expect the frills and fancies of beaches like those found in Goa. I admit am not much of a beach person. Following are the beaches I visited during my stay in Vizag:

Ramakrishna Beach

Ramakrishna Beach which is popularly called RK Beach is conveniently located right in the city. The inviting stretch of sand and the sea water attracts everyone. It is without a doubt a great spot to take a leisurely stroll early in the morning to see sunrise over the mesmerizing sea, evening, and at night. Day time can be too hot to take a stroll. It gets crowded with young and old alike as evening approaches. All the strolling, relaxing, playing in the water, and people watching at the beach definitely kicked in my hunger pangs. The many food stalls on the beach side came to my rescue. It was time to treat my taste buds with variety of street food on offer. In addition, I needed to give some rest to my weary walking feet.

Ramakrishna Beach

Ramakrishna Beach
sunset at RK Beach

Ramakrishna Beach

hawkers at RK Beach promenade
RK Beach road and promenade

RK Beach road and promenade

lighthouse at RK Beach

RK Beach and promenade

RK Beach road and promenade

RK Beach road and promenade

one for the memories at the promenade

RK Beach road and promenade

signboard

Rushikonda Beach

It is around 11 kms from Vizag city. It is easily reachable by public transport if you are on a budget. I took a public bus for going and coming back. What I noticed about this particular beach was that it has a pristine surrounding with green hills on one side and endless stretch of sea water on the other side. This beach might whisper softly into your ears, “Are you feeling adventurous?” If your answer is affirmative…then what are you waiting for? Take the plunge and indulge yourself wholeheartedly in swimming, water skiing, and wind surfing.

Rushikonda Beach

Rushikonda Beach

Rushikonda Beach

Rushikonda Beach

Rushikonda Beach

Rushikonda Beach

Rushikonda Beach

Rushikonda Beach

sunset in Rushikonda Beach

one for the memories in Rushikonda Beach

Rushikonda Beach

Rushikonda Beach

doggo company at Rushikonda Beach

Thotlakonda Beach

I made my way to this beach after visiting the Buddhist sites of Thotlakonda. It is also easily reachable from Vizag by public transport. This beach comes after Rushikonda beach. It might be due to its distant location many people are unaware of this rocky beach. As far as eateries are concerned, there is only one hotel at the beach side manned by the tourism dept. The beach was completely deserted baring a lone couple during my visit. The beach is characterized by its rocky shore and the beautiful rocky formations. I walked carefully over the slippery rocky shore and found a dry spot to sit. I sat for a long time looking out into the sea enjoying the sound of the crashing waves, the peace, and the solitude. It was fun to see the crashing waves rushing towards the shore, and some rising from the gaps as the white foamy waves did their watery dance for my entertainment.

Thotlakonda Beach

one for the memories at Thotlakonda Beach

Thotlakonda Beach

play of foamy waves at Thotlakonda Beach

Thotlakonda Beach

Offering a bird's eye view of the coastline are some of the hilltop attractions of Vizag I took time to go and visit.

Kailasagiri Hill

I took an auto from beach road. The autowalla dropped me at the foot of the stairs near the entry gate of the ropeway. You can go all the way up to the top of the hill via road or via ropeway or via the long flight of stairs. The ropeway has specific timings and nominal fee is charged. Since I arrived quite early morning, the ticket counter guy told me, “Madam, you have to wait an hour before we can operate the ropeway.” I am someone who doesn’t have the patience of the waiting game. Rather than keep waiting for the ropeway to operate, I took the long flight of stairs. It turned out a good workout climbing those steep stairs. As I kept climbing higher and higher, spectacular views of the sea and the city came into view. Once I reached the top of the stairs, I further needed to walk for a few minutes through a steep road to finally arrive at the entrance of Kailasagiri.

way to Kailasagiri Hill

price info for the ropeway

up and up I climb the many steep steps

The hilltop has a huge white-coloured statue of Shiva and Parvathi. There are several viewpoints offering wonderful views of the city on one side and winding beaches on the other side. It was hazy during my visit; and so the views weren't clear. The place is aesthetically well-maintained with flower gardens and sitting benches under the cool shade of tall trees. There is a huge banyan tree near the food zone section. The twisting aerial roots hanging all peacefully from the tree. The children play section will keep the kids occupied. Initially I wasn't keen to go for the toy train ride around the hill. I finally gave in and hopped on for the joy ride. When hunger pangs kicked in, I dropped in one of the eateries to have veg lunch. I returned back to the city by taking a local bus from the hilltop.

entrance gate to Kailasagiri Hill

views from Kailasagiri Hill

view of Vizag city from Kailasagiri Hill

statue of Shiva and Parvathi at Kailasagiri Hill

one for the memories at Kailasagiri Hill

well-maintained Kailasagiri Hill

the big banyan tree at Kailasagiri Hill

aerial roots of a banyan tree

toy train ride at Kailasagiri Hill

veg lunch at an eatery at Kailsagiri Hill

Ross Hill Church, Venkateswara Temple, Baba Ishq Madina Dargah

There are three scenic hills dedicated to three different faiths which serves as a unique testament to communal harmony of Vizag. It is located in the port area. The first hill to greet visitors is the Sringamani Hill, adjacent to it is the Ross Hill, and a little further away is the Dargah Pahad.

The highest hill among the three hills is the Ross Hill. Ross Hill Church is at the top of this hill. Statue of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart is placed at the altar of the church. The winding pathway to the shrine is strewn with Catholic icons. I was happy to see panoramic views of the port area, including the port channel, which was the entrance of the inner harbour for ships and liners.

Ross Hill Church

way to Ross Hill Church

view from Ross Hill Church

After paying visit to the church, I came down the winding pathway to go to Sri Venkateswara Temple in Sringamani Hill adjacent to Ross Hill. A towering gopura greets visitors to the temple dedicated to Lord Vishnu. I removed footwear at the entrance and climbed a steep flight of steps from the entrance to arrive at the upper platform of the temple. It is believed to be built in 17^th century.

steps leading to Sri Venkateswara Temple

Sri Venkateswara Temple

port area

A little further away lies the Dargah Pahad. I walked from the temple to the mosque. It is a mosque and a mausoleum of the Muslim saint, Sayed Ali Medina alias Baba Ishak Medina. A flight of steps from the entry gate leads to the tomb of the saint. The mosque is believed to be about seven hundred years old. Leaving the mosque, I walked through the locality and realised it is a Muslim area. I bought some eatables from a shop and some local fruits from a fruit seller. I didn’t have to wait for long to get a local bus to return back to the city.

entrance to the holy shrine

steps leading to the holy shrine

view from the holy shrine

the holy shrine

view from the holy shrine

Before ending this travelogue, here are a few pictures of the many street art I came across in the nooks and corners of Vizag. These eye catching artwork added a dose of colour on the bare walls; and ended up beautifying the city. Kudos to the artists for their creative work!!!