We went to Visakhapatnam on 8th April 2016 and on reaching the city we relaxed at the rented house where my father was residing, a few years before, he actually got retired and came back home. After a quick rest, we went to Simhachalam Temple which is 9km from the city center and the temple is an ornate shrine that is revered to be one of the most important temples in the region. The edifice is perched atop a hill 800 meters above sea level and is dedicated to Lord Narasimha, who is an incarnation of Vishnu himself. The temple is embellished with extremely detailed stone carvings and designs that can be stopped from a distance only. Also, this is said to be the only temple in the country where Shri Varaha Lakshmi Narasimha Swami appeared. The temple has detailed prayer routines for all days and it is a treasure of traditional Vaishnavite culture. Interestingly, the state of the deity appears in its true form only for 12 hours per year on the day of Akshaya Tritiya and on any other occasions, the idol is covered with sandalwood paste. The temple also has been a source of inspiration to many poets.
Simachachalam Temple, Visakhapatnam.
PC: Vijaya Shankar O
Then, we went to Kailasagiri which is a hilltop park in the city of Vishakhapatnam. The hill is at 360 ft and it overlooks beaches, forests & the city itself. It is one the best ways to see the city in a bird’s eye view. From there, we saw Ramakrishna Beach. The Kailasagiri place offers plenty of leisure activities like adventurous games, circular trains, and paragliding facilities. Apart from that, there are huge idols of Lord Shiva and Parvathi which gives the place a religious flavor.
Statues of Shiva and Parvathi at Kailasagiri Park.
PC: Vijaya Shankar O
Then, we went to Visakhapatnam Port and saw millions of small fishes are put out in the sun on a red cloth for drying and the boats on the water. After that, we went to Tribal Museum of Araku Village where we took photos with various paintings, animal statues, rag dolls, a group of fake villagers’ statues, masks, gates, chakras and etc.
Boats at the Visakhapatnam Port
PC: Vijaya Shankar O
After seeing those, we went to Borra Caves which is situated in the Ananthagiri hills of the Araku village of Visakhapatnam district. Breath-taking hilly terrain, beautiful landscape, semi-evergreen moist deciduous forests, and wild fauna of the Borra caves are a visual treat. It was a marvelous creation of nature, the Borra caves were formed. The most striking feature of the caves is their exquisite variety of speleothems ranging in size. The Borra Caves are deemed to be among the largest in the country and are perched at a whopping elevation of about 705 meters. It is considered the deepest cave in India. Natural skylights in the caves make way for colorful imagery that imparts them a unique enigma of its own, the journey to travel in it was thrilling for me.
Lighting flashed on the Borra Caves, Ananthagiri Hills
PC: Vijaya Shankar O
After coming
out of the Borra Caves, we went to the submarine museum. The museum is inside
an actual submarine, INS Kurusura, which was India’s 5th submarine.
The museum situated on RK Beach and it is frequently visited by enthusiasts who
want to know more about living in submarines, the museum has artifacts, pictures, and articles that share the stories of strength, sacrifice, and patriotism of
the warriors. They give insights on how difficult surviving can be with limited
space and resources hundreds of feet underwater.
Overall, it
was exciting to watch the hotspots at Visakhapatnam and I still wanted to go
back in there to not miss out to watch the others one’s that I missed out on this
time.
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