visakhapatnam

visakhapatnam is a port city in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is located on the eastern shore of India, nestled among the Eastern Ghats Hill Ranges and facing the Bay of Bengal to the east. The city is about 650 km northeast of Hyderabad. The city is the administrative headquarters of visakhapatnam District. Vishakhapatnam is built along the seashore of the Bay of Bengal, and is bounded and broken by the bold headland called the Dolphin’s Nose (357m above the sea level). The city boasts of a beautiful beach with a long beach road ending at nearly Bheemunipatnam on the northern end. The surrounding area is dominated on the west by the well-forested Eastern Ghats and farther east is drained by numerous rivers, among them the Godavari and Indravati. This land of the Golden Beaches was just over half a century ago a small fishing village. One would be amazed at the manner in which this port city with a natural harbour developed into one of the fastest growing cities in Asia.

According to the history, the city was named after the god of ‘Valor-Vishakha’. It was a part of the Kalinga Kingdom, under Ashoka’s rule in 260 B.C. It passed on later to the Andhra Kings of ‘Vengi’. After this Pallava, Chola and Ganga dynasties ruled the city. In the 15th century, Vishakhapatnam became a part of the Vijayanagar Empire.

The Europeans, the Dutch, the French and the English established themselves from the 17th century onwards and used this as a major trading center to export textiles, ivory, tobacco, indigo etc. This port is well documented in the histories of these colonial powers as well as in Indian historical records. This coast played a major role during the reign of the Asaf Jahis and the Golcondas.

Area : 11,200sqkm Population : 32,85,092
Best Season : December to March
State : Andhra Pradesh