 Leisure tourism in Visakhapatnam district has a lot to offer the in terms of parks, museums, historical monuments and places of natural beauty. For instance, Kailasagiri is a picturesque hill over looking the sea. The 350 acres of natural beauty has been developed into a lush green park has a panoramic sea view with a serene atmosphere with water sprinklers, microwave repeater station and beautiful garden locations making it an outstanding tourist spot. On the top of the hill a giant illuminated statue of Sivaparvatulu and Sanku Chakra and Namalu of Lord Venkateswara are established.
Vuda Park covers a vast area has beautiful greenery and a panoramic sea view. Found here are a dancing musical fountain boating facilities and a skating rink, a well-equipped gymnasium and pleasure rides on horses and camels. Lumbini Park is located on the beautiful beach road. It has a large statue of Lord Buddha in the middle of the park and is gifted with idyllic hills on one side and the blue sea on the other. It is one of the major tourist attractions of the place. Mudasarlova, as the name itself depicts, is a valley formed by the natural hills. It is situated 10 Km from Visakhapatnam. It has a lake that supplies drinking water to the city. The Municipal Corporation, Visakhapatnam has developed this into a beautiful park with different types of green plants and orchards. It is a beautiful picnic spot attracting a good number of tourists and public. A conspicuous land marks in Visakhapatnam the Dolphin's Nose. It is a huge rocky head land 174 meters high and 358 meters above sea level jutting out into the sea resembling the shape of Dolphin. The powerful beacon of the light house set on rock at sea directs ships 65 Km. away. A number of places of natural beauty are found at Visakhapatnam district, such as Tyda, Ananthagiri, Kondakarla Ava, Matsyakundam etc. The Victory at Sea is a War Memorial built in 1996 by Eastern Naval Command to Commemorate the Indian Navy Victory at Sea in 1971. The beautiful landscape and coloured fountain around the monument is surrounded by the elegant war tanker Ajanta and War Flight. The Kurapam tomb is a 100 year old Tomb built in memory of Rani of Kurapam. Its architectural style is spectacular with an amalgamation of the sikara and the dome in the same monument. The structure has carvings of the Acanthus leaf, deities and floral motifs. 
Borra cavesare a natural formation in the Eastern Ghats mountain range, situated in Ananthagiri Mandal at a distance of 100 Kilometresfrom Visakhapatnam and 10 Km from Visakhapatnam to Araku Valley road point. The Borra Caves have geological and Historical importance. Deep in the caves there is Sivalingam over which the water drips from above which is said to be the origin of the river Gosthani. The river gosthani flowing from these caves forms a beautiful sight. These caves have been beautifully illuminated and attract a large number of tourists daily. The crystal white calcium stones are seen in various forms like a hooded serpent, Lord Brahma, Radha and Lord Krishna etc. Gopalapatnam is situated on the left bank of river Thandava in Payakaraopeta Mandal of Visakhapatnam district. Explorations in and around the village revealed many items of historical interest. Found here were stupas, viharas and early historic pottery. These were seen inside the villages as also on the hill ranges. The entire village appears to have been built on ancient habitation. Sankaram is a small village which is over six Kilometres from Anakapalli. There are two low contiguous rock hills running east and west which are locally known as Bojjannakonda. They contain some notable Buddhist remains. Three huge stupas at three different places were cut with great difficulty from the rocks in these hills. The biggest of these is about nine meters in diameter. On the eastern side of the hills is a rock cut temple with numerous Buddhist Sculptures and also a life size statue of Lord Buddha. Sankaram is a place of great archaeological importance. 
Archaeological excavations have also been made at places like Totlakonda, Bavikonda and Pavurala Konda which have thrown up a number of important findings of historical interest.
Submarine Museum is an originally de-commissioned submarine located on the sands of the R.K.Beach, which has now been converted into a museum. This project is jointly taken up by the NSDRC and Eastern Naval Command. The Visakha Museum was opened in 1991 to preserve the house collections from the cultural and social heritage of the city of the Visakhapatnam. A number of beaches are also found scattered around the district, such as Yarada Beach, Gangavaram Beach, Mutyalampalem Beach and Creek, Rushikonda Beach, Bheemili Beach etc. The Etikoppoka village is famous for the toys made here, specially made out of Ankudu wood. The town of Ankapalli is well-known for the - wholesale marketing for Jaggery which is exported to various places in the country. It is also famous for sugarcane and guava fruits. Araku Valley is about 115 Km. from Visakhapatnam lying on the top of the Eastern Ghats. The entire area is inhabited by aboriginal tribes and attracts visitors from all over the country. The Ananthagiri hills on the way to Araku Valley are famous for coffee plantation. Araku Valley has an exploratory-cum demonstration farm which is about 20 hectares in extent a Government orchard and a Government silk farm with mulberry gardens. The beautiful Araku Valley with its bracing climate, orchards and the Ananthagiri ghats, offers good communication and halting facilities to the tourists. . Dhimsa Dance is a unique feature of the tribes of Araku, which is organised every Saturday and Sunday for entertaining tourists. A habitat museum which reveals the entire tribal culture and a Horticulture nursery cum training centre at Padmapuram and a waterfall at Ranajilleda is worth seeing at Araku. These are the various places of tourism offered by Visakhapatnam district to all those looking to travel to the district. (Last Updated on : 18-02-2010) |
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