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Visakhapatnam, often called Vizag, is the largest city of Andhra Pradesh in India, a port city set between the Eastern Ghats and the Bay of Bengal and famous for its beaches, its naval heritage and the hill views from Kailasagiri. RK Beach and Rushikonda Beach draw crowds every evening, and Beach Road links the main sights along the shore.
Vizag is home to the Indian Navy's Eastern Naval Command, and Beach Road shows it off with the INS Kursura Submarine Museum and the TU 142 Aircraft Museum. The Dolphin's Nose headland and its lighthouse guard the harbour, while the hilltop Simhachalam Temple is one of the great Vishnu shrines of the region.
Beyond the city, Bheemili and Yarada offer quieter beaches, and the Buddhist ruins of Thotlakonda look out over the sea. Many visitors take the train into the Eastern Ghats to the coffee plantations of Araku Valley and the limestone Borra Caves. October to March brings the most pleasant weather.
RK Beach, or Ramakrishna Beach, is Visakhapatnam's main city beach on the Bay of Bengal, named after the nearby Ramakrishna Mission ashram. Its long promenade on Beach Road passes the Submarine Museum, the Aircraft Museum and snack stalls, and it is liveliest at sunset and in the evening.
Rushikonda Beach lies on the northern side of Visakhapatnam, a golden curve of sand backed by green hills along the coastal Beach Road. Maintained by Andhra Pradesh Tourism, it is one of the city's most popular beaches for swimming and water sports, and mornings are the quietest time to visit.
Yarada Beach is a secluded bay about 15 kilometres from Visakhapatnam, near Dolphin's Nose, enclosed by green hills and facing the Bay of Bengal. Much quieter than the city beaches, it suits a relaxed afternoon, and the drive over the hill gives fine views of the coast and the port.
Bheemili Beach at Bheemunipatnam, about 30 kilometres north of Visakhapatnam, lies where the Gosthani River meets the Bay of Bengal. The old Dutch settlement has a colonial cemetery and a lighthouse, and the Beach Road drive there past Rushikonda is one of the most scenic in the region.
The INS Kursura Submarine Museum on RK Beach in Visakhapatnam is a real Indian Navy submarine, commissioned in 1969, which served in the 1971 war and opened as a museum in 2002. Visitors walk through its torpedo rooms, control room and cramped crew quarters to see how sailors lived on board.
The TU 142 Aircraft Museum on Beach Road in Visakhapatnam displays a Tupolev Tu-142 maritime patrol aircraft that flew for 29 years with the Indian Navy before retiring in 2017. Set across the road from the Submarine Museum, it lets visitors walk through the cabin.
Kailasagiri is a hilltop park in Visakhapatnam, 173 metres above the city, with sweeping views of the coastline, the beaches and the Bay of Bengal. A ropeway carries visitors up from the foot of the hill, and the top has large white statues of Shiva and Parvati, gardens and a toy train.
Dolphin's Nose is a rocky headland in Visakhapatnam, 358 metres above sea level, named for its shape and topped by a lighthouse whose beam guides ships up to 65 kilometres away. It shelters the harbour, and viewpoints on the hill look over the port, Yarada Beach and the open sea.
Simhachalam Temple, the Sri Varaha Lakshmi Narasimha temple on a hill 300 metres above sea level in Visakhapatnam, is one of Andhra Pradesh's great Vishnu shrines, built in the Kalinga style. The idol is covered in sandalwood paste all year and is revealed to pilgrims only on Akshaya Tritiya.
Thotlakonda Buddhist Complex is an ancient monastery site on a hill about 15 kilometres from Visakhapatnam, near Bheemunipatnam, 128 metres above the sea. Its stupa, prayer halls and rock-cut water cisterns, which give the hill its name, look out over the coast and the Bay of Bengal.
Borra Caves are a large limestone cave system in the Ananthagiri hills of Araku Valley, a popular day trip from Visakhapatnam, full of stalactites, stalagmites and other formations lit up for visitors. A stalagmite inside is worshipped as a Shiva lingam, and the train ride there is very scenic.
Araku Valley is a hill station in the Eastern Ghats about 111 kilometres from Visakhapatnam, known for its coffee plantations, tribal culture and cool climate. The Tribal Museum and the Coffee Museum explain local life, and the journey by train through forests and tunnels is a highlight.
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