¤ About Visakhapatnam
Visakhapatnam, formerly known as Vizag, along the eastern coast of Andhra Pradesh was a quiet fishing town with little or no infrastructure till the early 1920s. Visakhapatnam was established by the British and was opened to sea-going vessels in 1933. Since then it has been a medium - sized port town, catering to the needs of the Deccan Plateau and the eastern regions of the country. Known as Waltair under British rule, Vishakhapatnam was also seen to be of strategic importance by the military who set up base here.

Visakhapatnam is the right place where one can find the charm of Andhra. From lakes to cool beaches, from beautiful hill ranges to caves and valleys enclosures, Visakhapatnam has all of them. A visit to Visakhapatnam will certainly be exciting, enriching and enthralling experience with all its amazing beaches, exquisite caves and spectacular temples. Though the history of Visakhapatnam dates back to the Ashokan era (circa 3rd century B.C.), it was developed by the British as a port city. At this time it was a tiny fishing village. The place was a part of the Great Kalinga kingdom, which was defeated by Ashoka of the Maurya dynasty in 262 BC. This battle is one of the most famous in the world. After the fall of the Mauryan Empire, Visakhapatnam formed part of the different dynasties.

Visakhapatnam was so called after the lord of valor, Vishakha and today it is popularly known as Vizag. Geographically it is enchanting to see the city enclosed by the Blue Mountains and Silver Sea. The growth of as Visakhapatnam a major port city of India contributed to its rapid industrialization with the onset of major industries such as oil refinery, fertilizer and zinc industry and steel plant. The urbanization and industrialization has resulted in the tremendous amount of migration into the city. Presently it has emerged as an important center of the information technology. It has also the largest ship-building yard of India. Visakhapatnam is a must visit on any itinerary of a travel to India undertaken for the purpose of business. As Visakhapatnam reinvents itself as one of the business gateways to India, the city is developing as a tourist hub inviting all genres of tourists. Catering to its needs as a comfortable destination, Vizag houses a number of properties of the major hotel chains in the country.

These hotels make a travel to this city a pleasant experience. The Taj, the Park and the Welcome group are a few to name. These properties have their elegantly appointed rooms and suites to relax one and to pamper the business needs. The Taj residency hotel runs a 24 hr. Business Center and has conference facilities for up to 400 people. The Park, one of the oldest hotels, offers all deluxe facilities of a hotel and at the same time boasts of being the only hotel in Vizag situated on the beach with a resort ambience.

¤ Major Tourist Attractions of Visakhapatnam
» Kailasagiri - Kailasagiri is located on a hilltop and is a must to see place for all people visiting Visakhapatnam. The charming hill on the seafront, exudes a mind blowing picturesque view, especially towards Bheemunipatnam.

» Rishikonda Beach -At a distance of 8 km from Visakhapatnam is the Rishikonda Beach, a golden, virgin beach, caressed by the sun-kissed sea. The beach is an ideal place to laze around.

» Ramakrishna Beach -One of the most alluring beaches on the Eastern Coast is the Ramakrishna beach, which is a favourite haunt for tourists visiting Visakhapatnam.

» Indira Gandhi Zoological Park - The Nehru Zoological Park, one of the largest zoos in Asia is home to nearly 1,500 species of animals, birds and reptiles. The Lion Safari within the zoo is one of the main attractions for tourists in this Park. It also houses a nocturnal zoo, a dinosaur park, a natural history museum, parks and a mini-train.

» Ramoji Film City - The Indira Gandhi Zoological Park is situated in Visakhapatnam amidst the picturesque eastern ghats of India, enclosed by hills on either sides and Bay of Bengal on the east.

¤ Shopping
The main shopping centers in Vizag are the Main Road stretch from Jagadamba Junction to Old Post Office, Daba Gardens, Kurupam Market, Dwaraka Nagar, One Town Area. If you are looking for Exclusive Handicrafts Shopping Centers you will find the best buys at Khadhi Grammena Udyog, Lepakshi, Girijan Co-operative Society.

¤ Accomodation
We offer best of the accommodations available in Visakhapatnam. There are long list of hotels in wide category with good amount of facilities. There are heritage, star and budget category hotels in Visakhapatnam. Just pick the one which will best fulfill your requirements. Shopping

¤ Climate of Visakhapatnam
The climate of Visakhapatnam has no appreciable seasonal changes. Being close to the sea, the level of humidity is high. The fluctuations in temperature are fairly uniform in character, except during the dry months when the rise in temperature is higher than it is during the monsoon period. From February onwards, the temperature rises progressively till May, which is the hottest month. During the years 1931-60 the maximum average (mean) temperature was 34oC. This has been showing an upward trend with the minimum and maximum for the period of 1975-81 being reported as 38oC and 29oC, respectively. In recent years, it has not been uncommon for the day temperature to exceed 43oC during May. December, January represent the coldest period of the year. The average annual rainfall for the city and its surroundings is of the order of 95 centimeters with the bulk of the rain coming from north-east monsoon. During the period between September and November, storms and depressions originating in the Bay of Bengal cross the east coast in the neighbourhood causing heavy rains and gales. As per Thornthwaite's classification, Visakhapatnam and its environs come under the semi - arid ( D) category. All the elements of climate viz temperature, pressure, wind, rainfall, relative humidity and other weather phenomena hardly exist and exhibit a well marked variation while January is the coolest month of the year with average temperatures of 30.0oc and 22.5oc respectively.

¤ How To Reach Visakhapatnam
» Air - Indian Airlines connects Visakhapatnam to major cities like Hyderabad, Mumbai, Bhubaneswar, Chennai etc.

» Rail - Indian Railways provides a number of trains which travel from major South Indian cities and even Kolkata and Bhubaneswar.

» Road - National Highway No. 5 passes through the city adding to its communications network. Best time to visit Vizag is from October to March.