Visakhapatnam - another shoddy travel guide of sorts

Visakhapatnam is one of the prettiest cities that I have seen in my travels along the length and breadth of India. One, it is of the right size - not overblown like the metros of Delhi, Calcutta etc, nor insignificantly small like the hill stations of the north or south. Second, like in Goa, it gives you stunning views of the sea, against a very picturesque backdrop of hills.

The places that we visited were

• Beaches - Rishikonda, Ramakrishna and Bheemli - if you're in Vizag, visit at least one of these. They are mostly the same, but they're very beautiful, and the Bay of Bengal is quite a site to behold.
• Kailashgiri Hill - this place offers you a stunning view of the beach (see picture above) A must visit, just for the sheer view.
• The Indira Gandhi Zoological Park - a surprisingly packed-with-animals zoo - they have everything from crocs and gharials, to other exotic reptiles, and even a staggering white tiger. 
• Submarine Museum - A rather unique site-seeing item - a battle hardened submarine - converted into a museum. You can go in and see how life in a war submarine really is.
• Dolphin Nose Lighthouse - offers absolutely stunning views of the entire Vizag coast and city. You can go all the way to the top.
• Araku valley ( 3 hours drive from Vizag) - frankly overrated, but a nice, cute hill station. Don't miss the coffee shop.

See the pictures that I clicked in this Google+ album here.