Tourists visiting Visakhapatnam will soon get to admire the coastline from various angles. A series of tourism initiatives will offer different experiences to travellers and locals. Paragliding will start at the city’s iconic hilltop, Kailasagiri, giving adventure lovers a chance to glide over the cityscape and the Bay of Bengal.
On the occasion of World Tourism Day today, a demo will be held by the team at Livein Adventures. “We have three sets of tandem paragliders and six solo paragliders. The activity depends on the wind pattern. Participants will be in the air for about 15 minutes,” says Balaram Naidu of Livein Adventures. A tandem ride lets one enjoy the thrill of paragliding, without having to learn it. The trial runs by the team which were held earlier this week were a success. “The ideal wind speed is about seven to 13 kilometres per hour,” Balaram adds.
Trials for paragliding being carried out at Kailasagiri in Visakhapatnam | Photo Credit: Special arrangement
After last season’s find of two shipwrecks during scuba-diving explorations off the coast of Visakhapatnam, a team of three dive masters and one instructor is gearing up to search new areas under the ocean. The fresh explorations will be done along the coast of Yendada, Mangamaripeta, till the sea opposite Kailasagiri. The scuba-diving community across the globe has been excited about the recent discoveries. “On an average, we cater to 30 clients for scuba diving in a day during the season (October to February),” says Balaram. The bookings can be done online on Livein Adventures. A scuba-diving academy is underway at Chintapalli in Vizianagaram district and is expected to be operational by November.
Among other initiatives, a skydiving facility will come up by the Rushikonda coast. The initiative, that was recently announced by Himanshu Shukla, CEO-AP Tourism Authority, is a joint venture between Andhra Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation (APTDC) and Rajasthan-based Aero Sports Adventure Club. PTDC will support the adventure club by providing infrastructure. The thrill doesn’t end here. Re-launching of heli-tourism services by Visakhapatnam Metroplitan RegionDevelopment Authority is in the pipeline as well. The Ramakrishna Beach recently got a facelift with 100 coconut trees being planted on the three-kilometre sand stretch. Visakhapatnam district saw a footfall of over two crore tourists last year and the recent initiatives are expected to give a boost to its tourism sector.