Visakhapatnam

Visakhapatnam is a port city on the southeast coast of India and often called "The Jewel of the East Coast". With a population of 2,035,690, and Occupying 681 square kilometres (263 sq mi), it is the second largest city in the state of Andhra Pradesh and the third largest city on the east coast of India (after Chennai and Kolkata). Visakhapatnam is located 625 kilometres (388 mi) east of the state capital, Hyderabad. The city is home to several state-owned heavy industries and a steel plant; it is one of India's largest seaports and has the country's oldest shipyard. Visakhapatnam has the only natural harbour on the east coast of India.

It is nestled among the hills of the Eastern Ghats and faces the Bay of Bengal on the east. Visakhapatnam is the administrative headquarters of Visakhapatnam district and headquarters of the Eastern Naval Command of the Indian Navy.

According to the history, the city was named after the god of Valor-Vishakha. It was a part of the Kalinga Kingdom, under Ashoka's rule in 260 B.C. It passed on later to the Andhra Kings of Vengi. After this Pallava, Chola and Ganga dynasties ruled the city.In the 15th century, Vishakhapatnam became a part of the Vijayanagar Empire.

It is often called the best tourism destination in Andhra Pradesh. From Lakes to cool Beaches, from beautiful Hill Ranges to Caves and Valleys, Visakhapatnam has them all. The district has many tourism spots that represent the Culture and Heritage of the true India

History

Visakhapatnam was ruled by King Visakha Varma before it was a part of the Kalinga Kingdom under Ashoka's rule in 260 BC, and until the 16th century AD it was part of the Utkala Kingdom. The city passed later to the Andhra Kings of Vengi and after that to the Pallavas. Another story is it was named after Subrahmanyeswara, the deity of valour and second son of Lord Shiva. His beauty was compared to that of Sakhi Viśakha. Legend has it that Radha and Visakha were born on the same day, and were equally beautiful. Local residents believe that an Andhra king, impressed by their beauty, built a temple to pay homage to his family deity Viśakha. Laterly it was ruled by Qutb Shahis, Mughal Empire(between 1689-1724), Nizam (1724-1757) and France (1757-1765) before being captured by the British in 1765.

The territory of Visakhapatnam then came under the Andhra rulers of Vengi, and Chalukyas and Pallavas ruled the land. The region was ruled by the Eastern Ganga king Surya Vamsi and the Gajapati kings of Odisha from the 10th century to the 16th centuries AD (when the region came under the Hyderabad rulers). Based on archaeological evidence, the Prabhakar and the Eastern Ganga Kings of Odisha built temples in the city in the 11th and 12th centuries. The Mughals ruled the area under the Hyderabad Nizam during the late 15th and early 16th centuries. European merchants from France, Holland and the East India Company used the natural port to export tobacco, paddy, coal, iron ore, ivory, muslin and other textile products. 

Local legend tells that an Andhra king, on his way to Benares, rested at Visakhapatnam and was so enchanted by its beauty that he ordered a temple to be built in honour of his family deity, Viśakha. Archaeological sources, however, reveal that the temple was probably built between the 11th and 12th centuries by the Cholas. A shipping merchant, Shankarayya Chetty, built one of the mandapams (pillared halls) of the temple. Although it no longer exists (possibly washed away about 100 years ago by a cyclonic storm), elderly residents of Visakhapatnam remember visits to the ancient shrine by their grandparents (although author Ganapatiraju Atchuta Rama Raju denies this). 

During the 18th century Visakhapatnam was part of the Northern Circars, a region comprising coastal Andhra and southern coastal Odisha which was first under French control and later British. Visakhapatnam became a district in the Madras Presidency of British India. In September 1804, British and French squadrons fought the naval Battle of Vizagapatam near the harbour. After India's independence it was the largest district in the country, and was subsequently divided into the districts of Srikakulam, Vizianagaram and Visakhapatnam. 

Part of the city is known by its colonial British name, Waltair; during the colonial era, the city's hub was the Waltair railway station and the surrounding part of the city is still called Waltair.