Kakinada - of Boats, Beaches, Coringa Park, Draksharamam and Sunsets

You had never heard of Kakinada before and it sounded like a station on Mumbai’s Central Line. But here you are making your way south in a bus from Vishakhapatnam. Kakinada is about 150 kms from Vishakhapatnam and is the capital of Andhra Pradesh’s coastal district of East Godavari.

Mere Desh ki Dharti

On the mighty Godavari - On the train from Rajahmundhry to Samarlakota

What is markedly different during the journey are the lush paddy fields and apparent affluence of the people in coastal areas. All this can be traced back to a certain British named General Sir Arthur Cotton, an irrigation engineer, who supervised water management and canal construction projects in AP. Through his efforts an Anicut or dam called Dowleswaram Barrage was built on Godavari at Rajahmundry in 1852. Entire coastal AP has prospered with the resulting extensive irrigation. Today East and West Godavari districts are called the rice bowls of AP. With about 3000 statues in these two districts, Arthur Cotton is revered and worshipped like a God!

A little research reveals a trove of attractions along with the fact that Kakinada is a natural port with both anchorage and deep water ports. Kakinada is nicknamed Fertilizer City owing to two huge fertilizer plants and is popular as Pensioners’ Paradise. You were just lucky to visit Kakinada twice over a period of few months and that gave you few Sundays to explore the town and the nearby areas.

Tiptoeing in Kakinada

The best part of being in Kakinada is the sea. Try spending an evening at the fishermen wharf with a temple in the neighborhood. The setting is perfect: you are in a vantage position in the shallow waters photographing the sea birds as the sun gradually sinks in the west. It is all quite as the birds tiptoe in the waters looking for fish. Your floaters sink into the sand and you take them off to tiptoe barefoot in the waters just like the birds. The water catches slivers of the setting sun.

Coming Home to Kakinada

Catch of the Day - at Kakinada

At this moment, from the east a procession of fishing boats start chugging in. They seem to line up and follow a curve probably hugging a trench unseen below the water. The fishermen are happy and wave at you - probably the fishes have bitten and the catch is good. Women folk from the village have joined and the shore is beehive of activity. The catch is being unloaded from the boats. While in the distance you can see the big tanker ships unloading their cargoes. A Coast Guard cutter keeps a watch. It is the first time you are witnessing something like this - it is an altogether different world and you love it. The sun sets on another glorious evening in Kakinada spreading golden hues on the water. 

You can never have your fill of sea. There is something about water and sea that just draws you in. By the time you were free on the first day in Kakinada it was already dark. You had driven to the fisherman colony just to hear the lap of the waves in the pitch dark. Next day you set out for Uppada Beach about 5 kms north of the town while the evening is still young.

Uppada Beach in Kakinada

Ships Twinkle in the Distance - Kakinada

On a hot day, a big crowd has gathered on the beach to cool off. The waves come in quick succession working up quite a surf. Boats bob on the surface. Red crabs come out of their holes only to disappear at the slight sound of your feet. The best part on a beach is the feeling when the sand below your feet is slowly drawn away by the receding water. It puts you in a state of bliss. The sky turns a different shade every few minutes - another beautiful sun set over Kakinada. Even the moon has made an appearance. In the distance ships anchored in the high seas light up as they wait their turn at the port. In the dusk the the lighthouse starts throwing the light. This is utopia for you - cool wet sand beneath your feet, lap of waves, salty air in the lungs - it cant get any better. Well, until the local cop starts blowing the whistle and it is time to go back to the real world.

This Aint Kerala - Coringa Park in Kakinada

Coringa Park

About 20 kms south of Kakinada on the way to Yanam is the Coringa Wild Life Sanctuary. Coringa is home to mangroves and is the second largest mangrove forest after Sunderbans. On its south side Godavari empties into the Bay of Bengal. The forest is an oasis of green spread over 260 sq kms. With water on two sides, Coringa provides an amazing backdrop to spend few hours in total isolation. The forest department has installed raised walkways around the forest where you can walk while the water during high tides flows below.

Mangroves in the Coringa Park

Here under the canopies of the trees listen to the birds and just feel at peace. Branches of the trees twist around the walkways tempting you to climb the trees. The mosquitoes are plenty and huge so carry a mosquito repellent cream. Through the leaves and branches just beyond you can see the water. This is part of Godavari’s delta. Walking to the edge of the river brings you to the jetty where Forest Department has boats which will take you on the Godavari river to the sea and onwards to Hope Island. The views here are awesome and it seems you have been transported to the backwaters of Kerala.

         

Prawn Farming on way to Draksharamam

Draksharamam, about 35 kms south west of Kakinada is an interesting place. On the way, enjoy the sights of temples, coconut plantations and prawn farms. Stop to feast on fresh coconut water. If you are lucky, you will get coconuts for ten rupees - a steal. In AP, here on the coast there is always a risk of you becoming coconut water intoxicated!

Shri Bhimeswara Temple at Draksharamam

Shri Bhimeswara Temple, Draksharamam - Garbh Griha

Draksharamam is home to Shri Bhimeswara Temple which is one of the most celebrated Pancharamas of Andhra. It is one of the Trilings which give the name of Triling Desa to Andhra Desa. The temple is known as Dakshin Kashi or Banaras of the South. The temple carries inscriptions from 10^th to 15^th Centuries. With two enclosure walls, huge gopuras, mini shrines and two storeyed structure, the temple with lofty ling is quite majestic.

Sunset at Uppada Beach in Kakinada

Another Amazing Sunset over Kakinada

On the way back enjoy more of the sights and the amazing sunsets you have seen all through your stay in Coastal AP. Living and working in the city makes you almost forget how beautiful sunrises and sunsets are. Of course, the horizon from your office cubicle window extends to the building across the road. Here, every evening you are treated to wonderful sunsets - over the sea and over the swaying coconut trees.

Kakinada has something to offer to all travellers. If you are looking for an offbeat destination along with a slice of Pondicherry, come to Kakinada and get pleasantly surprised.

Getting There: Kakinada is 150 kms south of Vishakhapatnam. Samarlakota is the nearest railhead 20 kms away. Kakinada has hotels of all budgets. The beautiful Hope Island is about 5 kms into the sea. Tourism department has introduced boat services from the city’s Jawahar Jetty to Hope Island. Enjoy slice of Pondicherry about 32 kms south of Kakinada in Yanam. Visit the Coringa Mangroves on your way to Yanam.

Hope Island - Tadpole in the Sea

As you zoom in on Google Earth, you notice a strip of land just east of Kakinada in the Bay of Bengal. A little more zoom reveals a tadpole shaped island with green tinge.  More research identifies the island as Hope Island named after the British engineer General Sir Arthur Cotton’s daughter Elizabeth Reid Cotton or Lady Hope. In the map you can see the tail end of the island meeting the river along the coast full of mangrove trees. This spit of sand is a natural barrier that provides Kakinada and the port the protection from cyclones and tidal waves making the port one of the safest harbours in India. Hope Island is spread over 715 acres and is formed from the deposits of sand and alluvium carried by Godavari. This is the point where Godavari flowing from Yanam empties into the Bay of Bengal.

Fishermen Village at Kakinada

The excitement metre is in the red zone! In the map the Hope Island looks tantalising close, but how do you get there? There seem to be no regular boat service to the islands. You had visited the fishermen village the previous evening and saw all these boats coming in after a day at sea catching fish. Maybe you can hire a boat for a couple of hours. Next morning you find yourself in the village negotiating to rent a boat. Deal is fixed at about 1600 rupees and you are instructed to come back at two in the afternoon.

Hold on to your pants..planks - Hope Island, here we come!

You are back in the village with your colleague and the enthusiastic car driver. Now your bravado is failing you. You do not know how to swim and are scared of water. On the beach you can spend hours watching the waves but it is a different deal being on a boat with no safety vests and a sputtering engine that might die anytime. You sit on the centre plank holding on to your dear life. After navigating the unseen trench below, the boat enters the Kakinada Bay and picks up speed. The engine grows louder until it settles at a pitch when it is impossible to listen to your fellow riders. The water is peaceful and the boat mercifully does not bounce much.

On the way to Hope Island

You decide to enjoy the moment a little. If the engine dies or the boat chooses this exact moment to get pierced, well too bad! Sea birds fly with you when suddenly they dive into the water and come out with fish. You just wonder where do the birds rest when they are done with the fishing. But then the land is not far away. You can swear that you saw fishes flying. They just come out of the water in a group and with a splash they dive in. What is happening here? Have you turned into the titular hero of the wonderful film Life of Pi? This is amazing. You just hope the tiger does not emerge out of the tarpaulin in the corner.

On the contraption like boat, the engine clatters away noisily. The boat skipper smokes with nonchalance and has a faraway look. He perhaps hope to sail into the unknown horizon one day. The boat thumps on the water and seemingly gets airborne every now and then. You know you are in the zone when everything around is flying - the boat, the fishes and the birds. Now there is barge tugged by a boat. Kakinada has receded and Hope Island is beyond the horizon. For a moment everyone is smiling on the boat. We are like a bunch of Somali pirates who have just sighted an oil tanker with Captain Philips on the horizon.

Hope Island Ahoy!

Hope Island Anchor Point - I am not getting down!

Hope Island - You are not leaving me behind, are you?

The island is just five kilometres from the coast. About 100 feet short of the island, the captain cuts off the engine. You wonder why. Well there was no jetty and this is as far as the boat can go or it runs the risk of running aground. There is no way that you are jumping in thigh high water and wading through. You tell them you are staying in the boat and they can go. Everybody gets off but you are not budging. So here you are bobbing up and down in the boat. Towards the west all you can see is water. Except for the waves everything is quite. For a moment you feel like Kevin Costner in Waterworld - the lone ranger on the water but of course you do not have fins growing from your feet. The boat floats with a small anchor holding it and you marooned on the boat.  You needed this quite time to summon courage. Long time ago you had gritted your teeth and landed on a small platform in the middle of a sea - a parasailing experience you still remember vividly. Getting off a boat on a jetty is hard enough and here you have to jump in water. Courage arrives just in time and soon you are walking towards the shore feeling proud of yourself.

Hope Island

The friends cheer you up as you join them. The island at this point is not much wide. What you want to see lies on the other side - you want to go to the eastern side of the island to greet the Bay of Bengal. There is not much on the island - few trees besides the mangrove clumps around the northern end, houses of fisherman that make up the small hamlet and few handpumps for water. You forgot to ask whether the handpump water is sweet or saline. Residents are quite surprised to see the visitors and you wave to them.

Hope Island - The Utopia

And then you come to the beach on the eastern side with the Bay of Bengal stretching before you. The beach is absolutely virgin. In fact there are no people and no shacks - everything is pretty and untouched. Clean sand stretches on both sides. Commercialization is not always good and this is the perfect example. Since there are no regular tourist boats coming to the island, this strip of sand has managed to retain its bucolic innocence. Reports indicate that tourism department has introduced boat services from the city’s Jawahar Jetty to Hope Island in December 2013. This could be the end of innocence for the beautiful island.

Hope Island - Da Beach

You find bliss by the sea. And here on Hope Island you find utopia. Blue skies reflect on the water. Water shimmers under the sun. Waves come in gentle succession caressing the sands. The sight is magical and the sounds musical. You can get used to this life. 

Red Crabs at Hope Island

Come On Give me Your Best Shot!

Just beyond on the beach you see a carpet of red flowers. But where did the flowers come from - there are no flower trees here. You walk towards this red shimmer and then voila - the red vanishes. You go quiet and then suddenly hundreds of red crabs start popping out of their sandy holes. You have not seen anything like this before. This is an amazing spectacle. The sea has its own life and here on the beach you can see it is colourful too.

Hope Island, Kakinada, Andhra Pradesh - looking towards the Southern end

Hope Island, Kakinada, Andhra Pradesh - Sands of Time

It is time to wrench away from this virgin piece of land in the middle of the sea. On the way back you walk around the tiny village. Reportedly there are 100 families living on the island in two settlements. It seems the captain of the boat is a resident of this island. The entire family is surprised and happy to see him. On the shore tiny sand ridges are formed with birds footprints. Some boats are moored waiting for good tidings.

Hope Island - The Ride back to Kakinada

Sunset Over Kakinada

The skipper’s family follows us to the boat to see him off.  And this time you actually enjoy the walk back to the boat. We wave to the family as the engine sputters back to life. It was quite an adventure and you are pleased with yourself. Hope Island fills you with hope - its people, its tranquility, its honesty. The sun sets on another beautiful evening over Kakinada as fishermen check on their nets for a new day is not far away. 

Getting There: Make Kakinada your base. Kakinada is a developed city with hotels of all budgets. Hope Island is about 5 kms into the sea. Tourism department has introduced boat services from the city’s Jawahar Jetty to Hope Island. Please find out the boat times.  Enjoy slice of Pondicherry about 32 kms south of Kakinada in Yanam. Visit the Coringa Mangroves on your way to Yanam.

Related Posts:

Kakinada
Yanam - Slice of Pondicherry