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Machilipatnam
Machilipatnam, also
known as Masulipatnam or Bandar or Masula (in short), is a city on
the southeastern or Coromandel Coast of India. Situated on one of
the mouths of the river Krishna at the Bay of Bengal, Machilipatnam
is the administrative center of Krishna District in the state of
Andhra Pradesh. It was a 17th century port for French, British and
Dutch trade. It is a small fishing town; has a carpet-weaving
industry; other products include rice, oilseed, and scientific
instruments. The town is a railway terminus and an educational
center. Masulipatam is a station of the Church Missionary Society.
By plane
Nearest aiport is located at Gannavaram/Vijayawada, which is about
70 km from Machilipatnam.
By train
There are two railway stations in Machilipatnam: Machilipatnam
Railway Station and Chilakalapudi Railway Station. Although there is
a third railway station called Bandar Port, that is not being used.
South Central Railways runs its services from Machilipatnam to
Vijayawada, Visakhapatnam (Vizag), Tirupati and Bangalore. Recently
it has been approved in the budget to run a train to mumbai via
Hyderabad.
By car
Machilipatnam is at a distance from Vijayawada on NH9 at about 65 km
and approximately 325 km from Hyderabad.
By bus
Machilipatnam is well-connected to most parts of the Andhra Pradesh
and some parts of South India. APSRTC (state-run bus service) runs
buses to most parts of state.
Get around and
sightseeing in Machilipatnam
There are many ways to get around in Machilipatnam.
By bus
You can travel by buses run by private operators called as 'City
bus'.
By autorickshaw/auto
Autorickshaws or an Auto in Machilipatnam does not have meters.
Normally, drivers fix a rate and passengers have to bargain to get a
better prices. Normally, Autos should carry a maximum of 3
passengers excluding the driver, but it is common to find them being
overloaded to carry up to six passengers.
[edit] By rickshaw
Unlike Autorickshaw, which is run by an engine, rickshaw is pulled
by human. Although the slowest means of travel, it is convinient to
travel short distances. Two persons can comfortably sit in a
Rickshaw.
By taxi
Metered taxis are not yet available, but normal taxis are available
here. One might feel them to be costly, as they have to pay fixed
minimum fare and also driver commission.
Place to visit /
Sightseeing place in Machilipatnam.
Machilipatnam is a
city with a rich history of foreign conquests, business and trade.
During its heydays Machilipatnam port served as a gateway to India.
*** The beaches in Machilipatnam are long, broad, pristine, with
pale blonde sands. Manginapudi Beach, a beachside fishing hamlet,
located at a distance of 10 km from Machilipatnam, is well known for
its scenic beauty. The beach has a natural bay with shallow waters.
The unique feature of this beach is that instead of sand it contains
black soil. Thousands of piligrims take a holy dip in the sea, at
the beach, during an annual Hindu festival called Maghapoornami. In
order to promote tourism, an annual festival called "Krishna Utsav"
is celebrated during the months of February/March.
*** A full fledged dance school at the beach, offers courses that
train students in the Kuchipudi, popular dance form.
*** Carting the visitors with the old lighthouse, Dattashram on the
banks of sea coast is a piligrimage site. Dattashram has an ancient
Shiva temple and Datta temple that was recently built. Manginapudi
is popularly known as "Datta Rameswaram" due to the consecration of
9 wells to bath, as in Rameswaram.
*** Panduranga Swamy temple at Chilakalapudi, near the city, close
to the Manginapudi Beach, is a famous piligrimage site. It is a
temple of Lord Vishnu, said to be similar to the temple at
Pandaripur.
*** The Machilipatnam Church built in 19th century by an English
man, with massive prayer halls is a tourist destination.
*** Ghantasala, 21 km from Machilipatnam, it has the remains of an
old Buddhist stupa.
*** Agastheeswara Temple, 36 km from Machilipatnam, is a temple of
Lord Shiva, a piligrimage site. Lord Shiva at this temple is called
by the name, Ekaratri Mallikarjunaswamy. An annual festival is
celebrated at this temple when the deities are taken out in
procession.
*** Gudivada, North west of Machilipatnam, visitors are attracted by
the old ruins of the stupas.
*** Further up the coast of Machilipatnam there are five temples
dedicated to Lord Shiva. These ancient temples are located at
Amravati, Samalkot, Bhimavaram, Draksharama and Chebrolu.
Hotels in
Machilipatnam/ place to stay in Machilipatnam.
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There are few
hotels where you can stay comfortably. Hotels are
inexpensive but not clean. Apsara, RR Bhavan, Eswara
Residency pecock residensy and Raghava Residency are the
relatively better hotels. Tariff vary between Rs 500 to Rs
1,000. If one wants luxury stay, Vijayawada is not far off
and has better options. |
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