Visakhapatnam is a coastal, port city in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, located on the eastern shore of India, nestled among the hills of the Eastern Ghats and facing the Bay of Bengal to the east. It is the administrative headquarters of Visakhapatnam District and is also home of the Eastern Naval Command of the Indian Navy.

Alternatively, it sometimes goes by its now mostly defunct colonial British name, Waltair. During the colonial era, the city had at its hub the Waltair railway station, and that part of the city still goes by the name of Waltair. It is sometimes also referred to as the "City of Destiny".

The city is said to have derived its name Visakhapatnam from the deity 'Visakha' (the God of Valour).

Visakhapatnam or the place of Visakha, is named after the deity of valor, the second son of Lord Shiva. The other story is the beauty of the place was compared to the beauty of Sakhi Visakha. The legend is that Radha and Visakha were born on the same day and equally beautiful. The city people believe that an Andhra King impressed by the beauty built a temple to pay obeisance to his family deity, Visakha. The stories be numerous but the fact remains; the unparalleled natural splendor of Visakhapatnam.

The Epic City The city has been mentioned in the Indian epics Ramayana and Mahabharata. The forests of the Eastern Ghats; where the two brothers Rama and Laxman wandered in search of Sita, wife of Lord Rama. Rama formed his army of monkey men in the region with the help of Hanuman and Jambavan. The monkey army of Rama later defeated the demon King Ravana to claim back his wife Sita. An episode of Mahabharata when Bheema killed the demon Bakasura, was believed to have happened in the village Uppalam, just 25 miles from the city.

EDUCATIONAL FACILITIES

Visakhapatnam is considered as a centre for education in the state of Andhra Pradesh. A.V.N. College is one of the oldest and premier educational institutions established in 1878. It is the home of the renowned Andhra University (Established in 1926). Prof S. Radha Krishnan, before he became the President of India, worked as the Vice Chancellor of this University between 1931 to 1936. The University and its affiliated colleges provide high quality, affordable education to thousands of students from the entire state. Post Graduate and Graduate courses are offered in various branches like Arts, Commerce, Science & Technology, Engineering, IT, Business Management, Law and Pharmacy. AU college of Pharmacy is the second oldest pharmacology institute in India. Very soon the university will be getting IIEST status and there is also a proposal for setting up an IIM here at Visakhapatnam.

Gandhi Institite of Technology And Management (GITAM) recently attained the status of an autonomous university, is among the top educational `varsities in the state. GIFT administrated by GITAM is a premiere institute for foreign trade and also rated among the best in the country in its field.

CLIMATE
The climate of Visakhapatnam has no appreciable seasonal changes. Being close to the sea, the level of humidity is high. The fluctuations in temperature are fairly uniform in character, except during the dry months when the rise in temperature is higher than it is during the monsoon period. From February onwards, the temperature rises progressively till May, which is the hottest month. From 1931-60 the maximum average (Mean) temperature was 34 °C. This has been showing an upward trend with the minimum and maximum for the period of 1975-81 being reported as 38 °C and 29 °C, respectively. In recent years, it has not been uncommon for the daytime temperature to exceed 43 °C during May. December, January are the coldest period of the year.

TRANSPORTATION
Visakhapatnam is well connected with daily flights from Hyderabad, Madras, Delhi, Bombay, Bangalore, Tirupati and Calcutta. Visakhapatnam Airport has recently received permission to operate night flights. A new 10,000 feet long runway became operational to accommodate international flights and larger aircraft. The airport was one of the few chosen by the center for modernization including facilities like aerobridges and immigration booths.

Visakhapatnam International Airport is coming up at S.Rayavaram, 50 km from the city. This will serve as the gateway and hub for international flights connecting South East Asia to the Indian subcontinent.

Visakhapatnam is one of the cities on the east coast of india connected by NH5, a major national highway and a part of the Golden Quadrilateral system of Indian highways connecting Madras and Calcutta. The highway is an important route for transportation of cargo and people from these cities to and from Vizag. Visakhapatnam has a good network of roads. There are frequent buses to Vizianagaram, Srikakulam, Araku and Rajahmundry. There are even bus services to Hyderabad, Vijayawada, Tirupati, Bangalore, Madras, Calcutta and few other parts of Orissa and Karnataka.

STRATEGIC IMPORTANCE
Ever since the battle of Kalinga during emperor Ashoka's reign, the city found itself as a hotbed of military activity in almost every battle witnessed in the country. Right from the battle of Kalinga, World War II, India-Pakistan war of 1971 and Bangladesh Liberation War. It was only the second region in south Asia to be attacked by Japanese fighter planes during world war II. Recognising the strategic importance of the city and the role it played during the Bangladesh Liberation War, Pakistan sent its submarine, PNS Ghazi to destroy India's only aircraft carrier. The submarine sank off the coast (Pakistan claims, accidentally hitting one of the mines it laid; India claims, from depth-charge dropped by destroyer INS Rajput). The remnants of the submarine are on display on the beach road.

The city was so important during times of war that the Indian government decided to set up the Eastern Naval Command, overlooking the more populous Madras and Calcutta and developed Vizag during that period. The establishment of the E.N.C. soon after the construction of the ship building yard firmly secured Vizag's place in the annals of the Indian Navy. More defence related establishments would later come up including the N.S.T.L. (Naval Science and Technology Laboratories), which is responsible for the development and testing of warship technology, equipment and weapons. The Navy is also constructing a second base as the current base is overpopulated and not sufficient to meet the needs of the E.N.C. Despite its importance, the Naval establishment has become a hindrance for the development of Vizag. The most beautiful harbour is not made open for the general public citing the reasons of security, while in Bombay and Cochin, entire port along with Naval docks are opened for boating and of course the tourism in those locations are linked to it. The same is true when they are blocking the Road on Dolphin's nose mountain to Scindia.

Visakhapatnam is surrounded on three sides by the overlapping mountain ranges, and the south eastern city is safeguarded by the Bay of Bengal. Vizag is far away from any international border, both land and sea, making it the choice for strategic placement of the headquarters of the eastern naval command.