BharatSangraha

Uttarandhra · Eastern Coastal Plains

Terrain and eco-zones

Tropical maritime, drier than the deltas to the south — around 950–1,100 mm on the coast, appreciably more on the scarp, most of it between June and September with a second pulse in October. The coastal temperature range is narrow, 18–30 °C in January and 27–37 °C in May; Araku at 900 m runs about eight degrees cooler year-round and Lambasingi records the lowest temperatures in the state, occasionally near zero. This is a landfall coast: Hudhud came ashore directly over Visakhapatnam in October 2014 and stripped the city's tree cover and its port cranes at once.

Landforms

The Eastern Ghats scarp within 30–60 km of the sea for the region's whole lengthArma Konda at about 1,680 m, and the Ananthagiri–Galikonda ridge behind ArakuKhondalite and charnockite headlands reaching the shore at Bheemunipatnam, Dolphin's Nose and YaradaThe natural harbour behind Dolphin's Nose, the only one of its kind on this coastBorra caves — a karst system in Precambrian limestone, cut by the GosthaniRed-soil undulating plain with tank irrigation across Vizianagaram and SrikakulamLaterite cashew country behind the beach ridge from Palasa to Srikakulam

Rivers and waters

Vamsadhara — down from the Odisha hills, past Salihundam, to the sea at KalingapatnamNagavali (Langulya) — through Srikakulam town to the sea at MofusbandarChampavathi and Gostani — the Vizianagaram and Bheemili rivers, the Gostani cutting the Borra cavesSarada and Varaha — the Anakapalli valleys, with Etikoppaka on the VarahaMachkund and Sileru — on the far side of the divide, draining inland to the Godavari and dammed for power

Through the year

SeasonMonthsTypicalWhat it is like
WinterNovember–February18–30 °CThe best months on both the coast and the ghats. Araku is cold at night, the coffee is picked from about December, and the Vizag beaches are usable all day.
SummerMarch–May27–37 °CHumid on the coast, tolerable above the scarp. Chandanotsavam at Simhachalam falls on Akshaya Tritiya in this window and is the single most crowded day of the year in the region.
MonsoonJune–September26–33 °CHeavy on the ghats, moderate on the coast. The short rivers flood fast and drain faster; the hill roads to Paderu and Chintapalli are the ones that close.
Post-monsoonOctober–November23–32 °CCyclone season, and this coast takes direct hits. Sirimanotsavam at Vizianagaram falls in this window, and the sea is at its roughest.

Best time to visitNovember to February for everything. Araku is worth the trip in December and January when the coffee is being picked and the mornings are genuinely cold. Chandanotsavam is in April or May and is a once-a-year sight, but expect a crowd measured in lakhs.

The climate, landforms, rivers and seasons of Uttarandhra, and the best time of year to visit. (4)