Vishakhapatnam (vĭshäk'əpŭt'nəm) or Visakhapatnam (vĭsäk'əpŭt'nəm) , city (1991 pop. 1,057,118), Andhra Pradesh state, SE India, a port on the Bay of Bengal. Established by the British in the 17th cent., Vishakhapatnam was famous for cloth and for local handicrafts, especially ornamental objects of ivory, horn, and silver. Today it is a district administrative center and a health resort and has a naval base, an airport, a shipyard, and an oil refinery. Andhra Univ. is on the outskirts of the city.

Visakhapatnam pronunciation (help·info) (Telugu: విశాఖపట్టణం) (also Visakhapattanamu, shortened and anglicized: Visakha/Vizag or Vizagapatnam) 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.

The city of destiny

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".

3rd Century BC buddhist ruins of Thotlakonda

The city is said to have derived its name Visakhapatnam from the deity 'Visakha' (the God of Valour).[1]

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 City overlooking the Beach Road

From being a small fishing village in the twentieth century, Vizag has grown into an industrial hub. Its saga began with the quest of British to find a suitable port that could serve the hinterland possessing rich mineral wealth. Unlike the western coast of India, the east coast has few undulations to form a natural harbor. Britishers quest for finding out a harbor ended with Vizag. Vizag is the most protected natural harbour in Asia.