Rajahmundry - Tourism

Tourism

The biggest attraction in Rajahmundry is the river Godavari. The three bridges over the river are the longest in South India. Numerous ghats and parks are situated along the river's banks as well.

• Sir Arthur Cotton, a British irrigation engineer, oversaw the construction of the Dowleswaram Barrage in nearby Dowlaiswaram, a village eight kilometers downstream of Rajahmundry. The dam, which was completed in 1850, is composed of four divisions: Dowlaiswaram Division, Ryali Branch Division, Madduru division and Vijjeswaram division. This was all in all 900 yards (800 m) long and 9 feet (3 m) high, and comprised the rail-cum-road bridge linking Kovvur, Asia's second longest after the Japan's Kansai International Airport Sky Gate Bridge.

• The First Godavari Rail Bridge was built in 1897, under the supervision of Er. Walton, a British engineer, across Godavari connecting East and West Godavari districts. Stretching for three kilometers, and constructed with stone masonry and steel girders, this bridge served the trains plying between Madras (Chennai) and Howrah (Kolkata). With increased traffic in freight and passengers, a rail-cum-road bridge was built across the river's downstream was inaugurated by the then president of India Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed in 1977.

• A third railway bridge, the The Godavari Arch Bridge, was built between 1991 and 1997. It was commissioned for passenger traffic in March 1997 and became fully operational for running trains by the Indian Railways from 2003, as the bridge built in 1897 was found not suitable for railway traffic anymore. The Dhowleswaram bridge across Godavari is seven kilometers south of Rajahmundry. On the banks is the Rallabandi SubbaRao Museum displaying coins, sculpture, pottery, inscriptions and palm-leaf manuscripts.

• Rajahmundry is also a major Hindu pilgrimage sites, with a number of temples like the Kotilingalu (10 million Sivalingas) temple on the bank of Godavari. It hosts holy congregations called Pushkaram held once every 12 years and considered auspicious to take sin-ridding holy dips—with the last in August 2003, when around 34 million are said to have taken the bath. This festival lasts for 12 days and people offer prayers and make offerings to their departed family members. A huge and beautiful Krishna temple has been constructed by the ISKCON foundation on the banks of Godavari. Popularly called as Gowthami Ghat, it is a major attraction for young people as a recreational center.