The greenery that lies just a couple of km from the centre of the urban chaos of Visakhapatnam is a stark contrast to the life in the city. Brimming streams, a carpet of verdant hill ranges and forests teeming with life seem magically disconnected from the cacophony of city life. Enjoying the essence of this natural beauty surrounding the city are a growing tribe of trekkers who are enthusiastically embarking on trekking trails through some known and some lesser-travelled trails amidst the dense trails bordering the port city. In the early hours of Sunday, two teams of trekkers stepped out on to the two trekking trails of 3 km and 5 km in Kambalakonda Eco Tourism Park.
The 20-member team of Green Face organisation, who embarked on the 3-km nature trek at the park not only enjoyed the aesthetic view of the Eastern Ghats, the trek also helped them to exchange ideas on leading an environment-friendly lifestyle. Interestingly, most of the trekkers were in the age group of 20-30, including a few first time trekkers as well.
“Trekking has become increasingly popular in the city and it is heartening to see many youngsters showing keen interest in setting off on trails during weekends. There are at least 25 trekking routes in and around Visakhapatnam,” said Kesavaraju Ksheerasagar, a member of Green Face and a seasoned trekker. He has been trekking since 1986 and has covered most of the regional routes in Andhra Pradesh apart from going on national trekking expeditions.
For Chaitanya Reddy, a young executive in the hospitality sector, the trek opened up a world of associations with people from different walks of life and also gave him a different perspective of nature. “Trekking gives you physical and mental strength,” said the 28-year-old, who is also the coordinator of treks for Green Face.
Focus areas
The organisation has around 100 members and focuses on four areas of plantation and farming, wildlife conservation, nature and camping and hygiene and sanitation. “We plan to hold treks twice a month to explore different trek routes in and around the city. These treks will be open for all,” said Reddy. Green Face will be organising a trek next Sunday to clear the 7-km trekking trail at Kambalakonda that has remained inaccessible post Cyclone Hudhud.
Sunday also saw a team of over 100 people take part in the 5-km trek at the park organised by Youth Hostel Visakhapatnam in association with Smart City Journalists’ Association. The youth hostel has been conducting treks from the past several decades and its members take their trekking seriously, with the trekking expeditions ranging from one-day to two weeks duration, depending on the difficulty level of the treks. Some of the popular trek routes in the region include Simhachalam trekking trail that leads to the highest point of the hill range, Chodavaram-Vatlamamidi trek route connecting to Paderu, Sivalingapuram – Pedagidda – Valasi – Vasiki – Sunkarametta route and lesser known but stunningly beautiful Dharapalem trek route.
