Often referred to as the ‘Kashmir of Andhra Pradesh’, the beautiful valleys of Lambasingi, which experience minus temperature during winter sometimes, will very soon be the next tourism hotspot.
Andhra Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation (APTDC) has identified five-acre parcel of land at Lambasingi, located near Chintapalli in the Visakha Agency, to initiate the development of a resort and an eco-tourism project there. “The initial project cost has been sanctioned and will be around Rs 5 crore. All the required permissions for developing it into a tourist spot have been acquired. We expect to finalise the land by this month-end,” G. Bhima Sankara Rao, Special Officer and General Manager, APTDC, told The Hindu.
Laden with rich natural beauty, Lambasingi, also known as Lammasingi, is located 1,000 metres above sea level. One of the unique features of the location is its cool temperature experienced even during summer. “There has been a high tourist flow in this place. This year we have seen a growing number of weekend travellers from Vizag heading to Lambasingi,” said Mr. Rao. Leisure travellers apart, Lambasingi also welcomed corporate team outings in the past two years. Once the infrastructure is developed, the spot is expected to scale up in the world tourism map. Wrapped in foggy climate, Lambasingi has also attracted many shutterbugs and nature lovers from the region. Situated more than 1,000 metres above mean sea level in the hills of Eastern Ghats, Lambasingi, is 16 km from Chintapalli on the Chintapalli-Narsipatnam ghat road.
Tourism seasonMeanwhile, APTDC is gearing up for the upcoming tourism season by introducing new packages. While the year 2013 was mired in protests and bandhs due to the Seemandhra agitation leading to an overall revenue loss of 20 to 25 per cent, APTDC is looking to make up for the losses by creating weekend packages to places like Srisailam, Arasavalli and its recently-started Vizag-Puri-Bhubaneshwar package. In Srikakulam, another APTDC beach resort at Baruva was developed at a cost of Rs 4.5 crore. The resort has 12 AC suites and was opened to tourists in the month of June this year.
“This year looks promising. Going by our forward bookings, we have already seen 75 per cent occupancy rates in Vizag, Araku and Srikakulam region for the October to December peak tourist season,” Rao added.
