Machilipatnam

It is believed that Machlipatnam derived its name owing to the construction of a gateway to the town decorated with eyes of a fish (also called Machili in Hindi).

Machilipatnam was founded in the 14th century by the trading Arabs who found their way from the red sea to southern India to the spot of eastern peninsula. Machilipatnam was a flourishing seaport on the east coast during the time of the Satavahanas and in the 17th century AD, it was a centre of French, British, and Dutch trade.

It is one of the earliest known British settlements in the subcontinent of India, its importance being due to the fact that it was the bandar or port of Golconda. It was the British East India Company's first trading post on the coromandel coast. An agency was established there in 1611. During the wars of the Carnatic, the English were temporarily expelled from the town, which was held by the French for some years. In 1759 the town and port were carried by storm by Colonel Forde, an achievement followed by the acquisition of the Northern Circars (q.v.). In 1864 a great storm-wave swept over the entire town and is said to have destroyed 30,000 lives.

Once a flourishing port, the port of Machilipatnam today is in desperate need for modernization. It has not seen any ships in the last decade. In its heyday, the port used to handle export of different items weighing more than 27 thousand tonnes and imports of 37,000 tonnes. Much needs to be done to bring the city back to its glory. In January 2006, Government of Andhra Pradesh revealed plans for reviving the Machilipatnam port at a cost of ₹12 billion. It has allocated 6000 acres of land for the project.

Machilipatnam is well known for its Kalamkari painting. The art was introduced during the reign of Qutub Shahis when the entire Telugu country was under their control. Weavers form a large portion of the inhabitants, though their trade has greatly declined since the beginning of the 19th century. Their operations, besides weaving, include printing, bleaching washing and dressing. In former days the chintzes of Masulipatam had a great reputation abroad for the freshness and permanency of their dyes.

Machilipatnam is well connected to other parts of the state by rail and road.

There are many ways to get around in Machilipatnam.

Machilipatnam is a city with a rich history of foreign conquests, business and trade. During its heydays Machilipatnam port served as a gateway to India.

• The beaches in Machilipatnam are long, broad, pristine, with pale blonde sands. Manginapudi Beach, a beachside fishing hamlet, located at a distance of 10 km from Machilipatnam, is well known for its scenic beauty. The beach has a natural bay with shallow waters. The unique feature of this beach is that instead of sand it contains black soil. Thousands of piligrims take a holy dip in the sea, at the beach, during an annual Hindu festival called Maghapoornami. In order to promote tourism, an annual festival called "Krishna Utsav" is celebrated during the months of February/March.
• A full fledged dance school at the beach, offers courses that train students in the Kuchipudi, popular dance form.
• Carting the visitors with the old lighthouse, Dattashram on the banks of sea coast is a pilgrimage site. Dattashram has an ancient Shiva temple and a Datta temple of modern construction. Manginapudi is popularly known as "Datta Rameswaram" due to the consecration of 9 wells to bath, as in Rameswaram.
• Panduranga Swamy temple at Chilakalapudi, near the city, close to the Manginapudi Beach, is a famous piligrimage site. It is a temple of Lord Vishnu, said to be similar to the temple at Pandaripur.
• The Machilipatnam Church built in 19th century by an English man, with massive prayer halls is a tourist destination.
• Ghantasala, 21 km from Machilipatnam, it has the remains of an old Buddhist stupa.
• Agastheeswara Temple, 36 km from Machilipatnam, is a temple of Lord Shiva, a piligrimage site. Lord Shiva at this temple is called by the name, Ekaratri Mallikarjunaswamy. An annual festival is celebrated at this temple when the deities are taken out in procession.
• Gudivada, North west of Machilipatnam, visitors are attracted by the old ruins of the stupas.
• Further up the coast of Machilipatnam there are five temples dedicated to Lord Shiva. These ancient temples are located at Amravati, Samalkot, Bhimavaram, Draksharama and Chebrolu.

Machilipatnam is popular for imitation gold and for Kalamkari works. You can find bedsheets, curtain cloths, night dresses and dress material with Kalamkari work. These products are even exported to many places.

Machilipatnam is popular for sweets (Bandar Laddu and Bandar Halwa are quite popular). There are many chat like snacks in Machilipatnam where the locals stand in queue, especially in the evenings at the mobile chat vendors. These are spicy, but tasty.

There are a number of restaurants and a lot of hotels make Chinese dishes also. Otherwise, for rice eaters (South Indians), this place is like heaven for food. Food is relatively very cheap and tasty. You can enjoy local dishes.

As regards to fruits, you can find bananas, mangoes and other seasonal fruits at a reasonable rate.

If you have the habit of drinking mineral water, better to continue the same habit. Though the tap water (municipal water) tastes good, as in the case of many places in India, outsiders may get infected easily. Mineral water is available every where and costs around ₹15/- per litre bottle. All popular brands in India are available in shops.

• Suganda Pal is a drink made of locally available roots, mixed with lemon and soda. It is a thirst quencher during summer. One should definitely taste it.

• Badam milk is available at Koneru centre. It's famous in Machilipatnam.

There are few hotels where you can stay comfortably. Hotels are inexpensive but not clean. Apsara, RR Bhavan, Eswara Residency peacock residency and Raghava Residency are the relatively better hotels. Tariff vary between ₹500 to ₹1,000. If one wants luxury stay, Vijayawada is not far off and has better options.

• Bhimavaram
• Palakollu
• Eluru
• Tenali
• Vijayawada