STANDING MAGNIFICENTLY: A landmark tower at the entrance of Bhavani Island Resort in Vijayawada. - PHOTO: RAJU. V

VIJAYAWADA: The Andhra Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation will introduce a city tour, encompassing places of interest, including Amaravathi, Uppalapadu and Mangalagiri, from morning to evening very soon. East and West Godavari districts, which have been hitherto under the Visakhapatnam division, have been now brought under Vijayawada division.

Giving details of the corporation's activities at a press conference here on Tuesday, Divisional Manager K.V.Venkateswara Rao, who assumed office recently, said that several facilities were made available to tourists at different places. Boats were being operated from three points in the Krishna - from Lotus Food City, Kanakadurga Ghat and Punnami-Berm Park. Boats could be hired for private parties and private functions also. The department proposed to serve breakfast, lunch and dinner to tourists on prior booking. Punnami-Berm Park, a serene locale on the banks of the Krishna, suited the best for conducting conferences and marriages. An additional eight deluxe rooms were added to the place.

Amphitheatre

Bhavani Island was the most enticing spot for the tourists. A lot of entertainment was in store for the visitors in the form of Burma bridge, spider web, vertical net etc. An amphitheatre was nearing completion on the island, besides a beautiful garden. Treetop cottages, apart from the existing luxury cottages, were a major attraction there. Tourists, staying overnight, were eligible for a breakfast, campfire and fishing rods for pursuing the sport - all complimentary. Besides, the department was ready to offer training to professionals, coming for a business conference, on leadership building, team building, nature traits, besides a lot of entertainment stuff. Mr. Rao said that air-conditioned accommodation could be booked at guesthouses in Amaravati and sea-view cottages at Suryalanka (Bapatla).

A restaurant and a dormitory would also be opened at Suryalanka. The per day cost of an A/c cottage was Rs 550 at Amaravati and Rs 600 at Suryalanka. Apart from accommodation (Rs 600 per A/c room), tourists could also book a marriage hall at Dwaraka Tirumala. The department kept four houseboats at Dindi and Sivakodulanka in East Godavari district for a cruise in the creeks of the Bay of Bengal. Each boat had two rooms.

They could be hired on six-hourly, 12-hourly or 24-hourly basis and the price was Rs 1,890; Rs 2,940 and Rs 5,040 respectively for full boat. The tariff for a single room for 24 hours was Rs 2,500. In all these packages, two persons would be covered per ticket. Food would be supplied on board.

The package from Rajahmundry would cost Rs 500 per adult and Rs 400 per child, while it was a Rs 100 less, if it's from Pattiseema. The package included breakfast and vegetarian lunch.

Tickets could be booked at the central reservation counter in Vijayawada and also at all tourism offices in the division, he said.

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