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Toddy tapper climbs a palm tree and taps Jeeluga Kallu

Jeeluga Kallu is a type of toddy that is extracted from the Fishtail Palm tree (Caryota urens) found in the Eastern Ghats near Vizag. The toddy of this plant is a popular drink in our hills. A mud pot is attached to the inflorescence portion on the top of the tree and the toddy trickles into the pot over time. Once in the morning and once again in the evening a man shimmies up the tree and empties the contents of the toddy into a container and brings it down to an eager small group, who sit around in a circle and consume the toddy with great relish.

Fresh off the tree, it has a sweet refreshing champagne-like taste. Some of them prefer to heat up the toddy on a small wooden fire at the base of the tree and consume it warm. They say it gives them a gentle buzz and energizes them for a hard mornings work. This is a social ritual that all enjoy. The population of these trees is reducing in the ghats and they are in good demand. They begin yielding in around 15 to 20 years. Some of them are given away on lease to those who are adept at climbing, tapping and selling the Kallu. Both the owner and the lessee make a decent amount of money. Several of the adivasis can be seen passing around a dried and hollowed out bottle goad from which they drink this heady drink.

Jellugu Kallu Tapping Image & Video

Palm Tree And Taps Jeeluga Kallu

Vizag's Town Hall Built In 1904 Restored In 2021

Vizag's Submarine Museum

Natural Rock Bridge on Beach at Mangamaripeta

Bullock Cart Racing at Krishnarayudupeta Village, around 50km from Vizag Pic Jayshree Hatangadi

Beach Rocks Pic By Navin Bahirwani

Beach Rock Pools Reveal Myriad se Creatures

Balloon Festival At Araku Jan 2019

Yerramatti Dibbalu - Visakhapatnam

About Us

Taking Sustainable Journeys

Responsible tourism is a form of tourism that promotes sustainable development and aims to minimize negative impacts on the environment, heritage and local communities while maximizing the positive impacts on local economies and cultures

Vizag has been identified by the state and union government as an important tourism destination. Over the past few years, substantial money has been spent on promotion of tourism and tourism related infrastructure in the district and several new projects are in the pipeline.

Vizag is blessed with spectacular scenery and a rich ancient heritage. We have the advantage of having a pristine coastline, and as we travel a few hours into the hinterland, we are immersed in the lush green hills of the Eastern Ghats with its tribal communities, pleasant climate and the most fascinating biodiversity. Yet all these charms are vulnerable to over exploitation and if not nurtured carefully they may get damaged beyond repair. In fact, many of our sensitive assets like Erra Matti Dibbalu (Red Sand Dunes) and Thotlakonda our ancient Buddhist remains are already under threat.

In view of this, it is felt that interested citizens of Vizag come together and form an association of citizens to promote responsible tourism. Our objectives are to assist the government in protecting our sensitive assets, gather and disseminate tourist information and strive to offer our honoured tourist guests a fulfilling experience when they visit us.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES

Disseminate knowledge of responsible tourism to Citizens and stakeholders of tourism Industry
To conduct market research and identify places and activities of interest such as local music, dance, cuisine, art and craft, specialty agriculture, festivals and events etc. and use them in sustainable manner for development of responsible tourism
Sensitize communities on preservation of our heritage
To help preserve and protect locations which have potential for tourism and help develop these for the larger benefit of tourists and
local communities
To mitigate the loss caused to environment due to tourism, preserve the heritage and protect local communities and cultures
To promote environmental awareness, enhance knowledge of environmentally sensitive sites
To work for reduction of plastic usage at tourism locations and to ensure proper disposal of plastic waste generated in tourism locations
To promote use of eco-friendly materials in tourism projects and work for enhancement of visual aesthetics
Strive to discourage projects which may result in over exploitation of tourism or with misguided revenue models which have the potential to environmentally degrade the tourism spots and adversely affect the local communities
To cooperate and coordinate with local administration and the community for beneficial impact of tourism on the social and economic eco system of the area
To keep the Government informed about the opinions and views of citizens related to tourism development and assist the Government to promote tourism to its fullest potential
To provide useful and beneficial inputs to government departments, local authorities and councils in preparing the tourism policy and give feedback on implementation of the policies from time to time
To help and guide government develop basic amenities required for tourists such as toilets, showers, cloak rooms, shelters, garbage disposal and parking facilities
Ensure that there is access for all, in particular, vulnerable and physically disadvantaged individuals
To assist government in making policies to improve the safety and security of tourists
To strive to be in tune with the changing trends of responsible tourism and adopt the best practices that suit the local conditions

Our Activies

Bavikonda

CART Site appreciation visit to Bavikonda, 3rd Century BC Buddhist Monument area ruins on the outskirts of Vizag At CART we take our field visits seriously. We like to visit existing and potential tourist sites and become familiar with the important features of the site. On 23 March some of our members met at Bavikonda to appreciate the ancient Buddhist ruins site of Bavikonda. This is a marvellous site with rich history. Unfortunately the signage has faded and it is overgrown with grass and bushes. The interpretation centre built in 2016-17 is still not operational. CART will be recommending to our tourism department to get the area cleaned up and make the interpretation centre operational.

Old Seed Festival

Some CART members visited the Old Seed Festival at Kiloguda, near Araku. This is the 15th year of the festival. It was initiated way back in 2007 by one of our CART members Shri. Ravi Rebbapragada and is still going strong. Here is a short video about the 15th festival.

Old Seed Festival Araku Video

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Our Opinion

120 MOUs worth 22,000 Cr

There has been plenty in the news over the last few months. The big news is of course is the big bucks committed to the tourism sector early last month. Our state signed up several private parties for investments worth a whopping ₹ 22k cr.

The investments are in almost every field, for example, Water Tourism, Recreation & Adventure Tourism, Eco Tourism, Beach Tourism, Heritage Tourism, Cuisine Tourism, Wellness Tourism and Temple Tourism.

Now, while these buzz words may sound impressive, there is nothing new in this list. Every few years our tourism departments make out this list by selecting one word in front of “Tourism”. Let us keep our fingers crossed that at least some of these projects will see the light of the day.

The important thing is while the promoters and the state are welcome to bring tourist footfalls into the state; they should never endanger our environmentally delicate sites and our sensitive heritage sites. These are not meant for over exploitation and ruin. We at CART will be keeping an eye out for potential hazards and will certainly blow our collective whistles when we see something that threatens our sensitive sites. We want to promote our tourism but we do not want to permanently destroy our God given assets.

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